Coded data generation or conversion – Digital code to digital code converters – Adaptive coding
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-11
2004-02-24
Young, Brian (Department: 2819)
Coded data generation or conversion
Digital code to digital code converters
Adaptive coding
Reexamination Certificate
active
06696989
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and method of embedding data into a signal or updating data that are already embedded into a signal, and more particularly to an apparatus and method of embedding specific data (electronic watermark) into a plurality of audio signals, or updating specific data that have been embedded into a signal using a minimum amount of operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with the spread of personal computers, CD-R drives, and the Internet, and due to inexpensive high-capacity recording media such as hard disc drives and the like, pirated versions of music CDs or compressed files that have been illegally compressed on the Internet are being distributed improperly in large amounts. Improper use of these contents violates the rights of those holding the copyrights, and has become a major problem in today's society.
In the midst of this kind of situation, recently much attention has been placed on electronic watermarking technology as a new technology for copyright protection. Electronic watermarking technology, for example, is already being used in DVD audio discs and players. Electronic watermarking is a technique of embedding some digital data into an audio signal by adding minute noise or distortion that is not noticeable by human hearing. Moreover, since this electronic watermark is a very minute signal, humans cannot hear the embedded electronic watermark when a player for the music contents reproduces that audio signal.
Next, how copyrights are protected by using an electronic watermark will be explained in general. First, the disk manufacturer or copyright holder embeds digital data into the audio signal using a predetermined format, indicating ‘Copy One Generation ’. In the case of using technology that takes advantage of electronic watermarking as copyright protection technology for music contents, in many systems, copyright protection is performed effectively by embedding an electronic watermark in the signal output from every channel that contains music contents.
The case of embedding an electronic watermark will be explained in more detail using FIG.
19
and FIG.
20
.
FIG. 19
is a schematic drawing of a data-addition apparatus
1901
that is used when embedding an electronic watermark into a specific audio signal.
FIG. 20
is a schematic drawing of a data-update apparatus
2011
that detects and updates an electronic watermark that was embedded by the data-addition apparatus
1901
. The audio signal is a signal such as a music or voice signal that stimulates the sense of hearing when reproduced.
For example, when reproducing music contents that perform stereo output, there are two output channels for the audio signal so two kinds of audio signals are output. In this case, by equipping the data-addition apparatus
1901
with a first signal-addition means
1904
that embeds an electronic watermark into the audio signal (L channel)
1902
and outputs an audio signal
1903
embedded with an electronic watermark, and a second signal-addition means
1907
that embeds an electronic watermark into the audio signal (R channel)
1905
and outputs an audio signal
1906
embedded with an electronic watermark, electronic watermarks are embedded into two kinds of audio signals. The audio signals
1903
,
1906
embedded with electronic watermarks are then recorded on a medium such as a CD or DVD as audio contents embedded with electronic watermarks, or they are recorded using a recording apparatus as data for distribution. The first and second signal-addition means
1904
,
1907
use specific key data as required when embedding electronic watermarks.
Here, the data embedded as an electronic watermark are, for example, data for restricting the number of times the audio contents whose copyright is to be protected can be copied, such as ‘Copy One Generation’, ‘No More Copies’ or ‘Copy Freely’; or it can be data such as an ID that is unique for all audio contents such as the IRSC (International Standard Recording Code).
The audio signal that is embedded with an electronic watermark is supplied to the consumer as a DVD audio disc sold at a shop, or music contents that are distributed via the Internet, etc. The consumer purchases the disk or distributed contents in which the electronic watermark is embedded.
An example of handling the electronic watermark when copying contents will be explained using
FIG. 20
as a reference. To copy the contents recorded on the disk, the consumer can connect a reproduction apparatus
2001
with a recording apparatus
2002
, and record the contents reproduced by the reproduction apparatus
2001
with the recording apparatus
2002
. In this way, for example, the music on a DVD audio disc is copied onto a recording medium
2010
, however, in the recording apparatus
2002
, a data-update apparatus
2011
detects the electronic watermark that is embedded on the disk and determines whether the music to be copied are allowed to be copied.
In the case that a ‘Copy One Generation’ electronic watermark is embedded in the music to be copied, the electronic watermark is updated to ‘No More Copies’ and recorded. Updating the electronic watermark will be explained in detail.
First, the audio signal that is input to the recording apparatus
2002
is a two-channel stereo signal having a L-channel (audio signal
1903
that is embedded with an electronic watermark) and a R-channel (audio signal
1906
that is embedded with an electronic watermark). The L-channel audio signal
1903
that is input to the recording apparatus
2002
is input to a first detection means
2003
, and the first detection means
2003
detects the electronic watermark that is embedded in the L-channel audio signal
1903
. A first judgment means
2004
determines whether or not the electronic watermark that is detected and input by the first detection means
2003
needs to be updated.
In other words, when the embedded electronic watermark is ‘Copy One Generation’, and the recording apparatus
2002
is trying to record music onto a recording medium
2010
, the first judgment means
2004
sends an instruction to a first watermark-generation means
2005
to update the electronic watermark. The L-channel audio signal
2001
is then input to the first watermark-generation means
2005
, and based on this audio signal, the first watermark-generation means
2005
generates an electronic watermark that cannot be heard by human hearing and which indicates ‘No More Copies’.
The update watermark that is generated by the first watermark-generation means
2005
is added to the L-channel audio signal
1903
and then input to the recording means
2009
. Likewise, in the case of the R-channel audio signal
1906
, an update watermark signal for channel-R is generated by a second detection means
2006
, second judgment means
2007
and second watermark-generation means
2008
, and then it is added to the R-channel audio signal
1906
and input to the recording means
2009
.
The recording means
2009
records the audio signals for each channel, whose electronic watermarks have been updated, onto the recording medium
2010
.
Generally, the copy-control data for music usually does not differ between channels, so in the prior recording apparatus shown in
FIG. 20
, the second detection means
2006
and second judgment means
2007
can be omitted, and a switch that selects the channel can be located prior to the first judgment means to detect the audio signal for either the L-channel or R-channel and determine whether or not it must be updated. However, in the prior recording apparatus, in order to update the electronic watermark for both channels, the first watermark-generation means
2005
and second watermark-generation means
2008
are necessary.
Therefore, in the process above, when trying to use the reproduction apparatus and recording apparatus to copy the copied music again, later generation copying, for example second-generation or third-generation copying is not possible. With this process, it is p
Horii Noriaki
Katayama Taro
Ogawa Tomoki
McDermott & Will & Emery
Young Brian
LandOfFree
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