Connected audio and other media objects

• US 20030021441A1
• Filed: 06/27/2002
• Published: 01/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Levy, Kenneth L., Rhoads, Geoffrey B., Brunk, Hugh L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,711,564 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73

Abstract

The present invention related to a method and system to link an audio signal to metadata or actions. The audio signal may include plural-bit data encoded in the form of a digital watermark. The audio signal is received from a user'"'"'s device, and the embedded digital watermark is decoded to obtain the plural-bit data, and/or an identifier is dynamically derived from the audio signal by computing a fingerprint of the audio signal. A set of data is identified with the plural-bit data, and then the fingerprint identifier is mapped to specific data within the set of data, and at least a portion of the specific data is returned to the user'"'"'s device.

Claims

1. A method of linking an audio signal to metadata or actions, the audio signal comprising plural-bit data encoded in the form of a digital watermark, said method comprising:

receiving the audio signal from a user device;

decoding the digital watermark embedded in the audio signal to obtain the plural-bit data;

deriving an identifier from the audio signal by computing a hash or fingerprint of the audio signal;

identifying a set of data with the plural-bit data;

identifying, with the identifier, data that is related to the audio signal from within the set of data; and

returning at least a portion of the identified related data to the user device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the related data includes metadata.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the returned related data includes one or more links to data or to an action on a network.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the one or more links includes a link to an electronic transaction system for purchasing a product related to the audio signal.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the one or more links includes a link to a network web page.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the web page can be navigated via the user'"'"'s device.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein network navigation is based upon at least one of a fetch command comprising a link to a network web page, a back command comprising a return to a previous web page, and a home command comprising a link to a predetermined web page.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the web page can be navigated from at least a personal computer at a later time.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein the one or more links includes links to download music or videos in streaming or file format.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the hash or fingerprint is derived from a filtered version of the audio signal.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the hash or fingerprint is derived from a hash of the filtered version of the audio signal.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user device is a wireless phone and the returned data is sent to the wireless phone via a wireless carrier.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital watermark comprises a synchronization component, and said method further comprises the step of synchronizing the audio signal with the synchronization component prior to said step of deriving an identifier.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identified related data comprises at least one audio recording, and said method further comprises saving the audio recording on a network server for future access by a user of the user device.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the network server supports a web page interface to access the audio recording, and wherein the web page can be navigated from a web browser for a period of time after saving of the audio recording.

16. A method of linking an audio signal to metadata or actions, the audio signal including plural-bit data embedded therein in the form of a digital watermark, said method comprising:

receiving at least a portion of the embedded audio signal from a user'"'"'s device;

decoding the digital watermark to recover the plural-bit data;

mapping the plural-bit data to an action; and

executing the action, including returning data to the user'"'"'s device.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the returned data includes metadata about the audio signal.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the returned data includes one or more links to other data or an action on a network.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the returned data includes information regarding at least one of artist, song, album, information, and purchase information.

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein the user device comprises a wireless phone and the returned data is sent to the wireless phone via a wireless carrier, said method further comprising the step of presenting at least a portion of the returning data to a user via the wireless phone.

21. A method of linking a signal to metadata or actions, the signal comprising plural-bit data encoded in the form of a digital watermark, said method comprising:

decoding the digital watermark embedded in the signal to obtain the plural-bit data;

deriving a hash or fingerprint of the signal; and

in a server;

executing a first action based on the plural-bit data; and

executing a second action a based on the hash or fingerprint.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said decoding and deriving steps are also performed in the server.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the decoding and deriving steps are performed in a user device, and said method further comprises the step of communicating the plural-bit data and the fingerprint to the server.

24. In a wireless communications system, a method of providing information to a mobile wireless user, a method comprising the steps:

receiving an audio signal from a user'"'"'s wireless device;

dynamically developing an identifier based on features of the audio signal;

in a server, mapping the identifier to an action; and

executing the action, including communicating data to the user'"'"'s wireless device.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the audio signal comprises a digital watermark embedded therein, the digital watermark comprising plural-bit data, said method further comprising the steps of decoding the digital watermark to obtain the plural-bit data, and prior to said mapping step, identifying a set of actions with the plural-bit data, wherein the identifier is mapped to an action within the set of actions.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the communicated data comprises at least one of artist, album, song title, purchase and delivery options, sample information, an audio signal, e-mail, CD sales information, information regarding saving a CD or song to an archive maintained on a website, concert tour information, artist background information, fan club information, song samples, alternative music title suggestions, and consumer response reporting.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of presenting at least a portion of the communicated data to a user via the user'"'"'s wireless device.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the communicated data is communicated to the wireless device via at least one of a text messaging service, voice message and alphanumeric messaging service.