Coded data generation or conversion – Digital code to digital code converters
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-23
2002-03-19
Young, Brian (Department: 2819)
Coded data generation or conversion
Digital code to digital code converters
C341S051000, C382S100000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06359573
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic information processing method and system for embedding various accessory or additional information, such as information indicative of copyright, name, composer, date of completion and lyrics of a music piece, information indicative of machine model name, news text information and text data like ID data, etc. as electronic watermark information in main information such as performance data, picture information or waveform data, and/or retrieving or taking out additional information embedded as electronic watermark information in main information, as well as a computer-readable storage medium containing programs for implementing the electronic information processing method.
As typically shown in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. HEI-11-39796 (corresponding to U.K. Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2,314,949 A), it has been known to embed accessory or additional information, indicative of a name, composer, etc. of a music piece, etc., at respective lowermost bits of individual velocity data included in performance data constituting main information, and then retrieve the embedded additional information from among the performance data. Similar technique is disclosed in U.K. Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2,330,498 A).
However, because the conventionally-known techniques embed the additional information in relatively simple form, there has been the serious problem that the embedding schemes are readily read or seen through by an unauthorized dishonest user and thus the embedded additional information is intentionally (or maliciously) altered by the unauthorized dishonest user. Further, because the velocity data are among those data that can be altered relatively easily, there has been the possibility that the additional information embedded in the velocity data is altered unintentionally or unconsciously by an authorized user as the user alters the velocity data, for example, during editing of the performance data.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a unique electronic information processing method and system and storage medium where a novel or improved scheme is employed for embedding additional information in main information without the problems encountered by the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic information processing method and system and storage medium which can effectively prevent additional information from being read or seen through and hence intentionally or maliciously altered by any unauthorized dishonest user.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an electronic information processing method and system and storage medium which can effectively prevent additional information from being altered unintentionally or unconsciously by an authorized user.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of embedding additional information, as an electronic watermark, in main information including a plurality of data, which method is characterized by comprising a step of changing arrangement (placement) or order of the data in the main information in accordance with a value of the additional information to be embedded and also with a predetermined encoding algorithm. With this inventive method, the electronic watermark of the additional information is embedded in the form of a change in the arrangement or order of the data, without values of the data in the main information themselves being changed.
The present also provides an improved method of decoding additional information from main information having an electronic watermark embedded therein in accordance with the aforementioned first aspect, which is characterized by comprising: a step of acquiring decoding key information corresponding to the encoding algorithm; and a step of inversely executing the encoding algorithm on the basis of the decoding key information acquired by the step of acquiring, to thereby decode the additional information hidden in the arrangement or order of the data in the main information.
According to the above-mentioned first aspect of the present invention, the electronic watermark corresponding to the additional information is embedded in the form of a change in the arrangement or order of the data without values of the data in the main information themselves being changed at all. With no change in the data values of the main information, the main information can be reproduced quite reliably. In one embodiment, the main information comprises music performance data associated with a plurality of channels, and the change in the arrangement or order of the data in the main information is made by changing the channels of the music performance data, i.e., by changing the correspondency between the channels and the music performance data. Even in the case where the original channel assignment or arrangement in the main information has been changed, reproduction of a music performance based on the performance data can be carried out with no problem because tones to be generated themselves have not been changed at all by the channel rearrangement. However, because particular information hidden in the channel arrangement can not be known unless appropriate key information is obtained, this inventive feature can be very helpful in preventing an unauthorized dishonest user from tampering with or altering the information. Further, since the channel rearrangement in the music performance data generally does not take place very often in ordinary editing of the performance data, it is very unlikely that the additional information is altered unintentionally or unconsciously. The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned channel rearrangement; for example, the arrangement or order of the data may be changed with respect to a particular factor a change of which does not substantially adversely influence music reproduction based on the music performance data.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of embedding additional information, as an electronic watermark, in main information including a plurality of performance data, the performance data including time information, which method is characterized by comprising a step of changing the time information of the plurality of performance data in the main information in accordance with a value of the additional information and with a predetermined encoding algorithm. With this inventive method, the electronic watermark of the additional information is embedded in the form of a combination of changes of the time information in the plurality of performance data.
The present invention also provides an improved method of decoding additional information embedded, as an electronic watermark, in main information in accordance with the aforementioned second aspect, which method is characterized by comprising: a step of acquiring decoding key information corresponding to the encoding algorithm; and a step of inversely executing the encoding algorithm on the basis of the decoding key information acquired by the step of acquiring, to thereby decode the additional information hidden in the main information.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the time information of the plurality of performance data in the main information is changed in accordance with a value of the additional information, and the electronic watermark of the additional information is embedded in the form of a combination of changes (changed states) in the time information of the plurality of performance data. Because the additional information is encoded in very complicated form, the thus-encoded additional information is very insusceptible to alteration by a dishonest user. It is desirable that the time information change be made with respect to such information a time information change of which does not adversely influence a reproductive performance based on
Taruguchi Hideaki
Tsunoda Shigeo
Yamaha Corporation
Young Brian
LandOfFree
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