Automated copyright detection in digital images

• US 20070002362A1
• Filed: 09/01/2006
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shutterfly, LLC
• Original Assignee: Shutterfly Incorporated (Shutterfly, LLC)
• Inventors: Kacker, Dhiraj, Muzzolini, Russell Ennio
• Granted Patent: US 7,366,322 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.140
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/13 Satellite images

Abstract

A computer-assisted method for detecting copyright protection in digital images receives a digital image, searches for capture device information associated with the digital image, calculates one or more image characteristics of the digital image, and verifies copyright ownership and usage authorization of the digital image in response to the capture device information and the calculated image characteristics.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A computer-assisted method for detecting copyright protection in digital images, comprising:

receiving a digital image;

calculating one or more image characteristics of the digital image, wherein the image characteristics include an aspect ratio of the digital image; and

verifying copyright ownership or usage authorization of the digital image in response to the calculated image characteristics.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of calculating one or more image characteristics of the digital image is performed when no capture device information is found in the step of searching for capture device information associated with the digital image.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising comparing the calculated image characteristics with one or more predetermined criteria.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more predetermined criteria comprise an aspect ratio of about 1.33 or 1.5.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising comparing the calculated aspect ratio of the digital image to the aspect ratios of the digital images produced by digital cameras.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising verifying copyright ownership or usage authorization of the digital image in response to the result of the comparison between the calculated aspect ratio of the digital image and the aspect ratios of the digital images produced by digital cameras.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the image characteristics include at least one of:

image size, tone curve, color distribution and color balance, exposure conditions, pixel values, noise distribution, and pixel value histogram distributions.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the image characteristics include information embedded in the digital images.

29. The claim of 28, wherein the information embedded in the digital images relates to copyright ownership or usage authorization of the digital image.

30. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

searching for capture device information associated with the digital image; and

verifying copyright ownership or usage authorization of the digital image in response to the result of searching capture device information.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the capture device information comprises header information of the digital image.

32. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

ordering an image-based product or an image service using the digital image; and

providing the image-based product or image service using the digital image when the copyright ownership or the usage authorization of the digital image is verified.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the image-based product or image service includes photographic prints, electronic image sharing, photo greeting cards, photo holiday cards, photo calendars, photo album, and photo books.

34. The method of claim 21, further comprising uploading the digital image over a computer network to a server.

35. The method of claim 21, further comprising visually verifying copyright ownership, usage authorization, or the image content of the digital image.

36. A computer-assisted method for determining the probability of copyright protection in digital images, comprising:

uploading the digital image over a computer network to a server.

calculating one or more image characteristics of the digital image, wherein the image

characteristics include an aspect ratio of the digital image;

verifying copyright ownership or usage authorization of the digital image in response to the calculated image characteristics;

providing an image-based product or an image service using the digital image when copyright ownership is verified or usage authorization is received for the digital image; and

stopping to provide the image-based product or the image service using the digital image when copyright ownership is verified or usage authorization is not received for the digital image.

37. A system for preventing copyright infringement, comprising:

a computer configured to receive a digital image;

a processor configured to calculate one or more image characteristics of the digital image, wherein the image characteristics include an aspect ratio of the digital image; and

a copyright-verification system configured to verify copyright ownership or usage authorization of the digital image in response to the calculated image characteristics.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the processor configured to compare the calculated image characteristics with one or more predetermined criteria.

39. The system of claim 37, wherein the one or more predetermined criteria comprise an aspect ratio of about 1.33 or 1.5.

40. The system of claim 37, further comprising an interception system that is configured to suspend the production of the image-based product or image service when the copyright ownership cannot be verified or the usage authorization is not received for the digital image by the copyright-verification system