Active watermarks and watermark agents

• US 8,015,411 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Issued: 09/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Zhao, Jian
• Primary Examiner(s): Shiferaw; Eleni A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fields; Courtney D
• Application Number:
  US11/926,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20080056531A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,408 Days
• Field of Search: 713/176, 713/177, 713/178, 713/179, 726/26
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2143 Clearing memory, e.g. to prevent the data from being stolen
• 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 1/32267 combined with processing of the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32304 Embedding different sets of additional information

Abstract

Techniques for protecting the security of digital representations and of analog forms made from them, including a technique for authenticating an analog form produced from the digital representation, an active watermark that contains program code that may be executed when the watermark is read, and a watermark agent that reads watermarks and sends messages with information concerning the digital representations that contain the watermarks. A watermark agent may be a permanent resident of a node in a network or of a device or it may move from one network node to another. The watermark agent executes code which examines digital representations residing in the node or device for watermarked digital representations that are of interest to the watermark agent. The watermark agent then sends messages which report the results of its examination of the digital representations. If the watermarks are active, the agent and the active watermark may cooperate.

Claims

1. An apparatus for monitoring watermarked digital representation in a system which is not a dedicated digital rights management system, the system including a processor and a memory device to which the processor has access, and the system being capable of performing an action on the watermarked digital representation which is potentially a misuse of the watermarked digital representation, the apparatus being resident in the memory device and the apparatus comprising:

a watermark agent that includes a program which, when executed, responds to the watermark when the agent determines on the basis of the watermark that the action is an actual or potential misuse of the watermarked digital representation by causing the system to respond to the actual or potential misuse; and

a watermark agent engine that, when executed by the processor, provides an environment in the system for executing the watermark agent'"'"'s program and executes the watermark agent'"'"'s program in the environment.

2. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the watermark agent and watermark agent engine are permanently resident in the memory device.

3. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 2 wherein:

the system makes the watermarked digital representation from an analog form of the watermarked digital representation.

4. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the system is a node in a network;

the watermark agent engine is addressable in the network; and

the watermark agent engine receives the watermark agent from another node in the network.

5. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 4 wherein:

the system receives the watermarked digital representation from another node in the network; and

the other node provides the watermarked digital representation to the system only if the system has the watermark agent engine.

6. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 5 wherein:

the system receives the watermark agent engine from another node in the network.

7. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 4 wherein:

the watermark agent sends itself from the other node to the watermark agent engine.

8. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 7 wherein:

the watermarked digital representation is one of a set thereof that are resident in the system, and when the watermark agent has monitored all of the watermarked digital representations in the set, the watermark agent sends itself to a further node in the network.

9. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the watermark agent further monitors a digital representation that should have a watermark but does not.

10. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the system is a node in a network; and

the response of the system is causing the processor to send a message concerning the watermarked digital representation to another node in the network.

11. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 10 wherein:

the other node in the network monitors performance of the action involving the watermarked digital representation in the system; and

the message concerns the action.

12. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the response of the system is causing the processor to send a message concerning the watermarked digital representation to another component of the system.

13. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 12 wherein:

the other component monitors performance of the action involving the watermarked digital representation in the system; and

the message concerns the action.

14. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the response of the system is to cause the processor to perform an operation on the watermarked digital representation.

15. The apparatus for responding to the watermark set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the watermark contains a watermark program which is executable in the watermark agent engine; and

the watermark agent responds to the watermark by causing the watermark agent engine to execute the watermark program.

16. An apparatus in a node in a network for monitoring performance of an action involving one or more watermarked digital representations in other nodes in the network, the node including a processor and a memory device to which the processor has access and the apparatus comprising:

an agent generator in the memory device that, when executed by a processor, generates a watermark agent, the watermark agent including a program that, when executed, reads the watermarked digital representation'"'"'s watermark in one or more other nodes in which the watermark agent is resident and determines whether the action has been performed and thereupon sends a message concerning the performance to the apparatus for monitoring performance, the watermark agent proceeding to the one or more other nodes, becoming resident therein, and the program being executed therein; and

a message handler in the memory device that, when executed by the processor, receives the message sent by the watermark agent from the one or more other nodes in which the watermark agent is resident and deals therewith.

17. The apparatus for monitoring performance of the action involving the watermarked digital representation set forth in claim 16 wherein:

the watermark agent further includes a map specifying locations of the one or more other nodes.

18. The apparatus for monitoring performance of the action involving the watermarked digital representation set forth in claim 17 further comprising:

a list of other nodes of interest in the memory device that is accessible to the agent generator when executed; and

the agent generator uses the list of other nodes of interest to make the map.

19. The apparatus for monitoring performance of the action involving the watermarked digital representation set forth in claim 17 wherein

the apparatus monitors whether the action conforms to a right in the watermarked digital representation;

the apparatus further comprises information about the right in memory accessible to the agent generator;

the watermark agent further contains a description of the right which affects behavior of the watermark agent'"'"'s program; and

the agent generator uses the information about the right to make the description of the right.

20. The apparatus for monitoring performance of the action involving the watermarked digital representation set forth in claim 16 wherein

the apparatus further comprises one or more agent templates in the memory device, an agent template specifying a kind of watermark agent and

when executed, the agent generator employs a given one of the templates to generate a watermark agent belonging to the given template'"'"'s kind.

21. A method practiced in a node of a network of monitoring performance of an action involving a set of watermarked digital representations resident in the node, the node including a processor and a memory device accessible to the processor and the method comprising the steps performed by the processor of:

receiving a watermark agent in the node and storing the watermark agent in the memory device, the watermark agent including a program which, when executed in the node, reads the watermarks in the watermarked digital representations of the set, makes a determination whether the action has been performed and/or is potentially performable for each of the watermarked digital representations, and responds to the determination; and

executing the program in the node.

22. The method set forth in claim 21 wherein:

when executed by the processor, the program further sends a message indicating the determination.

23. The method set forth in claim 22 wherein:

the message is sent to an entity in the node.

24. The method set forth in claim 22 wherein:

the message is sent to an entity in another node in the network.

25. The method set forth in claim 21 wherein:

the program further causes the watermark agent to send itself to another node in the network.