Paper products and physical objects as means to access and control a computer or to navigate over or act as a portal on a network

• US 7,986,806 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2004
• Issued: 07/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehta; Bhavesh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Krasnic; Bernard
• Application Number:
  US10/764,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20050013462A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,741 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 235/462.34, 235/468, 235/469
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06046 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/14 the marking being sensed by radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/18 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2019/06253 for a specific application
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1447 extracting optical codes from image or text carrying said optical code
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2011/02 related to amusement parks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/253 visually
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/0034 using watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/004 using digital security elements, e.g. information coded on a magnetic thread or strip
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/26 for printing, stamping, franking, typing or teleprinting apparatus ticket printing or the like apparatus G07F17/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 : Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00884 : involving a watermark, i.e. a barely perceptible transformation of the original data which can nevertheless be recognised by an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00891 : embedded in audio data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00005 : relating to image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00037 : Detecting, i.e. determining the occurrence of a predetermined state H04N1/00031 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00973 : from a remote device, e.g. receiving via the internet instructions input to a computer terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32122 : in a separate device, e.g. in a memory or on a display separate from image data
• 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 1/3216 : using Fourier transforms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32203 : Spatial or amplitude domain methods H04N1/32309 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32208 : involving changing the magnitude of selected pixels, e.g. overlay of information or super-imposition H04N1/32219, H04N1/32224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32229 : with selective or adaptive application of the additional information, e.g. in selected regions of the image H04N1/32213 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32251 : in multilevel data, e.g. greyscale or continuous tone data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32288 : Multiple embedding, e.g. cocktail embedding, or redundant embedding, e.g. repeating the additional information at a plurality of locations in the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32352 : Controlling detectability or arrangements to facilitate detection or retrieval of the embedded information, e.g. using markers for decoding, detection or retrieval operations H04N1/32149 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3225 : of data relating to an image, a page or a document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 : of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 : of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3249 : data relating to a linked page or object, e.g. hyperlink
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/327 : which are undetectable to the naked eye, e.g. embedded codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3271 : Printing or stamping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 : Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/328 : Processing of the additional information

Abstract

The claimed invention relates generally to steganography and watermarking. One claim recites: a method including: using an electronic application program to compose an electronic version of a document; providing the document onto a substrate, the provided substrate being steganographically encoded with plural-bit auxiliary data, the steganographically encoded plural-bit auxiliary data is substantially imperceptible to casual human inspection, but is detectable through visible light imaging of the document and processing of image data thereby produced; and storing at least some of the plural-bit auxiliary data in association with data identifying a location at which the electronic version of the document is stored. Of course, other combinations are provided and claimed as well.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

steganographically encoding, using at least a processor of a computer system, plural-bit auxiliary data onto a substrate at a specific location out of a plurality of distinct locations on the substrate, wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data is based at least in part on the specific location, wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data is substantially imperceptible to casual human inspection, but is detectable through normal ambient visible light imaging of the substrate without use of non-visible light lenses or filters, wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data is encoded such that decoding of the plural-bit auxiliary data relies on a Fourier transform that produces data in which scale and rotation can be ignored, and wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data comprises or links to information regarding use of an electronic version of a document that is placed onto the substrate; and

storing, in a memory of the computer system, at least a portion of the plural-bit auxiliary data in association with data identifying a location at which the electronic version of the document is stored.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises a registry database maintained by an operating system of the computer system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing is performed by an application program that is used to compose the electronic version of the document.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing is performed by an operating system of the computer system.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising printing the document onto the substrate using a printer driver, and wherein the storing is performed by the printer driver.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the steganographic encoding of the substrate results in subtle variations in a luminance of the substrate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the steganographic encoding takes the form of tiny elements of ink or toner distributed in a pattern so light as to be essentially un-noticeable.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the Fourier transform comprises a Fourier-Mellin transform.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data is steganographically encoded with digital watermarking.

10. A device comprising:

a processor configured to steganographically encode plural-bit auxiliary data onto a substrate at a specific location out of a plurality of distinct locations on the substrate, wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data is based at least in part on the specific location, wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data is substantially imperceptible to casual human inspection, but is detectable through normal ambient visible light imaging of the substrate without use of non-visible light lenses or filters, wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data is encoded such that decoding of the plural-bit auxiliary data relies on a Fourier transform that produces data in which scale and rotation can be ignored, and wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data comprises or links to information regarding use of an electronic version of a document that is placed onto the substrate; and

a memory operatively coupled to the processor and configured to store at least a portion-of the plural-bit auxiliary data in association with data identifying a location at which the electronic version of the document is stored.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to steganographically encode plural-bit auxiliary data onto a substrate at a specific location out of a plurality of distinct locations on the substrate, wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data is based at least in part on the specific location, wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data is substantially imperceptible to casual human inspection, but is detectable through normal ambient visible light imaging of the substrate without use of non-visible light lenses or filters, wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data is encoded such that decoding of the plural-bit auxiliary data relies on a Fourier transform that produces data in which scale and rotation can be ignored, and wherein the plural-bit auxiliary data comprises or links to information regarding use of an electronic version of a document that is placed onto the substrate; and

instructions to store at least a portion-of the plural-bit auxiliary data in association with data identifying a location at which the electronic version of the document is stored.