US5664018A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Watermarking process resilient to collusion attacks
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1996-03-12
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Granted: 1997-09-02
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Expires: 2016-03-12
Abstract
Abstract A watermarking procedure wherein each of a set of copies of the work has a slightly-modified form of a "baseline" watermark that is placed within a critical region of the data. The slight variations in the watermarks, however, are not perceptually visible and do not interfere with the work. If multiple persons collude to attempt to create an "illicit" copy of the work (i.e., a copy without a watermark), however, at least one of the modified watermarks is present in the copy, thereby identifying both the illicit copy and the copier.
Inventors
- 👤 Frank Thomson Leighton
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 01:29
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T1/00; G06T1/0021; G06T1/005; G06F; G06F21/00; G06F21/10; G06F21/16; H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/32; H04N1/32101; H04N1/32144; H04N1/32149; H04N1/32288; H04N1/32304; H04N5/00; H04N5/76; H04N5/91; H04N5/913; G06T2201/00; G06T2201/005; G06T2201/0063; G06T2201/0081; G06T2201/0083; G11; G11B; G11B20/00; G11B20/00086; G11B20/00884; H04N2005/91307; H04N2005/91335; H04N2201/00; H04N2201/32; H04N2201/3201; H04N2201/3225; H04N2201/3233; H04N2201/3236; H04N2201/324; H04N2201/3269; H04N2201/327
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
131 words
A watermarking method, comprising the steps of: (a) generating a digital string from the work to form a baseline watermark; (b) generating a set of watermarks each having a predetermined relationship to the baseline watermark; and (c) inserting a respective one of the set of watermarks into a respective copy of the work to create a watermarked copy uniquely identified by the respective one of the set of watermarks; and (d) repeating step (c) at least m times to create a set of m watermarked copied, each having a different one of the set of watermarks therein, such that if a subset of said m watermarked copies are averaged to produce an illicit copy of the work, at least one of the set of watermarks is detectable in the illicit copy.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
131 words
A watermarking method, comprising the steps of: (a) generating a digital string from the work to form a baseline watermark; (b) generating a set of watermarks each having a predetermined relationship to the baseline watermark; and (c) inserting a respective one of the set of watermarks into a respective copy of the work to create a watermarked copy uniquely identified by the respective one of the set of watermarks; and (d) repeating step (c) at least m times to create a set of m watermarked copied, each having a different one of the set of watermarks therein, such that if a subset of said m watermarked copies are averaged to produce an illicit copy of the work, at least one of the set of watermarks is detectable in the illicit copy.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method as described in claim 1 wherein the predetermined relationship is a set of random offsets.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method as described in claim 2 wherein the random offsets have a normal distribution having zero mean and unity variance.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method as described in claim 1 wherein the work includes an image.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method as described in claim 1 wherein the work includes an audio signal.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method as described in claim 1 wherein the work includes a video signal.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method as described in claim 1 wherein each of the watermarks is inserted in a critical region of the digital data file.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method as described in claim 1 further including the step of comparing the watermark in the illicit copy with the baseline watermark to determine which possessor of a copy of the work created the illicit copy.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of securing e work against copying, comprising the steps of: (a) generating a set of watermarks each comprising a vector of randomly-generated numbers; and (b) inserting a respective one of the set of watermarks into a respective copy of the work to create a watermarked copy uniquely identified by the respective one of the set of watermarks; and (c) repeating step (b) at least m times to create a set of m watermarked copies, each having a different one of the set of watermarks therein, such that if a subset of said m watermarked copies are averaged to produce an illicit copy of the work, at least one of the set of watermarks is detectable in the illicit copy.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of securing e work against copying, comprising the steps of: (a) generating a set of watermarks each comprising a vector of randomly-generated numbers; and (b) inserting a respective one of the set of watermarks into a respective copy of the work to create a watermarked copy uniquely identified by the respective one of the set of watermarks; and (c) repeating step (b) at least m times to create a set of m watermarked copies, each having a different one of the set of watermarks therein, such that if a subset of said m watermarked copies are averaged to produce an illicit copy of the work, at least one of the set of watermarks is detectable in the illicit copy.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method as described in claim 9 wherein the work includes an image.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method as described in claim 9 wherein the work includes an audio signal.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method as described in claim 9 wherein the work includes a video signal.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method as described in claim 9 further including the step of comprising the watermark in the illicit copy with the set of watermarks to determine which possessor of a copy of the work created the illicit copy.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of protecting a work against illicit copying, comprising the steps of: (a) generating a set of watermarks each having a predetermined relationship to a first watermark for the work; and (b) inserting a respective one of the set of watermarks into a respective copy of the work to create a watermarked copy uniquely identified by the respective one of the set of watermarks; and (c) repeating step (b) at least m times to create a set of m watermarked copies, each having a different one of the set of watermarks therein, wherein averaging a pair of said m watermarked copies generates a copy of the work in which at least one of the set of watermarks can be detected.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of protecting a work against illicit copying, comprising the steps of: (a) generating a set of watermarks each having a predetermined relationship to a first watermark for the work; and (b) inserting a respective one of the set of watermarks into a respective copy of the work to create a watermarked copy uniquely identified by the respective one of the set of watermarks; and (c) repeating step (b) at least m times to create a set of m watermarked copies, each having a different one of the set of watermarks therein, wherein averaging a pair of said m watermarked copies generates a copy of the work in which at least one of the set of watermarks can be detected.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method as described in claim 14 wherein the first watermark is derived from the work.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
95 words
A method of generating secure copies of a document, comprising the steps of: (a) generating a set of watermarks each comprising a vector of randomly-generated numbers with a normal distribution having zero means and unity variance; (b) inserting a respective one of the set of watermarks into a respective copy of the document to create a watermarked copy uniquely identified by the respective one of the set of watermarks; and (c) repeating step (b) at least m times to create a set of m watermarked copies of the document that the secure against illicit copying.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
95 words
A method of generating secure copies of a document, comprising the steps of: (a) generating a set of watermarks each comprising a vector of randomly-generated numbers with a normal distribution having zero means and unity variance; (b) inserting a respective one of the set of watermarks into a respective copy of the document to create a watermarked copy uniquely identified by the respective one of the set of watermarks; and (c) repeating step (b) at least m times to create a set of m watermarked copies of the document that the secure against illicit copying.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
84 words
A method of generating secure copies of a document, comprising the steps of: (a) generating a set of watermarks each comprising a vector of randomly-generated numbers; (b) inserting a respective one of the set of watermarks into a respective copy of the document to create a watermarked copy uniquely identified by the respective one of the set vectors; and (c) repeating step (b) at least m times to create a set of m watermarked copies of the document that are secure against illicit copying.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
84 words
A method of generating secure copies of a document, comprising the steps of: (a) generating a set of watermarks each comprising a vector of randomly-generated numbers; (b) inserting a respective one of the set of watermarks into a respective copy of the document to create a watermarked copy uniquely identified by the respective one of the set vectors; and (c) repeating step (b) at least m times to create a set of m watermarked copies of the document that are secure against illicit copying.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-09-01 | 2001-03-03 | 2001-09-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-09-01 | 2005-03-03 | 2005-09-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-09-01 | 2009-03-03 | 2009-09-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |