Unique watermark generation and detection during a conference

• US 10,419,511 B1
• Filed: 10/04/2016
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zoom Video Communications, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Zoom Video Communications, Inc.
• Inventors: Yuan, Zheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Katsikis, Kostas J
• Application Number:
  US15/285,266
• Time in Patent Office: 1,078 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• 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 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 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

The unique watermark system comprising: identifying a presenter attendee, a first recipient attendee, and a second recipient attendee through a video conferencing session; detecting the presenter attendee sharing the visual content with the first recipient attendee and the second recipient attendee; selecting a first unique watermark and a second unique watermark from the plurality of unique watermarks and assigning them to a first recipient attendee and a second recipient attendee, respectively; inserting the first unique watermark into the visual content for the first recipient attendee and the second unique watermark into the visual content for the second recipient attendee; and transmitting the visual content with the first unique watermark to the first recipient attendee and the visual content with the second unique watermark to the second recipient attendee, wherein the method is performed by one or more special-purpose computing devices for hosting the video conferencing session.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

Identifying a presenter attendee, a first recipient attendee, and a second recipient attendee during a video conferencing session prior to sharing private visual content;

detecting the presenter attendee sharing the visual content with the first recipient attendee and the second recipient attendee;

selecting a first unique watermark and a second unique watermark from a plurality of unique watermarks and assigning them to the first recipient attendee and the second recipient attendee, respectively;

inserting the first unique watermark into the private visual content for the first recipient attendee and the second unique watermark into the private visual content for the second recipient attendee; and

displaying the private visual content with the first unique watermark to the first recipient attendee and the private visual content with the second unique watermark to the second recipient attendee, wherein the first unique watermark is configured to be displayed solely to the first recipient attendee with the private visual content during the video conferencing session and wherein the second unique watermark is configured to be displayed solely to the second recipient attendee with the private visual content during the video conferencing session,

wherein the method is performed by one or more special-purpose computing devices for hosting the video conferencing session.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual content is an image.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual content is a document.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual content is a video clip.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a location within the visual content to place the first unique watermark.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the location allows the first unique watermark to be undetected by the first recipient attendee.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the location allows the first unique watermark to be visible by the first recipient attendee.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising randomizing a location to place the first unique watermark within a plurality of frames comprising a video clip.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein inserting the first unique watermark occurs at a client device associated with the first recipient attendee.

10. A method comprising:

using a first computer server, obtaining from one or more non-transitory computer-readable data storage media a copy of one or more sequences of instructions that are stored on the media and are arranged, when executed using a second computer among a plurality of other computers to cause the second computer to perform;

identifying a presenter attendee, a first recipient attendee, and a second recipient attendee during a video conferencing session prior to sharing private visual content;

detecting the presenter attendee for sharing the private visual content with the first recipient attendee and the second recipient attendee;

selecting a first unique watermark and a second unique watermark from a plurality of unique watermarks and assigning them to the first recipient attendee and the second recipient attendee, respectively;

inserting the first unique watermark into the private visual content for the first recipient attendee and the second unique watermark into the private visual content for the second recipient attendee; and

displaying the private visual content with the first unique watermark to the first recipient attendee and the private visual content with the second unique watermark to the second recipient attendee during the video conferencing session, wherein the first unique watermark is configured to be displayed solely to the first recipient attendee with the visual content during the video conferencing session and wherein the second unique watermark is configured to be displayed solely to the second recipient attendee with the visual content during the video conferencing session,

wherein the method is performed by one or more special-purpose computing devices for hosting the video conferencing session.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the visual content is an image.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the visual content is a document.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the visual content is a video clip.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising selecting a location within the visual content to place the first unique watermark.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the location allows the first unique watermark to be undetected by the first recipient attendee.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the location allows the first unique watermark to be visible by the first recipient attendee.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising randomizing a location to place the first unique watermark within a plurality of frames comprising a video clip.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein inserting the first unique watermark occurs at a client device associated with the first recipient attendee.