Patent US1997136A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent EP0789480A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0789480A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Copy restrictive system
Assignee: Eastman Kodak Co
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Filing: 1997-01-24
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2017-01-24
Abstract
Abstract A system for restricting the copying of a document comprising: means for embedding one or more microdots into a document; and detecting means for detecting the presence of one or more microdots in said document; and controlling means responsive to said detecting means for inhibiting a copy machine from copying the document when a microdot is detected.
Inventors
- 👤 John Eastman Kodak Company Gasper
- 👤 Jay Stuart Eastman Kodak Company Schildkraut
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 07:10
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/00838; H04N1/0084; H04N1/00843; H04N1/00846; H04N1/00856; H04N1/00875; H04N1/32; H04N1/32101; H04N1/32144; H04N1/32149; H04N1/32203; H04N1/32208; H04N1/32251; H04N1/32288; H04N1/32293; H04N1/32309; H04N2201/00; H04N2201/32; H04N2201/3201; H04N2201/3204; H04N2201/3225; H04N2201/3233; H04N2201/3269; H04N2201/327; H04N2201/3271; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S283/00; Y10S283/902
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
57 words
A system for restricting the copying of a document comprising: means for embedding one or more microdots into a document; and detecting means for detecting the presence of one or more microdots in said document; and controlling means responsive to said detecting means for restricting a copy machine from copying the document when a microdot is detected.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein said detecting means detects the presence of one or more microdots on the document based on one or more characteristics of color, color shift, optical density, size, shape, profile, orientation, geometrical arrangement, and spacing.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein said microdots have a spectral character of low visual perceptibility.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
11 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein the microdots are yellow.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
11 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein the microdots are luminescent.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein the equivalent circular diameter of the microdots is 300 microns or less with the edge of a microdot defined by the isodensity profile at which the optical density is half the maximum density.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein the area of the microdot is subdivided into smaller areas of different colors, the color yellow occupying 50% or more of the area.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein the spatial arrangement of the microdots is periodic with one or more periodicities.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein the spatial arrangement of the microdots is aperiodic with one or more aperiodicities.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein the spatial arrangement of the microdots is a combination of periodic and aperiodic.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein the microdots have an optical density, size, and spacing so as to not visually modify the lightness or color balance of the image in the document.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein the microdots are embedded into or deposited onto at lease one surface of the document.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system according to Claim 1 wherein microdots embedded into the back side of a document to incorporate information about the manufacture and/or source of the document.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
59 words
A method for restricting the copying of a document comprising the steps of: a) embedding at least one microdot into a document to be copy restricted; b) detecting the presence of said at least one microdot on the document when a copy action is attempted; and c) restricting the copy action when the at least one microdot is detected.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
55 words
A method for controllably enabling the copying of a document comprising the steps of: a) embedding one or more microdots into a document; b) detecting the presence of one or more microdots on the document; and c) enabling or disabling the copying of the document based on the detected presence of one or more microdots.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to Claim 14 wherein said microdots are selected to have a spectral character of low visual perceptibility.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method according to Claim 14 wherein the microdots are yellow.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method according to Claim 14 wherein the microdots are luminescent.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method according to Claim 14 wherein the equivalent circular diameter of the microdots is 300 microns or less with the edge of a microdot defined by the isodensity profile at which the optical density is half the maximum density.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method according to Claim 14 wherein the area of the microdot is subdivided into smaller areas of different colors, but with yellow occupying 50% or more of the area.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to Claim 14 wherein the spatial arrangement of the microdots is periodic with one or more periodicities.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to Claim 14 wherein the spatial arrangement of the microdots is aperiodic with one or more aperiodicities.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method according to Claim 14 wherein the spatial arrangement of the microdots is a combination of periodic and aperiodic.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method according to Claim 14 wherein the microdots are minimally spaced 0.5mm center-to-center.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
90 words
A method for controllably enabling the copying of a document comprising the steps of: a) embedding a plurality of microdots into a document; b) scanning the document to obtain document pixel values; c) defining a first metric that measures the closeness of document pixel values to predetermined microdot values; d) defining a second metric that measures the periodicity of the first metric; e) comparing the second metric to a predetermined value to determine the presence of microdots; and f) authorizing the copying based on the presence or the absence microdots.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
86 words
A method for controllably enabling the copying of a document comprising the steps of: a) embedding at least one microdot into a document; b) scanning the document to obtain document pixel values; c) determining the closeness of document pixel values to predetermined microdot values; d) determining the presence or the absence of at least one microdot on the document based on the measures of closeness from step c); and e) authorizing the copying based on the presence or the absence of the at least one microdot.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
75 words
A method for controllably enabling the copying of a document comprising the steps of: a) embedding one or more microdots into a document; b) detecting the presence of one or more microdots on the document based on one or more characteristics of color, color shift, optical density, size, shape, profile, orientation, geometrical arrangement, and spacing; and c) enabling or disabling the copying of the document based on the detected presence of one or more microdots.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
40 words
A method for identifying a document source comprising the steps of: a) embedding a plurality of microdots representing a signature into a document; b) detecting the represented signature; and c) determining from the detected signature the source of the document.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of Claim 14 wherein said microdots are embedded into or deposited onto at least one surface of the document.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of Claim 14 wherein said microdots are embedded into the backside of a document to incorporate information about the manufacture and/or source of the document.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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