US6330672B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and apparatus for watermarking digital bitstreams
Assignee: AT&T Properties LLC
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Filing: 1998-06-30
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Granted: 2001-12-11
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Expires: 2018-06-30
Abstract
Abstract A signal is encoded, for example, perceptually and, during or after the perceptual coding process, a digital watermark is inserted into a quantized digital information signal resulting from the perceptual coding process in such a manner that its insertion is imperceptible to one later listening to, displaying or otherwise utilizing the information signal. Moreover, the digital watermark may be inserted in accordance with a key indicative of the location of the mark in the digitally encoded signal. The key may be protected with a trusted entity and distributed in such a manner as to be not detectable by a pirate. Consequently, the key may be utilized at watermarking apparatus that can be located anywhere in the distribution channel of a copyright protected work. The key may be embedded in a secure microprocessor of validating apparatus at a point of distribution or even at a point of sale. In this manner, when or after a digital bitstream is fixed in a medium of expression or broadcast, the watermark can be applied at the time of fixing in a copy, thus validating an original legitimate copy. For example, a compact disc recording may be validated at the point of sale as an authorized copy through watermarking (validating) apparatus according to the present invention or, at the time of broadcast over radio frequencies or distribution via the Internet, information may be watermarked. In this manner, even though a work may be pirated, further information may be included or otherwise indicated by the watermark to assist in, not only recognizing a pirated work and the original from which the pirate copy was produced, but the identity of the pirate who later makes an unauthorized copy of the original.
Inventors
- 👤 David Hilton Shur
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 01:45
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N19/00; G; G06; G06T; G06T1/00; G06T1/0021; G06T1/0028; G06T1/0035; G10; G10L; G10L19/00; G10L19/018; H04N1/00; H04N1/32; H04N1/32101; H04N1/32144; H04N1/32149; H04N1/32154; H04N1/32187; H04N1/32267; H04N1/32272; H04N1/32277; H04N1/32288; H04N1/32299; H04N1/32304; H04N19/10; H04N19/134; H04N19/146; H04N19/147; H04N19/189; H04N19/19; H04N19/196; H04N19/46; H04N19/467; H04N19/48; H04N19/90; H04N21/00; H04N21/20; H04N21/23; H04N21/238; H04N21/2389; H04N21/23892; H04N21/80; H04N21/83; H04N21/835; H04N21/8358; G06T2201/00; G06T2201/005; G06T2201/0052; G06T2201/0053; G06T2201/0083; H04N1/32128; H04N2201/00; H04N2201/32; H04N2201/3201; H04N2201/3225; H04N2201/3233; H04N2201/3239; H04N2201/3269; H04N2201/327; H04N2201/328; H04N2201/3281
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 43
Claim 1
Independent Claim
136 words
Apparatus for inserting a digital watermark into protected information comprises a transformation function of a perceptual coder for coding an information signal representative of the protected information, a watermark location selector responsive to the perceptual coder for selecting a location for inserting a digital watermark, said watermark location selector including a logical gate responsive to a random number generator, said random number generator, responsive to a seed and a selection of a watermark overhead, for outputting a binary sequence, a digital watermark generator for generating a digital watermark sequence responsive to a plurality of predetermined watermark parameters and a quantizer of the perceptual coder responsive to the digital watermark generator and the watermark location selector for inserting a digital watermark at selected locations within an output bitstream, said output bitstream including the perceptually coded information signal.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
136 words
Apparatus for inserting a digital watermark into protected information comprises a transformation function of a perceptual coder for coding an information signal representative of the protected information, a watermark location selector responsive to the perceptual coder for selecting a location for inserting a digital watermark, said watermark location selector including a logical gate responsive to a random number generator, said random number generator, responsive to a seed and a selection of a watermark overhead, for outputting a binary sequence, a digital watermark generator for generating a digital watermark sequence responsive to a plurality of predetermined watermark parameters and a quantizer of the perceptual coder responsive to the digital watermark generator and the watermark location selector for inserting a digital watermark at selected locations within an output bitstream, said output bitstream including the perceptually coded information signal.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
56 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said transformation function comprises a modified discrete cosine transform for transforming from the time domain to the frequency domain and outputting spectral coefficients for comparison with a perceptual threshold, a coefficient being below the threshold identifying that coefficient as a candidate location for a portion of a digital watermark.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
55 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said transformation function comprises a discrete cosine transform for transforming from the time domain to the frequency domain and outputting spectral coefficients for comparison with a perceptual threshold, a coefficient being below the threshold identifying that coefficient as a candidate location for a portion of a digital watermark.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
57 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said transformation function comprises an N point fast Fourier transform for transforming from the time domain to the frequency domain and outputting spectral coefficients for comparison with a perceptual threshold, a coefficient being below the threshold identifying that coefficient as a candidate location for a portion of a digital watermark.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
45 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said logical gate of said watermark location selector comprises a logical AND gate, said logical AND gate being responsive to said binary sequence output of said random number generator and said watermarking sequence output of said watermark generator.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said digital watermark generator comprises an input comprising said plurality of predetermined watermarking parameters including play authorization data.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
37 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 6 wherein said plurality of watermarking parameters comprises one of data representing an identity of a recipient of said protected information and data representing an identity of a perceptual coding transformation algorithm.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 6 wherein said plurality of watermarking parameters comprises one of data representing an identity of a contractual arrangement and data representing an identity of the date of said contractual relationship.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
44 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein said contractual arrangement comprises a lease and said plurality of watermarking parameters further comprises data indicative of an expiration date of said lease representing a date after which access to said protected information is to be denied.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 6 wherein said plurality of watermarking parameters is encrypted prior to insertion.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said digital watermark generator comprises means for encrypting a plurality of watermarking parameters with a key K related to said seed.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said digital watermark generator comprises means for encrypting a plurality of watermarking parameters with a key K unrelated to said seed.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said protected information comprises video data and said quantization has a step size selected according to the magnitude of errors that will not be visible.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
117 words
A method for inserting a digital watermark into protected information comprising the steps of perceptually encoding an information signal representative of the protected information, selecting, responsive to the perceptual coding step, a location for inserting a digital watermark including the step of generating a binary sequence using a random number generator responsive to selecting a seed and a watermark overhead and providing said binary sequence to a logical gate, generating a digital watermark sequence responsive to a plurality of watermark parameters for input to said logical gate, and during perceptual coding, quantizing the information signal to insert the generated digital watermark at selected locations within an output bitstream, said output bitstream including the perceptually coded information signal.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
117 words
A method for inserting a digital watermark into protected information comprising the steps of perceptually encoding an information signal representative of the protected information, selecting, responsive to the perceptual coding step, a location for inserting a digital watermark including the step of generating a binary sequence using a random number generator responsive to selecting a seed and a watermark overhead and providing said binary sequence to a logical gate, generating a digital watermark sequence responsive to a plurality of watermark parameters for input to said logical gate, and during perceptual coding, quantizing the information signal to insert the generated digital watermark at selected locations within an output bitstream, said output bitstream including the perceptually coded information signal.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
61 words
A method as recited in claim 14 wherein said perceptual coding comprises a transformation function of a modified discrete cosine transform for transforming from the time domain to the frequency domain and outputting spectral coefficients for comparison with a perceptual threshold, a coefficient being below the threshold identifying that coefficient as a candidate location for a portion of a digital watermark.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
60 words
A method as recited in claim 14 wherein said perceptual coding comprises a transformation function of a discrete cosine transform for transforming from the time domain to the frequency domain and outputting spectral coefficients for comparison with a perceptual threshold, a coefficient being below the threshold identifying that coefficient as a candidate location for a portion of a digital watermark.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
62 words
A method as recited in claim 14 wherein said perceptual coding comprises a transformation function of an N point fast Fourier transform for transforming from the time domain to the frequency domain and outputting spectral coefficients for comparison with a perceptual threshold, a coefficient being below the threshold identifying that coefficient as a candidate location for a portion of a digital watermark.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method as recited in claim 14 wherein said step of selecting a watermark location comprises generating a random number binary sequence and logical ANDing an output of said random number generator and a candidate watermarking sequence.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method as recited in claim 18 wherein said step of generating a random number is responsive to inputting a seed and selecting a watermarking overhead.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as recited in claim 14 wherein said step of generating a digital watermark comprises an input comprising said plurality of watermarking parameters including play authorization data.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
38 words
A method as recited in claim 20 wherein said plurality of watermarking parameters comprises one of data representing an identity of a recipient of said protected information and data representing an identity of a perceptual coding transformation algorithm.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method as recited in claim 20 wherein said plurality of watermarking parameters comprises one of data representing an identity of a contractual arrangement and data representing an identity of the date of said contractual relationship.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method as recited in claim 22 wherein said contractual arrangement comprises a lease and said plurality of watermarking parameters further comprises data indicative of an expiration date of said lease representing a date after which access to said protected information is to be denied.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method as recited in claim 20 wherein said plurality of watermarking parameters is encrypted prior to insertion.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as recited in claim 19 wherein said digital watermark generating step comprises encrypting a plurality of watermarking parameters with a key K related to said seed.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method as recited in claim 19 wherein said step of generating a digital watermark comprises encrypting a plurality of watermarking parameters with a key K unrelated to said seed.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method as recited in claim 14 wherein said protected information comprises video data and said quantization step has a step size selected according to the magnitude of errors that will not be visible.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
83 words
Apparatus for inserting a hidden data stream into a perceptually encoded media stream comprising an N point transform for outputting N coefficients and a quantizer for selecting a scale factor, quantizing the input N coefficients and inserting the hidden data stream in indexed locations of the perceptually encoded media stream responsive to said N point transform, said indexed locations being determined responsive to selection of a seed and a watermark overhead for input to a random number generator for generating a binary sequence.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
83 words
Apparatus for inserting a hidden data stream into a perceptually encoded media stream comprising an N point transform for outputting N coefficients and a quantizer for selecting a scale factor, quantizing the input N coefficients and inserting the hidden data stream in indexed locations of the perceptually encoded media stream responsive to said N point transform, said indexed locations being determined responsive to selection of a seed and a watermark overhead for input to a random number generator for generating a binary sequence.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
102 words
Decoder apparatus for detecting a watermark for authorizing play, said watermark being generated responsive to an input comprising a plurality of watermarking parameters including play authorization data and being located responsive to selection of a key and a watermark overhead comprising a key receiver for receiving a key relating to said location of a watermark, a watermark detector responsive to the key receiver for locating the watermark and for analyzing if the watermark contains play authorization data and a presentation circuit for presenting a decoded information signal responsive to the watermark detector when said play authorization data of said watermark authorizes play.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
102 words
Decoder apparatus for detecting a watermark for authorizing play, said watermark being generated responsive to an input comprising a plurality of watermarking parameters including play authorization data and being located responsive to selection of a key and a watermark overhead comprising a key receiver for receiving a key relating to said location of a watermark, a watermark detector responsive to the key receiver for locating the watermark and for analyzing if the watermark contains play authorization data and a presentation circuit for presenting a decoded information signal responsive to the watermark detector when said play authorization data of said watermark authorizes play.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
81 words
Decoder apparatus for detecting a digital watermark in an information signal, the digital watermark being generated responsive to an input comprising a plurality of watermarking parameters including play authorization data and being located responsive to selection of a key and a watermark overhead and including the name of a customer and the date and location of a transaction, and for outputting the watermark for tracing an unlicensed copy of the information signal to a pirate, the unlicensed copy including said watermark.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
81 words
Decoder apparatus for detecting a digital watermark in an information signal, the digital watermark being generated responsive to an input comprising a plurality of watermarking parameters including play authorization data and being located responsive to selection of a key and a watermark overhead and including the name of a customer and the date and location of a transaction, and for outputting the watermark for tracing an unlicensed copy of the information signal to a pirate, the unlicensed copy including said watermark.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
120 words
A method for inserting a digital watermark into protected information comprising the steps of perceptually encoding an information signal representative of the protected information, selecting, responsive to the perceptual coding step, a location for inserting a digital watermark, generating a digital watermark including a plurality of watermark parameters, and during perceptual coding, manipulating perceptual coding coefficients to insert the generated digital watermark at selected locations within an output bitstream, the output bitstream including the perceptually coded information signal, said selection of locations for the generated watermark being responsive to a comparison of said perceptual coding coefficients with a calculated perceptual threshold and includes the steps of selecting a watermark overhead and a seed for input to a random number generator.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
120 words
A method for inserting a digital watermark into protected information comprising the steps of perceptually encoding an information signal representative of the protected information, selecting, responsive to the perceptual coding step, a location for inserting a digital watermark, generating a digital watermark including a plurality of watermark parameters, and during perceptual coding, manipulating perceptual coding coefficients to insert the generated digital watermark at selected locations within an output bitstream, the output bitstream including the perceptually coded information signal, said selection of locations for the generated watermark being responsive to a comparison of said perceptual coding coefficients with a calculated perceptual threshold and includes the steps of selecting a watermark overhead and a seed for input to a random number generator.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method for inserting a digital watermark into protected information as recited in claim 31 wherein said protected information comprises audio information.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
74 words
A method for inserting a digital watermark into protected information characterized by the steps of determining a candidate digital watermark sequence, selecting a digital watermark overhead for controlling generation of a binary output sequence for logical combination with said candidate digital watermark sequence and locating, responsive to said logical combination and said selected digital watermark overheads, a digital watermarking sequence generated responsive to a plurality of watermark parameters into said protected information data signal.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
74 words
A method for inserting a digital watermark into protected information characterized by the steps of determining a candidate digital watermark sequence, selecting a digital watermark overhead for controlling generation of a binary output sequence for logical combination with said candidate digital watermark sequence and locating, responsive to said logical combination and said selected digital watermark overheads, a digital watermarking sequence generated responsive to a plurality of watermark parameters into said protected information data signal.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
41 words
A method as recited in claim 33 wherein said step of selecting a digital watermark overhead provides an input to a random number generator whose output is provided to a logical gate for logical combination with said candidate digital watermark sequence.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as recited in claim 34 wherein said output of said random number generator is further determined by the selection of a seed as a further input.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method as recited in claim 34 wherein said digital watermark overhead is selected as one of a percent or a probability of a binary output of the random number generator being equal to one.
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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) | 2004-12-10 | 2005-06-11 | 2005-12-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-12-10 | 2009-06-11 | 2009-12-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-12-10 | 2013-06-11 | 2013-12-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |