Data transmission by watermark proxy

• US 6,965,682 B1
• Filed: 02/15/2000
• Issued: 11/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Conwell, William Y., Davis, Bruce L., Evans, Douglas B., Rhoads, Geoffrey B.
• Primary Examiner(s): COUSO, YON JUNG
• Application Number:
  US09/504,239
• Time in Patent Office: 2,100 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/112, 382/232, 382/183, 382/305, 382/306, 358/444, 707/9, 707/202, 713/200, 713/176, 380/4, 380/8, 380/54, 380/287, 709/217
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/583 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2895 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data provider application, e.g. reverse proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5651 Reducing the amount or size of exchanged application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 taking into account QoS or priority requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

A media object sensed at one location is delivered at a second remote location, or an application associated with the object is made available at the second location. In some embodiments, the delivered object is of a higher quality than the sensed object. In other embodiments, larger objects requiring higher bandwidth for effective transmission are delivered notwithstanding low bandwidth bottlenecks between the first and second locations. Such advantages are achieved by employing watermark data as proxies for media objects and associated applications.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

sensing a media object in human-perceptible form, and converting same to an electronic form, said sensing and converting being performed by a first device;

decoding object identification data from the electronic form, wherein the object identification data comprises plural-bit watermark data steganographically encoded within the sensed media object;

by reference to said object identification data, identifying a set of data stored in a repository at a remote site, the set of data comprising at least one media content file; and

sending said set of data from said repository, wherein the media content file represents the same media object as originally sensed, but represented with higher fidelity or accuracy.

2. The method of claim 1 in which:

the media object comprises a graphic on a printed page; and

the sending comprises sending the set of data to a second device remote from the first device.

10. The method of claim 1 in which the decoding is performed by a second device remote from the first device.

14. The method of claim 1 which includes sending the set of data from the repository to a second device after decoding the watermark data at a third device distinct from the first and second devices.

15. The method of claim 1 in which the media object comprises audio.

3. A method comprising:

sensing a media object in human-perceptible form, and converting same to an electronic form, said sensing and converting being performed by a first device;

decoding object identification data from the electronic form, wherein the object identification data comprises plural-bit watermark data steganographically encoded within the sensed media object;

by reference to said object identification data, identifying a set of data stored in a repository at a remote site, the set of data comprising at least one media content file; and

sending said set of data from said repository, wherein the decoding is also performed by said first device, and the method includes sending at least a part of the watermark data from the first device.

4. The method of claim 3 which includes sending at least a part of the watermark data to a second device, the second device being remote from the first device.

5. The method of claim 4 in which the data repository comprises the second device.

6. A method comprising:

sensing a media object in human-perceptible form, and converting same to an electronic form, said sensing and converting being performed by a first device;

decoding object identification data from the electronic form, the object identification data comprising plural-bit watermark data steganographically encoded within the sensed media object, wherein the decoding is performed by the first device;

sending at least a part of the watermark data from the first device to a data repository, the data repository being remote from the first device;

by reference to said object identification data, identifying a set of data stored in the data repository, the set of data comprising at least one media content file; and

sending a destination identifier to the data repository from the first device, the data repository thereafter sending the set of data in accordance with said destination identifier.

18. The method according to claim 6, wherein the destination identifier is sent with the at least a part of the watermark data.

19. The method according to claim 6, wherein the set of data is sent from the data repository to a second device, wherein the second device is remote from both the first device and the data repository.

7. A method comprising:

sensing a media object in human-perceptible form, and converting same to an electronic form, said sensing and converting being performed by a first device;

decoding object identification data from the electronic form, the object identification data comprising plural-bit watermark data steganographically encoded within the sensed media object, wherein the decoding is performed by said first device;

sending at least a part of the watermark data from the first device to a second device, the second device being remote from the first device;

from the second device, accessing a data repository by use of the at least a part of the watermark data, wherein the second device is distinct from the data repository;

by reference to said object identification data, identifying a set of data stored in the data repository, the set of data comprising at least one media content file;

sending said set of data from said data repository; and

receiving at the second device, the set of data from the data repository.

8. The method of claim 7 which includes transmitting capability data from the second device to the repository, the capability data indicating the type(s) of media acceptable to the second device, and sending from the repository to the second device one of said types of media corresponding to said watermark data.

9. A method comprising:

sensing a media object in human-perceptible form, and converting same to an electronic form, said sensing and converting being performed by a first device;

decoding object identification data from the electronic form, the object identification data comprising plural-bit watermark data steganographically encoded within the sensed media object, wherein the decoding is performed by said first device;

sending at least a part of the watermark data from the first device to a second device, the second device being remote from the first device and being distinct from a data repository at a remote site;

by reference to said object identification data, identifying a set of data stored in the data repository at the remote site, the set of data comprising at least one media content file; and

sending said set of data from said data repository.

20. The method of claim 9, wherein the set of data is sent from the repository to the second device.

11. A method comprising:

sensing a media object in human-perceptible form, and converting same to an electronic form, said sensing and converting being performed by a first device;

sending the electronic form of the media object to a second device remote from the first device;

decoding object identification data from the electronic form, the object identification data comprising plural-bit watermark data steganographically encoded within the sensed media object, the decoding being performed by the second device;

using at least part of said watermark data to access a data repository at a remote site;

by reference to said object identification data, identifying a set of data stored in the data repository at the remote site, the set of data comprising at least one media content file;

sending said set of data from said data repository; and

receiving, at the second device, the set of data from said data repository.

12. The method of claim 11 in which the data repository comprises the second device.

13. The method of claim 11 in which the data repository is distinct from the second device.

16. A method of invoking delivery of a set of data from a repository to a destination that includes:

sensing a media object in human-perceptible form, and converting same to an electronic form, said sensing and converting being performed by a first device;

decoding object identification data from the electronic form, wherein the object identification data comprises plural-bit watermark data steganographically encoded within the sensed media object; and

transmitting at least some of said decoded object identification data, without transmitting said electronic form, so as to invoke delivery of the set of data from the repository to the destination.

17. A computer storage medium having stored thereon instructions causing a computer to perform the method of claim 16.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the repository communicates with a network, and wherein the first device communicates with the network through a relatively low bandwidth channel, and the destination communicates with the network through a relatively high bandwidth channel, the destination being distinct from the first device.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein the decoded object identification data is transmitted from the first device to the repository with instructions to invoke delivery of the data set from the repository to the destination.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the instructions include an address of the destination.

24. The method of claim 16 wherein the decoded object identification data is transmitted from the first device to the destination, and the destination communicates instructions to the repository to invoke delivery of the data set from the repository to the destination.

25. The method of claim 24, in which the decoding is performed by the destination.

26. The method of claim 16 which includes sending the set of data from the repository to a second device after decoding the watermark data at a third device which is distinct from the first and second devices, wherein the destination comprises the second device.

27. A method of invoking delivery of audio or imagery content from a repository to a destination, said method comprising:

sensing media in human-perceptible form, and converting same to an electronic form, said sensing and converting being performed by a first device;

decoding object identification data from the electronic form, wherein the object identification data comprises plural-bit data steganographically encoded within the sensed media; and

transmitting at least some of said decoded object identificaiton data, without transmitting said electronic form, so as to invoke delivery of imagery content from the repository to the destination.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the audio or imagery content is sent from the data repository to a second device, wherein the second device is remote from both the first device and the repository.

29. The method of claim 27 wherein the first device comprises a cell phone.

30. The method of claim 27 wherein the audio or imagery content comprises enhanced content relative to the media.

31. The method of claim 27 wherein the repository receives information indicating which type of audio or imagery content is suitably renderable by receiving device, and tailors delivery of audio or imagery content in accordance therewith.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the audio or imagery content is to sent from the data repository to a second device, wherein the second device is remote from bothe the first device and the repository, and wherein the repository receives information indicating which type of audio or imagery content is suitably renderable by the second device, and tailors delivery of audio or imagery content in accordance therewith.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the information is transmitted to the repository from the second device.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the information is transmitted to the repository from the first device.

35. The method of claim 31 wherein the information is received in response to an inquiry made by the repository.

36. The method of claim 27 wherein the repository communicates with a network, and wherein the first device communicates with the network through a relatively low bandwidth channel, and the destination communicates with the network through a relatively high bandwidth channel, the destination being distinct form the first device.