Patent · US Expired

Robust watermark method and apparatus for digital signals

US6209094A · kind A · utility

133Cited by
18References
36Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 14, 1998
Grant dateMar 27, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 14, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T2201/0065
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Watermark data is encoded in a digitized signal by forming a noise threshold spectrum which represents a maximum amount of imperceptible noise, spread-spectrum chipping the noise threshold spectrum with a relatively endless stream of pseudo-random bits to form a basis signal, dividing the basis signal into segments, and filtering the segments to smooth segment boundaries. The data encoded in the watermark signal is precoded to make the watermark data inversion robust and is convolutional encoded to further increase the likelihood that the watermark data will subsequently be retrievable notwithstanding lossy processing of the watermarked signal. Watermark data is encoded in a basis signal by division of the basis signal into segments and inverting the basis signal in segments corresponding to watermark data bits with a first logical value and not inverting the basis signal in segment corresponding to watermark data bits with a different logical value. The basis signal is smoothed at segment boundaries to eliminate any such discontinuities. Good results are achieved when scaling the basis signal by a cube-root of the positive half of a sine function which is aligned with segment boun…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.