Derivation and quantization of robust non-local characteristics for blind watermarking

• US 7,617,398 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2005
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Mihcak, M Kivanc, Venkatesan, Ramarathnam, Jakubowski, Mariusz H.
• Primary Examiner(s): KIM, JUNG W
• Application Number:
  US11/265,901
• Publication Number:
  US 20060059354A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,468 Days
• Field of Search: 713/176, 380/54, 380/201, 382/251
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/005 Robust watermarking, e.g. average attack or collusion attack resistant
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0052 Embedding of the watermark in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0065 Extraction of an embedded watermark; Reliable detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0083 whereby only watermarked image required at decoder, e.g. source-based, blind, oblivious
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002
• 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 1/32149 Methods relating to embedding, encoding, decoding, detection or retrieval operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32154 Transform domain methods H04N1/32309 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3217 using wavelet transforms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32187 with selective or adaptive application of the additional information, e.g. in selected frequency coefficients
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32277 Compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3232 Robust embedding or watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32341 Blind embedding, i.e. the original image not being known beforehand
• 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 2201/3233 of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/327 which are undetectable to the naked eye, e.g. embedded codes

Abstract

An implementation of a technology is described herein for deriving robust non-local characteristics and quantizing such characteristics for blind watermarking of a digital good.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for facilitating the protection of digital signals, the method comprising

obtaining a digital signal, wherein the digital signal comprises multi-dimensional data;

partitioning the signal into a plurality of segments by pseudorandomly segmenting the signal using a secret key, wherein the plurality of segments are pseudorandomly positioned using the secret key, such that said segments have the ability to overlap;

obtaining a watermark; and

using quantization index modulation (QIM), watermarking the signal with the watermark, wherein such QIM utilizes non-local characteristics of the signal, and wherein the non-local characteristics comprise statistics representative of one or more pseudorandomly dimensioned segments of the signal.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the non-local characteristics are representative characteristics of more than a single element of a signal.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the QIM is performed on statistics calculated for each said segment; and

the statistics for at least one said segment are based upon non-local characteristics of at least one other segment.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the digital signal is selected from a group consisting of a digital audio signal, a digital video signal, a digital image signal, and a digital multimedia signal.

5. One or more computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform the acts recited in claim 1.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

using QIM comprises applying multi-level quantization on an output of a segment-statistics calculator to obtain quantized data; and

a segment comprises a group of individual elements, and the non-local characteristics are representative of the group as a whole.

15. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein elements of a signal comprise:

color;

motion;

time;

space

amplitude; and

frequency.

6. One or more computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, cause a computer to perform a method comprising:

obtaining a digital signal;

partitioning the signal into a plurality of segments by pseudorandomly segmenting the signal using a secret key, wherein the plurality of segments are pseudorandomly positioned using the secret key, such that said segments have the ability to overlap;

obtaining a watermark;

using quantization index modulation (QIM) to apply multi-level quantization on an output of a segment-statistics calculator to obtain a quantized digital signal, wherein the QIM utilizes non-local characteristics of the signal, and wherein the non-local characteristics comprise statistics representative of one or more pseudorandomly dimensioned segments of the signal; and

watermarking the quantized digital signal with the watermark.

7. One or more media as recited in claim 6, wherein the non-local characteristics are representative characteristics of more than a single element of a signal.

8. One or more media as recited in claim 6, wherein:

the QIM uses statistics generated for each said segment; and

the statistics for each said segment are based in part upon non-local characteristics of at least two said segments.

13. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein:

the digital signal comprises multi-dimensional data; and

a segment comprises a group of individual elements, and the non-local characteristics are representative of the group as a whole.

9. A computer implemented method for facilitating the protection of digital signals, the method comprising:

one or more steps for obtaining a digital signal, wherein the digital signal comprises multi-dimensional data;

one or more steps for partitioning the signal into a plurality of segments by pseudorandomly segmenting the signal using a secret key, wherein the plurality of segments are pseudorandomly positioned, such that said segments have the ability to overlap;

one or more steps for obtaining a watermark; and

one or more steps for using quantization index modulation (QIM) to watermark the signal with the watermark, wherein;

the QIM utilizes non-local characteristics of the signal; and

the non-local characteristics comprise statistics representative of one or more pseudorandomly dimensioned segments of the signal.

10. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the non-local characteristics are representative characteristics of more than a single element of a signal.

11. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein:

the QIM is performed on statistics calculated for each said segment; and

the statistics for at least one said segment are based upon non-local characteristics of at least one other segment.

14. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein:

a segment comprises a group of individual elements, and the non-local characteristics are representative of the group as a whole; and

using QIM comprises applying multi-level quantization on an output of a segment-statistics calculator to obtain quantized data.