Controlling Rights to a Drawing in a Three-Dimensional Modeling Environment

• US 20130120369A1
• Filed: 11/14/2012
• Published: 05/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Inventors: Miller, Tyler, Bacus, John M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,218,692 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1086 Superdistribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2145 Inheriting rights or properties, e.g., propagation of permissions or restrictions within a hierarchy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0064 for copy protection or copy management, e.g. CGMS, copy only once, one-time copy

Abstract

A first user having a certain set of privileges with respect to an initial three-dimensional (3D) model associates a watermark with the initial 3D model, so that the watermark is displayed whenever the initial 3D model is viewed or edited. A second user having a smaller set of privileges with respect to the initial 3D model is permitted to view, copy and/or modify the initial 3D model, but is not permitted to remove or alter the content of the watermark. The watermark is continuously displayed as the second user works with the initial 3D model. When the second user applies a change to the initial 3D model, an indication of the modifications applied by the second user is generated and stored with the model data corresponding to the updated 3D model.

Claims

1. A method of controlling rights to three-dimensional models, comprising:

rendering, at a display device, an initial three-dimensional (3D) model and a first watermark, the first watermark corresponding to a first association between a first user and initial model data corresponding to the initial 3D model, the first watermark being indicative of rights of the first user to the initial model data, and the initial model data stored on a computer-readable medium;

receiving, via a user interface, a user-initiated command from a second user to modify a portion of the initial 3D model;

modifying, in accordance with the user-initiated command, a respective portion of the initial model data corresponding to the portion of the initial 3D model to form updated model data corresponding to an updated 3D model;

generating and storing a second association between the second user and the updated model data;

rendering the updated 3D model in conjunction with the first watermark; and

preventing the second user from disassociating the first watermark and the updated 3D model.

2. The method of claim 1,

further comprising:

receiving a request from the first user to secure the rights to the initial three-dimensional (3D) model, and

in response to the request, generating a rights indication, the rights indication storing an indication of the rights of the first user to the initial model data corresponding to the initial 3D model; and

wherein the first association between the first watermark and the initial model data is based on the rights indication.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the rights indication is a first rights indication and the request is a first request; and

the method further comprises;

receiving a second request from the second user to secure rights to the updated 3D model, and

in response to the second request, generating a second rights indication, the second rights indication storing an indication of rights of the second user to a portion of the updated model data corresponding to the modified respective portion of the initial model data; and

generating and storing the second association is based on the second rights indication.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein rendering the updated 3D model in conjunction with the first watermark comprises rendering the first watermark in a background of a display that includes the rendering of the updated 3D model.

5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising providing user-indicated content in the rendering of the first watermark.

6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising rendering a second watermark corresponding to the second association in conjunction with the rendering of the first watermark and the updated 3D model.

7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

including an indication of the first association in first metadata corresponding to the initial model data; and

including an indication of the second association in second metadata corresponding to the modified respective portion of the initial model data included in the updated model data.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising including an indication of the first association corresponding to the initial model data in third metadata corresponding to the updated model data, the third metadata including the second metadata.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein modifying the respective portion of the initial model data comprises applying a change to the respective portion of the initial model data, the change corresponding to at least one of an addition, a deletion, or a change to a characteristic of a component corresponding to the respective portion of the initial model data.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the user-initiated command is a first user-initiated command; and

the method further comprises;

receiving an indication of a second user-initiated command to hide the rendering of the first watermark mark; and

hiding the rendering of the first watermark in response to the receiving of the indication of the second user-initiated command.

11. A system for controlling rights to three-dimensional model data, comprising:

a first memory storing initial model data corresponding to an initial three-dimensional (3D) model, and storing an indication of a first association between a first user and the initial 3D model; and

computer-executable instructions stored on the first memory or on a second memory, the computer-executable instructions being executable by a processor to;

receive a user-initiated command from a second user to modify a portion of the initial 3D model;

apply a change, in accordance with the user-initiated command, to the initial model data to form updated model data corresponding to an updated 3D model;

store an indication of a second association between the second user and the change;

cause a rendering, on a display device, of a first watermark corresponding to the first association in conjunction with a rendering of the updated 3D model, the first watermark being indicative of rights of the first user to the initial model data; and

prevent the second user from disassociating the first watermark and the updated 3D model.

12. A system according to claim 11, wherein the rendering of the first watermark is in a background of a display including the rendering of the updated 3D model.

13. A system according to claim 11, wherein the first watermark includes user-indicated content.

14. A system according to claim 11, wherein the rendering of the updated 3D model includes a rendering of a second watermark corresponding to the second association, the second watermark being indicative of rights of the second user to the change applied to the initial model data.

15. A system according to claim 11, wherein the indication of the first association is included in first metadata corresponding to the initial 3D model, and wherein the indication of the second association is included in second metadata corresponding to the change.

16. A system according to claim 11, wherein the indication of the first association and the indication of the second association are included in metadata corresponding to the updated 3D model.

17. A system according to claim 11, wherein the first memory storing the initial model data is accessed by the second user via a web browser.

18. A system according to claim 11, wherein:

the second user is accorded a set of access privileges to the initial 3D model; and

the system further comprises additional computer-executable instructions to accord, to a third user, a different set of access privileges to the initial 3D model.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein the different set of access privileges includes permission, for the third user, to at least one of:

view the initial 3D model, add a new portion to the initial 3D model, delete a selected portion of the initial 3D model, export the initial 3D model, or copy the initial 3D model.

20. A non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium comprising:

computer-executable instructions stored thereon and executable to;

receive a first request from a user to view an initial three-dimensional (3D) model;

cause the initial three-dimensional (3D) model and a first watermark corresponding to an owning party to be displayed, wherein the user is not the owning party;

receive a second request from the user to modify the initial 3D model;

apply a change, corresponding to the second request, to initial model data corresponding to the initial 3D model to generate updated model data corresponding to an updated 3D model; and

store an indication of an association between an indication of the first watermark and the updated model data, the association being indicative of rights of the owning party to the initial 3D model.

21. A non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium according to claim 20, wherein the computer-executable instructions stored thereon are further executable to prevent the user from disassociating the indication of the first watermark and the updated model data.

22. A non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium according to claim 20, wherein the user is a first user, and the non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium further comprises additional executable instructions stored thereon and executable to:

receive a third request from a second user to at least one of view, copy, export, or modify the initial three-dimensional (3D) model;

determine a level of access to the initial 3D model for the second user; and

grant or deny the third request based on the level of access.

23. A non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium according to claim 20, wherein the indication of the association between the indication of the first watermark and the updated model data is stored in metadata corresponding to the updated model data.

24. A non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium according to claim 20, wherein the first request and the second request are received via a web browser.

25. A method in a computing device for controlling rights to a three-dimensional model, the method comprising:

generating model data corresponding to a three-dimensional (3D) model in accordance with a plurality of commands received from a user via a user interface of the computing device, including invoking a plurality of modeling functions;

generating an indication that the user has developed the 3D model;

storing the indication along with the model data;

rendering the 3D model at the user interface;

in response to determining that the user has been granted a set of restricted rights to the plurality of modeling functions;

rendering a watermark in conjunction with the rendering of the 3D model, wherein the watermark includes at least one of an image or text, and

preventing the user from disassociating the watermark from the 3D model.

26. A method according to claim 25, further comprising:

in response to determining that the user has been granted an enhanced set of rights to the plurality of modeling functions, the enhanced set of rights having a greater number of rights than the set of restricted rights, disassociating the watermark from the 3D model, whereby the watermark is not rendered in conjunction with the rendering of the 3D model.

27. A method according to claim 25, wherein rendering the watermark includes rendering at least one of an image or text indicative of the set of restricted rights of the user to the plurality of modeling functions.

28. A method according to claim 25, wherein determining that the user has been granted the set of restricted rights to the plurality of modeling functions includes identifying a trial subscription corresponding to the user.

29. A method according to claim 25, wherein rendering the watermark in conjunction with the rendering of the 3D model includes causing the watermark to be displayed in a background of the rendering of the 3D model.