Identification of text

• US 8,674,855 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2006
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mineral Lassen LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Essex PA LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Monro, Donald Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): WILLIAMS, HOWARD L
• Application Number:
  US11/332,777
• Publication Number:
  US 20070164882A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,986 Days
• Field of Search: 707 3- 6, 707/9, 707/10, 726/31, 726/32, 726/33, 382/100, 341/50, 341/63
• US Class Current: 341/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90344 by using string matching techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

A method for determining whether portions of text have been copied during electronic copying, photocopying, or scanning of a document. The method comprises generating a target code from a target passage of the text, determining whether a sample passage of text includes the target code, and, upon successful determination, initiating an action if the sample passage of text includes the target code. A method of generating a code representative of a passage of text uses a spacing between respective occurrences of one or more key symbol strings within the text. By comparing the known code of a target text passage with the code generated from a sample text passage, it is easy to determine whether the target text has been used within the sample. The method may be integrated within a copying device.

Claims

1. A method for determining whether portions of text have been copied during electronic copying, photocopying, or scanning of a document, comprising:

generating, using a processing device, a target code from a target passage of the text, wherein the generating the target code comprises;

identifying a key symbol string from the target passage of the text,

identifying a first position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text,

identifying a second position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text, and

determining a distance between the first position and the second position;

determining, using the processing device, whether a sample passage of text includes the target code; and

upon successful determination, initiating, using the processing device, an action if the sample passage of text includes the target code.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a single fixed string of one or more characters as the key symbol string.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising using a letter, a symbol, and/or a space as the one or more characters.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising using different arrangements of the letter, the symbol, and/or the space as the one or more characters.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising using identical arrangements of the letter, the symbol, and/or the space as the one or more characters.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising using variable length strings of one or more characters as the key symbol string.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising using a letter, a symbol, and/or a space as the one or more characters.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising using different arrangements of the letter, the symbol, and/or the space as the one or more characters.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising using identical arrangements of the letter, the symbol, and/or the space as the one or more characters.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a plurality of strings as the key symbol string.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising using fixed strings and variable length strings as the plurality of strings.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising using different strings as the plurality of strings.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising using a spacing between respective strings in the plurality of strings.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising using one or more characters as the spacing.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising using fixed or variable length spacing as the spacing.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a plurality of key symbol strings as the key symbol string.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising counting letters, symbols, spaces, and/or other characters to determine distances between respective adjacent positions of the key symbol string.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising counting single or multiple character spaces to determine distances between respective adjacent positions of the key symbol string.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a distance metric to represent line breaks to determine distances between respective adjacent positions of the key symbol string.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a partial match of the target code in the sample passage of text as the successful determination.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a complete match of the target code in the sample passage of text as the successful determination.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising using user-defined matching criteria as the successful determination.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the action comprises outputting a notification, disabling an imaging device, generating a visual signal, generating an audible signal, writing an entry into a log, sending a message to a remote system, or generating an automated invoice for royalties.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the sample passage of text by:

imaging a document on an imaging device; and

converting, using the processing device, at least a portion of the document into digital data.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a sample code representative of a sample passage;

comparing the target code with a first portion of the sample code;

determining that the target passage occurs within the sample passage if the target code matches the first portion of the sample code;

comparing the target code with a second portion of the sample code; and

determining that the target passage occurs within the sample passage if the target code matches the second portion of the sample code.

26. A system, comprising:

an imaging device configured to generate an image of a document;

a converting device configured to convert a portion of the image of the document into digital data;

an analyzing device configured to;

generate a sample from the digital data; and

compare a target code with a portion of the sample, wherein the target code is generated by;

identifying a key symbol string from a target passage of the text,

identifying a first position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text,

identifying a second position at which the key symbol string occurs within the passage of the text, and

determining a distance between the first position and the second position; and

a controller configured to initiate an action upon determination that the portion of the sample includes the target code.

27. The system of claim 26, further comprising:

a memory device configured to store the target code.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the controller is configured to initiate the action by:

disabling the imaging device, generating a visual signal, generating an audible signal, writing an entry into a log, sending a message to a remote system, or generating an automated invoice for royalties.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the remote system comprises:

a memory device configured to store the target code.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein the remote system comprises:

a second controller configured to initiate second action when the matching signal is received.

31. The system of claim 26, further comprising a printer coupled to the controller to produce physical copies of the image of the document.

32. The system of claim 26, wherein the converting device is an optical character recognition (OCR) device.

33. A tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon, computer-executable instructions that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising:

generating a target code from a target passage of text captured during electronic copying, photocopying, or scanning of a document;

wherein the generating the target code comprises;

identifying a key symbol string from the target passage of the text,

identifying a first position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text,

identifying a second position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text, and

determining a distance between the first position and the second position;

determining whether a sample passage of text includes the target code; and

upon successful determination, initiating an action if the sample passage of text includes the target code.

34. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-useable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon, the computer program logic comprising:

first computer code means for generating a target code from a target passage of text captured during electronic copying, photocopying, of scanning of a document, wherein the first computer code means for generating the target code comprises;

second means for identifying a key symbol string from the target passage of the text,

third computer code means for identifying a first position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text,

fourth computer code means for identifying a second position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text, and

fifth computer code means for determining a distance between the first position and the second position;

sixth computer code means for determining whether a sample passage of text includes the target code; and

seventh computer code means for initiating an action if the sample passage of text includes the target code upon successful determination.

35. A method, comprising:

receiving, using a computing device, a key symbol string and a target passage of text that includes the key symbol string;

identifying, using the computing device, a first position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text,

identifying, using the computing device, a second position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text, wherein the second position is after the first position in the target passage of text,

identifying, using the computing device, a third position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text, wherein the third position is after the second position it the target passage of text,

determining, using the computing device, a first distance, wherein the first distance is between the first position and the second position;

determining, using the computing device, a second distance, wherein the second distance is between the second position and the third position;

generating, using the computing device, a first target code, wherein the first target code includes pattern, and wherein the pattern includes the key symbol string, the first distance, and the second distance;

generating, using the computing device, a second target code based on a sample passage of text; and

initiating, using the computing device, an action based on a comparison of the first and second target codes.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein a format of the pattern comprises the key symbol string, a colon, the first distance, the second distance, and each subsequent distance after the second distance.

37. A system comprising:

means for generating a target code from a target passage of text, wherein the target code includes a pattern, wherein the pattern includes a key symbol string, a first distance, and a second distance, and wherein the means for generating the target code comprises;

means for identifying the key symbol string from the target passage of the text, means for identifying a first position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text;

means for identifying a second position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text;

means for identifying a third position at which the key symbol string occurs within the target passage of the text;

means for determining the first distance, wherein the first, distance is between the first position and the second position;

means for determining the second distance, wherein the second distance is between the second position and the third position;

means for determining whether a sample passage of text includes the target code; and

means for initiating an action if the sample passage of text includes the target code.