Patent · US Expired

Image processing apparatus, method, and system, and computer-readable storage medium having program stored therein

US6473859B1 · kind B1 · utility

11Cited by
3References
24Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateApr 30, 1999
Grant dateOct 29, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 30, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N19/132
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An image data distribution system includes a server, side and a client side. The server side codes original image data into hierarchical coded data formed of a plurality of hierarchies, and encrypts at least one of the hierarchies. The server side further adds a predetermined code (code for causing a part of a decoding process to be skipped) to coded data of the encrypted hierarchy. When the hierarchical coded data is to be decoded, the client side does not perform a decoding process on the hierarchy to which the predetermined code is added and performs a decoding process on the coded data of the hierarchy when predetermined conditions are satisfied. This makes it possible to easily and reliably manage image data used for a plurality of types of purposes and to reliably protect the copyright of the image data.

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