Signal continuity assessment using embedded watermarks

• US 9,055,239 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2007
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IP Acquisitions, LLC
• Original Assignee: Verance Corporation
• Inventors: Tehranchi, Babak, Petrovic, Rade, Winograd, Joseph M., Angelico, Dean Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Allison, Andrae S
• Application Number:
  US11/880,139
• Publication Number:
  US 20080002854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,882 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/232, 713/176, 713/179, 713/181, 386/94, 700/94, 726/32, 380/201, 380/218, 380/210, 380/252, 380/287, 380/54, 380/22, 348/461, 348/463, 348/467, 348/473
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1063 Personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2151 Time stamp
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0071 using multiple or alternating watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0065 Extraction of an embedded watermark; Reliable detection
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/56 Arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition covered by groups H04H60/29-H04H60/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/103 applying security measure for protecting copyright
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32288 Multiple embedding, e.g. cocktail embedding, or redundant embedding, e.g. repeating the additional information at a plurality of locations in the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32315 Selecting a particular method from amongst a plurality of methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32352 Controlling detectability or arrangements to facilitate detection or retrieval of the embedded information, e.g. using markers for decoding, detection or retrieval operations H04N1/32149 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3269 of machine readable codes or marks, e.g. bar codes or glyphs

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, and systems for signal continuity assessment using embedded watermarks are provided. The embedded watermarks are recovered from the content and one or more attributes associated with the recovered watermarks are identified. A continuity of the content can then be assessed in accordance with the one or more attributes. The continuity assessment may be based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to a determined heartbeat of the recovered watermarks, a density, separation, location, or extent, of the recovered watermarks, as well as information associated with the watermarks, such as a stego key, channel bits, packet numbers, a fingerprint, or the like.

Claims

1. A method for assessing continuity of a content using embedded watermarks, comprising:

recovering the embedded watermarks from said content;

determining a density and separation of said recovered watermarks; and

assessing a continuity of said content by determining whether said density and separation conform to one or more predefined distributions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said distributions are defined in accordance with content usage policies.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said continuity assessment comprises determining an amount of cuts, insertions, and re-ordering of segments in said content.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a presence of spuriously captured watermarked segments.

5. A method for assessing continuity of a content using embedded watermarks, comprising:

recovering the embedded watermarks from said content;

determining a stego key associated with said recovered watermarks; and

assessing a continuity of said content in accordance with said determined stego key and an embedding stego key, said embedding stego key comprising a plurality of parameters associated with watermark embedding opportunities associated with said content.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein only a portion of said embedding stego key is used for said continuity assessment.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said continuity assessment comprises determining an amount of at least one of cuts, insertions, and re-ordering of segments in said content.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining a presence of spuriously captured watermarked segments.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein said assessing is carried out in accordance with a statistical measure and a threshold of acceptability.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein said assessing is carried out in accordance with a length of an originally watermarked content.