Utilizing data reduction in steganographic and cryptographic systems

• US 8,526,611 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2012
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wistaria Trading Inc.
• Original Assignee: Blue Spike, Inc.
• Inventors: Moskowitz, Scott A., Berry, Mike W.
• Primary Examiner(s): HOFFMAN, BRANDON S
• Application Number:
  US13/423,650
• Publication Number:
  US 20120207303A1
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 380/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/046 of operations, operands or results of the operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/608 Watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/16 the keys or algorithms being changed during operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32144 embedded in the image data, i.e. enclosed or integrated in the image, e.g. watermark, super-imposed logo or stamp
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32272 Encryption or ciphering

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods for protecting a data signal using the following techniques: applying a data reduction technique to reduce the data signal into a reduced data signal; subtracting the reduced data signal from the data signal to produce a remainder signal; embedding a first watermark into the reduced data signal to produce a watermarked, reduced data signal; and adding the watermarked, reduced data signal to the remainder signal to produce an output signal. A second watermark may be embedded into the remainder signal before the final addition step. Further, cryptographic techniques may be used to encrypt the reduced data signals and to encrypt the remainder signals before the final addition step.

Claims

1. A system for producing an output signal, comprising:

at least one processor coupled to a memory and configured to apply a data reduction technique to reduce a data signal resulting in a reduced data signal;

a subtractor configured to subtract said reduced data signal from said data signal resulting in a remainder signal;

said at least one processor configured to apply a first cryptographic technique to encrypt said reduced data signal resulting in an encrypted reduced data signal;

said at least one processor configured to apply a second cryptographic technique to encrypt said remainder signal resulting in an encrypted remainder signal; and

an adder configured to add said encrypted reduced data signal to said encrypted remainder signal to produce an output signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one processor comprises at least three processors.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising said memory, and wherein said memory stores said data signal in non-transitory form.

4. A system for producing an encoded data signal, comprising:

an analyzer configured to evaluate a data signal to determine its characteristics and reducibility;

a selector configured to select at least one appropriate data reduction technique for the data signal based at least upon at least one of said characteristics and said reducibility;

a processor coupled to a memory and configured to apply said at least one appropriate data reduction technique selected by said selector to said data signal resulting in a data reduced signal; and

an encoder configured to encode a digital watermark in at least one of said data signal and said data reduced signal resulting in an encoded data signal resulting in an encoded data signal.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said encoder is configured to encode said digital watermark in said data signal.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein said encoder is configured to encode said digital watermark in said data reduced signal.