Image analysis – Applications
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-23
2004-03-02
Ahmed, Samir (Department: 2623)
Image analysis
Applications
C348S460000, C386S349000, C725S020000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06700989
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the processing of moving images. More particularly, it relates to technologies for inserting watermarks into moving images which are distributed as being accumulated and recorded in package type media, that is, moving images whose storage media are a video tape, a CD-ROM, an MO, a DVD, etc. Also, it relates to technologies for inserting and detecting watermarks into and from moving images of distributed network type distribution or broadcast type distribution, that is, moving images which are transmitted by the Internet, digital CATV and digital satellite broadcast. Further, it relates to technologies for copyright administration services for the moving images which are supplied by the above two distribution methods, and technologies for watermark information authentication services by third parties. More concretely, it relates to an insertion system, an insertion method and a storage medium which are applicable to the technologies mentioned above.
The present invention relates also to copy prevention technology concerning copyright protection.
The technical background which has given birth to the present invention is a situation where anybody can duplicate and edit a work by utilizing a personal computer, owing to the spread of digitization, the popularization of the Internet and the extensive uses of CDs, MOs, DVDs etc., and where problems concerning copyrights have become serious more and more. In order to prevent any illicit copy, therefore, the application of electronic watermark technology to moving images has become indispensable.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention deals with the protection of the copyright of moving image information which is circulated or distributed in the form of a package medium or which is transmitted in the form of broadcast, communication or the like. Owing to the recent innovation and mergence of techniques whose core is digitization, the moving image information has been extensively circulated, and the duplication and editing thereof have become easy. Accordingly, the protection of the copyright has become an important theme.
The forms in which the moving image information is circulated or transmitted, include the following:
(a) Analog moving image packages: Cinema, video tape, etc.
(b) Digital moving image packages: CD-ROM, MO, DVD, etc.
(c) Analog moving image broadcasts: Ground wave broadcast, cable TV, satellite broadcast, etc.
(d) Digital moving image broadcasts: Digital TV, digital cable TV, digital satellite broadcast, etc.
(e) Digital moving image communications: Internet communications, etc.
All of these technical fields handle moving images as their contents. Recently, the analog form and the digital form of identical content are converted between each other, and the package, broadcast and communication are employed in optional connections with one another. Especially, a digitized moving image can be readily duplicated into a noiseless copy, and it can be readily edited by a personal computer or the like. Therefore, how the copyright is protected is the important theme at present. Concretely, there are such subjects as whether the duplication is permitted or rejected in the first place, and how piracy is prevented.
Mentioned as prior-art techniques relevant to these subjects are the following:
(1) Scheme wherein, using copy restriction codes, the video recording duplication and reproduction display of moving image information stored in a package medium are permitted or barred in the drive of the medium.
(2) Scheme wherein the storage area of a package medium is divided into a data storage area for storing moving image data therein, and a control storage area for storing control information therein, the latter of which is protected hardware-wise, thereby to prevent the moving image data from being altered by general users.
(3) Scheme (such as MPEG) wherein a digital moving image is subjected to data compression so as to store or transmit the compressed data.
(4) Scheme wherein, in transmitting a moving image, it is encrypted in order that only specific allowed recipients may be able to decrypt the transmitted moving image.
(5) Scheme wherein a watermark camouflaged so as to be visually unperceivable (an invisible watermark) is inserted into the data of a moving image so as to transmit or circulate the resulted moving image.
Even with these schemes, however, a satisfactory scheme for the copyright protection has not hitherto been established yet. This is also obvious from “Call for Proposals” issued under the date of Jul. 1, 1997 by the Data Hiding SubGroup (DHSG) of the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG). The call for proposals invites public contributions of those proposed desirable schemes for the copyright protection which employ various “watermark” techniques conforming to the above scheme (5) and which realize the permission and barring of video recording/reproduction in the above scheme (1).
Note: “Call for Proposals”, Data Hiding SubGroup, Copy Protection Technical Working Group, Version 1.0, Jul. 1, 1997 was available on the World Wide Web at www.dvcc.com/dhsg.
The CPTWG is an association of traders concerned with digital video recording and reproduction, and technologies to be standardized in the trade are taken up here. Such a technology represents a present-day technological level in the field concerned. The proposals to the DHSG which is one of the subgroups of the CPTWG will contribute to the technical standard of the field concerned. Concretely, after being studied as a more comprehensive technology by the DTDG which is another subgroup, the proposals are expected to be reflected in the standard of a secure bus termed “IEEE1394”.
The present invention complies also with the Call for Proposals. In this regard, the prior art of electronic watermarking will be stated below.
There have hitherto been practiced copyright administration services for still images and music that utilize electronic watermarks. The electronic watermarking technique in the prior art is such that the ID of a copyright holder, the ID of image data, the ID of the recipient of the image data, the ID of a dealer mediating circulation, the ID of a user, etc. are embedded in accordance with the kind of the digital work. As an expedient for the technique, the image is circulated through the path of the Internet, and the ID numbers are open to anybody. By way of example, products “PictureMarc” (Digimarc Corporation in the U.S.) and “FBI Pro” (High Water Signum Ltd. in the U.K.) correspond to the expedient. As another expedient, the image is circulated by utilizing the Internet or the like, and the ID numbers are managed by key data. By way of example, products “SysCop” (Fraunhofer Center for Research Computer Graphics in the U.S.), “Tiger Marc Image/Data Blade” (NEC America in the U.S.) and “Argent” (Dice Co. in the U.S.) correspond to this other expedient.
Regarding researches on copyright administration schemes for moving images that utilize electronic watermarks, various methods in which a bandwidth compression technique (MPEG2) for the moving image is combined with the electronic watermarking have been proposed, and they are basically classified into two types. The first of these types is a data hiding scheme wherein electronic watermark information is inserted in a spatial frequency region so as to, spread the watermark information in a broad spectrum region. The second type is a scheme wherein the electronic watermark is superposed on and inserted into sampled value regions of two dimensions or three dimensions. With the first type, the watermark information is difficult to remove, so that the intensity of the watermarking is high, but the image quality or tone quality of the original data degrades conspicuously. Moreover, frequencies need to be converted twice (as conversion and inversion). Therefore, the burden of processing on the first type is heavier than that on the second type wherein the watermark is embedded in the sampled
Akiyama Ryota
Itoh Hiroyasu
Nakagawa Toru
Ahmed Samir
Fujitsu Limited
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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