Methods and apparatus to generate and use content-aware watermarks

• US 9,042,598 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2014
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Ramaswamy, Arun, Luff, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): COLUCCI, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US14/324,901
• Publication Number:
  US 20140321694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 323 Days
• Field of Search: 725/34, 725/32, 725/110, 715/723, 715/203, 713/176, 713/153, 709/217, 707/769, 705/55, 705/14.14, 705/14.1, 704/273, 704/270, 704/211, 704/205, 382/100
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/31 using in-band signals, e.g. subsonic or cue signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/50 characterised by the use of watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/48 for recognising items expressed in broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/58 of audio determination or detection of speech characteristics in general G10L25/00; speech recognition in general G10L15/00

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to generate and use content-aware watermarks are disclosed herein. In a disclosed example method, media composition data is received and at least one word present in an audio track of the media composition data is selected. The word is then located in a watermark.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

selecting a word present in an audio track of a media composition, the word to be audible during playback of the audio track;

encoding the selected word in a watermark; and

embedding the watermark in the media composition at a location in the media composition corresponding to when the selected word is audible during playback of the audio track.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the selected word is indicative of a product or service audible during playback of the audio track.

3. A method as defined in claim 2 further including:

determining whether the media composition includes metadata;

in response to determining the media composition includes the metadata, retrieving the metadata from the media composition; and

encoding the metadata in the watermark.

4. A method as defined in claim 3 further including:

detecting a characteristic of the media composition when the media composition does not include the metadata; and

generating the metadata based on the characteristic.

5. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein the metadata includes temporal information or spatial information.

6. A method as defined in claim 1 further including:

compressing the selected word; and

encoding the compressed word in the watermark.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the compressing of the selected word includes discarding an alphabetic character included in the selected word.

8. A method as defined in claim 1 further including:

identifying a unique identifier associated with the selected word; and

encoding the unique identifier in the watermark.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

a data interface to obtain a media composition;

a word selector to select a word present in an audio track of the media composition, the word to be audible during playback of the audio track; and

a watermark encoder to;

encode the selected word in a watermark; and

embed the watermark in the media composition at a location in the media composition that is to correspond to when the selected word is audible during playback of the audio track.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein the selected word is indicative of a product or service audible during playback of the audio track.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 9 further including a data compressor to compress the selected word, the watermark encoder to encode the compressed word in the watermark.

15. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein the data compressor is to compress the selected word by discarding an alphabetic character included in the selected word.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein the data interface is to identify a unique identifier associated with the selected word, the watermark encoder to encode the unique identifier in the watermark.

11. An apparatus as defined in 9 further including:

a metadata detector to;

determine whether metadata is present in the media composition; and

based on a determination that the metadata is present in the media composition, retrieve the metadata from the media composition; and

the watermark encoder to encode the metadata in the watermark.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 11 further including a media features detector to:

based on a determination that the metadata is not present in the media composition, detect a media feature of the media composition; and

generate the metadata based on the media feature.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the metadata is to include temporal information or spatial information.

17. A method, comprising:

determining whether a search term is present in a watermark of a media composition, the watermark encoded with a word present in an audio track of the media composition, the word audible during playback of the audio track; and

generating a network link indicative of a storage location of the media composition when the search term is present in the watermark.

18. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein determining whether the search term is present in the watermark includes:

detecting the watermark in the media composition;

determining whether the watermark includes a compressed word; and

decoding the compressed word.

19. A method as defined in claim 17 further including selecting the media composition for presentation when the search term is present in the watermark.

20. A method as defined in claim 17 further including:

indexing a plurality of media compositions;

selecting the media composition from the plurality of media compositions; and

wherein the determining of whether the search term is present in the watermark includes parsing the watermark.

21. A method as defined in claim 20, wherein the media composition is a first media composition, the watermark is a first watermark, and the method further includes:

selecting a second media composition from the plurality of media compositions when the search term is not present in the watermark; and

determining whether the search term is present in a second watermark of the second media composition.

22. A method as defined in claim 21 further including selecting the second media composition in response to generating the network link.

23. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein the network link is a hypertext link or a uniform resource locator link.

24. An article of manufacture comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to at least:

select a word present in an audio track of a media composition, the word to be audible during playback of the audio track;

encode the selected word in a watermark; and

embed the watermark in the media composition at a location in the media composition that is to correspond to when the selected word is audible during playback of the audio track.

25. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 24, wherein the selected word is indicative of a product or service audible during playback of the audio track.

26. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 24, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

determine whether the media composition includes metadata;

retrieve the metadata from the media composition when the media composition includes the metadata; and

encode the metadata in the watermark.

27. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 26, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

detect a characteristic of the media composition when the media composition does not include the metadata; and

generate the metadata based on the characteristic.

28. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 26, wherein the metadata includes temporal information or spatial information.

29. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 24, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

compress the selected word; and

encode the compressed word in the watermark.

30. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 29, wherein the instructions cause the processor to compress the selected word by discarding an alphabetic character included in the selected word.

31. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 24, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

identify a unique identifier associated with the selected word; and

encode the unique identifier in the watermark.