Patent US7171018B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US7171018B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Portable devices and methods employing digital watermarking
Assignee: Digimarc Corp
•
Filing: 2002-05-15
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Granted: 2007-01-30
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Expires: 2022-05-15
Abstract
Abstract Media objects are transformed into active, connected objects via identifiers embedded into them or their containers. In the context of a user's playback experience, a decoding process extracts the identifier from a media object and possibly additional context information and forwards it to a server. The server, in turn, maps the identifier to an action, such as returning metadata, re-directing the request to one or more other servers, requesting information from another server to identify the media object, etc. The server may return a higher fidelity version of content from which the identifier was extracted. In some applications, the higher fidelity version may be substituted for the original media object and rendered to provide higher quality output. The linking process applies to broadcast objects as well as objects transmitted over networks in streaming and compressed file formats.
Inventors
- 👤 Geoffrey B. Rhoads
- 👤 Bruce L. Davis
- 👤 Douglas B. Evans
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 14:56
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/40; G06F16/43; G06F16/432; G06F16/433; G06F16/434; G06F16/48; G06F16/487; G06F16/489
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 38
Claim 1
Independent Claim
41 words
A method of operating a portable device that includes a sensor to capture image or audio data, comprising: transferring the captured data to a remote device; decoding a watermark at the remote device; and returning corresponding data to the portable device.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
41 words
A method of operating a portable device that includes a sensor to capture image or audio data, comprising: transferring the captured data to a remote device; decoding a watermark at the remote device; and returning corresponding data to the portable device.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1 in which the corresponding data is decoded watermark data.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 1 which further includes indexing a database with reference to at lease a portion of the decoded watermark to obtain a computer address corresponding thereto, and returning the computer address to the portable device.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 1 which further includes indexing a database with reference to at least a portion of the decoded watermark to obtain a computer address corresponding thereto, and receiving content data from said computer address at a destination device.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 4 in which the destination device is co-located with the portable device.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 5 in which the destination device comprises the portable device.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 4 in which the destination device is remote from the portable device.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 in which the transferring step occurs autonomously, without user intervention.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 in which a user initiates the transferring step by performing an action.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 9 in which the user initiates the transferring step by operating a button.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1 in which the corresponding data is audio or image data like that captured by the portable device sensor, but of higher fidelity.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1 in which the corresponding data is audio or image data that is not simply a higher fidelity version of the audio or image data captured by the portable device sensor.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
11 words
A cell phone for performing the method of claim 1 .
Claim 15
Independent Claim
78 words
A method of operating a portable device that includes a sensor to capture image or audio data, comprising: decoding watermark data from the image or audio data, the watermark serving to identify corresponding content stored in a repository; and transferring at least a portion of the watermark data to a remote device, and sending instruction data with said watermark data, said instruction data serving to specify an action to be taken with the content stored in the repository.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
78 words
A method of operating a portable device that includes a sensor to capture image or audio data, comprising: decoding watermark data from the image or audio data, the watermark serving to identify corresponding content stored in a repository; and transferring at least a portion of the watermark data to a remote device, and sending instruction data with said watermark data, said instruction data serving to specify an action to be taken with the content stored in the repository.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 14 in which the action is transmission of the content from the repository to the portable device.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 14 in which the action is transmission of the content from the repository to a destination remote from the portable device.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 14 in which the instruction data depends, at least in part, on the bandwidth of a network connection available to link the portable device to another device.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 14 in which said content is audio or image data like that captured by the portable device sensor, but of higher fidelity.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 14 in which said content is audio or image data that is not simply a higher fidelity version of the audio or image data captured by the portable device sensor.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
75 words
A method of operating a device that includes a sensor to capture image or audio data, comprising: capturing image or audio data with the sensor; decoding a digital watermark from the captured data; using the digital watermark to fetch a pristine version of the captured data; substituting the pristine version for at least a part of the captured data to create a new data object; and rendering the new data object on an output device.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
75 words
A method of operating a device that includes a sensor to capture image or audio data, comprising: capturing image or audio data with the sensor; decoding a digital watermark from the captured data; using the digital watermark to fetch a pristine version of the captured data; substituting the pristine version for at least a part of the captured data to create a new data object; and rendering the new data object on an output device.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
45 words
In a digital audio device that includes a sensor to capture image or audio data, a method comprising: transferring the captured data to a remote device for extraction of a digital watermark at the remote device; and returning corresponding data to the digital audio device.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
45 words
In a digital audio device that includes a sensor to capture image or audio data, a method comprising: transferring the captured data to a remote device for extraction of a digital watermark at the remote device; and returning corresponding data to the digital audio device.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the digital audio device comprises a wireless telephone.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 22 , wherein said transferring comprises wirelessly transferring.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
83 words
In a digital audio device that includes: i) a sensor to capture image or audio data, and ii) a digital watermark decoder, a method comprising: receiving captured data from the sensor, the captured data comprising a digital watermark embedded therein, the digital watermark including at least auxiliary data; decoding the digital watermark with the digital watermark decoder to obtain the auxiliary data; wirelessly transferring the auxiliary data to a remote device; and receiving from the remote device data corresponding to the auxiliary data.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
83 words
In a digital audio device that includes: i) a sensor to capture image or audio data, and ii) a digital watermark decoder, a method comprising: receiving captured data from the sensor, the captured data comprising a digital watermark embedded therein, the digital watermark including at least auxiliary data; decoding the digital watermark with the digital watermark decoder to obtain the auxiliary data; wirelessly transferring the auxiliary data to a remote device; and receiving from the remote device data corresponding to the auxiliary data.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 24 , wherein the digital audio device comprises a wireless telephone.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 24 , wherein the digital watermark is embedded in the data through modifications of the image or audio data.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 24 , wherein the image or audio data comprises a carrier, and the digital watermark is embedded in the carrier through modifications of the carrier.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
103 words
A wireless reception device sized for fitting in a user's pocket or purse, said wireless reception device comprising: a battery to power said wireless reception device; a sensor to capture image or audio data; electronic memory circuitry; and electronic processing circuitry, wherein said electronic memory circuitry includes executable programming instructions stored therein for execution on said electronic processing circuitry, said executable programming instructions comprising a steganographic decoder for discerning auxiliary data steganographically embedded in data captured by said sensor, said executable programming instructions further comprising instructions to control some aspect of said wireless reception device, and wherein the aspect involves the auxiliary data.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
103 words
A wireless reception device sized for fitting in a user's pocket or purse, said wireless reception device comprising: a battery to power said wireless reception device; a sensor to capture image or audio data; electronic memory circuitry; and electronic processing circuitry, wherein said electronic memory circuitry includes executable programming instructions stored therein for execution on said electronic processing circuitry, said executable programming instructions comprising a steganographic decoder for discerning auxiliary data steganographically embedded in data captured by said sensor, said executable programming instructions further comprising instructions to control some aspect of said wireless reception device, and wherein the aspect involves the auxiliary data.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
17 words
The wireless reception device of claim 28 , wherein said wireless reception device comprises a wireless telephone.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
16 words
The wireless reception device of claim 28 , wherein said electronic processing circuitry comprises a microprocessor.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
17 words
The wireless reception device of claim 28 , wherein said steganographic decoder comprises a digital watermark decoder.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
37 words
The wireless reception device of claim 31 , wherein the steganographically embedded auxiliary data comprises a digital watermark, and wherein the digital watermark is embedded in the data captured by said sensor through modifications of the data.
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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) | 2010-01-29 | 2010-07-31 | 2011-01-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2014-01-29 | 2014-07-31 | 2015-01-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2018-01-29 | 2018-07-31 | 2019-01-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |