Method and system for audio-video signal processing

• US 9,785,841 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2015
• Issued: 10/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Davis, Bruce L., Conwell, William Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): Reagan, James A
• Application Number:
  US14/930,298
• Publication Number:
  US 20160188979A1
• Time in Patent Office: 708 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/46 Extracting features or characteristics from the video content, e.g. video fingerprints, representative shots or key frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2353 specifically adapted to content descriptors, e.g. coding, compressing or processing of metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26606 for generating or managing entitlement messages, e.g. Entitlement Control Message [ECM] or Entitlement Management Message [EMM] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8352 involving content or source identification data, e.g. Unique Material Identifier [UMID]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• 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 21/8405 represented by keywords

Abstract

Both fingerprinting and watermark decoding processes are applied to received items of audio-visual content. Further processing is applied as well. This further processing depends on output data from the watermark decoding process, and can cause two items of seemingly-identical audio-visual content to be further-processed in different ways.

Claims

1. A method of signal processing that includes processing a received item of audio-visual content to derive both fingerprint and steganographic watermark data, the method comprising the acts:

processing the received item of audio-visual content to derive watermark data therefrom, said watermark data having been previously steganographically encoded in said content;

obtaining metadata for the received item of audio-visual content, based on the derived watermark data;

also processing the received item of audio-visual content to derive fingerprint data therefrom, the derived fingerprint data being different than the derived watermark data;

searching a database of reference fingerprint data for a match with the derived fingerprint data, to thereby determine identity information for a piece of pre-existing audio-visual work included in the received item of audio-visual content;

determining an amount of said piece of pre-existing audio-visual work that is included in the received item of audio-visual content, based on said derived fingerprint data or said derived watermark data, said amount comprising a certain percentage, or a certain duration, of the pre-existing audio-visual work; and

governing use of said item of received audio-visual content based on (1) the determined identity information for the pre-existing audio-visual work;

(2) the determined amount of the pre-existing audio-visual work that is included in the received item of content; and

(3) the obtained metadata;

wherein use of two items of received audio-visual content that appear identical to a human observer, having the same determined identity information and the same determined amount of the pre-existing audio-visual work, are nonetheless governed in two different ways, due to a difference in the obtained metadata for said two items of received content.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said obtained metadata indicates that a first party was included in a chain of distribution of a first of said two items of received content, and was not included in a chain of distribution of the a second of said two items of received content.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said first party is different than a party from whom the first item of audio-visual content was received.

4. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing software instructions for configuring a computer system to perform a method that includes processing a received item of audio-visual content to derive both fingerprint and steganographic watermark data, said method comprising the acts:

processing the received item of audio-visual content to derive watermark data therefrom that was previously steganographically encoded in said content;

obtaining metadata for the received item of audio-visual content, based on the derived watermark data;

also processing the received item of audio-visual content to derive fingerprint data therefrom, the derived fingerprint data being different than the derived watermark data;

searching a database of reference fingerprint data for a match with the derived fingerprint data, to thereby determine identity information for a piece of pre-existing audio-visual work included in the received item of audio-visual content;

determining an amount of said piece of pre-existing audio-visual work that is included in the received item of audio-visual content, based on said derived fingerprint data or said derived watermark data, said amount comprising a certain percentage, or a certain duration, of the pre-existing audio-visual work; and

governing use of said item of received audio-visual content based on (1) the determined identity information for the pre-existing audio-visual work;

(2) the determined amount of the pre-existing audio-visual work that is included in the received item of content; and

(3) the obtained metadata;

wherein use of two items of received audio-visual content that appear identical to a human observer, having the same determined identity information and the same determined amount of the pre-existing audio-visual work, are nonetheless governed in two different ways, due to a difference in the obtained metadata for said two items of received content.

5. A computer system for ingesting and re-distributing a received item of audio-visual content, comprising:

watermark decoder means for deriving watermark data from a received item of audio-visual content uploaded by a user, the watermark data having been previously steganographically encoded in said content;

fingerprint derivation means for deriving fingerprint data from said received item of audio-visual content, the derived fingerprint data being different than the derived watermark data;

one or more processors and memory, the memory containing software instructions for configuring the computer system to perform acts including;

obtaining metadata for said received item of audio-visual content, based on the derived watermark data;

searching a database of reference fingerprint data for a match with the derived fingerprint data, to thereby determine identity information for a piece of pre-existing audio-visual work included in the received item of audio-visual content;

determining an amount of said piece of pre-existing audio-visual work that is included in the received item of audio-visual content, based on said derived fingerprint data or said derived watermark data, said amount comprising a certain percentage, or a certain duration, of the pre-existing audio-visual work; and

governing use of said received item of audio-visual content based on (1) the determined identity information for the pre-existing audio-visual work;

(2) the determined amount of the pre-existing audio-visual work that is included in the received item of audio-visual content; and

(3) the obtained metadata;

wherein use of two items of received audio-visual content that appear identical to a human observer, having the same determined identity information and the same determined amount of the pre-existing audio-visual work, are nonetheless governed in two different ways, due to a difference in the obtained metadata for said two items of received content.