3D Model Watermarking for Collaborative Rights Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current 3D modeling software lacks effective mechanisms for controlling and managing rights to three-dimensional models, particularly in collaborative environments, where users may modify or share models without preserving the original creator's rights and credits.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a rights management system that generates and maintains watermarks or visual indicators associated with model data, allowing only authorized users to modify and share models, while ensuring that the original creator's rights and credits are preserved and displayed, even when the model is edited or copied.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If users are allowed to freely modify and share 3D models in collaborative environments, then productivity and ease of operation are improved, but the original creator's rights and credits cannot be controlled or preserved
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by embedding watermarks and rights metadata into the model data before any collaborative editing occurs. This preemptive measure ensures that ownership information is already in place and cannot be lost during subsequent modifications, resolving the contradiction by establishing control mechanisms in advance while allowing free collaboration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary rights management system that acts as a mediator between the original creator and collaborative users. This intermediary layer tracks modifications, preserves watermarks, and manages permissions without preventing collaborative work, thus maintaining both productivity and rights control simultaneously.
2Reliability
If watermarks and rights indicators are embedded in model data to protect creator rights, then rights management control is improved, but the complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the rights management functionality directly into the existing 3D modeling software architecture. By combining watermark embedding, metadata storage, and rights enforcement with the core modeling operations, the system avoids adding separate complex external systems, thus improving rights control while minimizing additional complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rights management system is designed to be universal and multi-functional, handling watermark embedding, modification tracking, permission management, and credit preservation through a single integrated framework. This multi-functionality reduces the need for multiple separate systems, thereby improving rights control without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
3Loss of information
If the system tracks and preserves all modifications and contributions in collaborative models, then rights management control and information completeness are improved, but the complexity of detecting and measuring changes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex manual tracking mechanisms with automated digital watermarking and metadata systems. Instead of relying on manual record-keeping or complex version control systems, the solution uses automated embedding of identification data and algorithmic tracking of modifications, thereby achieving complete contribution tracking while reducing the difficulty of detection and measurement through automation.
Data Source
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AI summary
A first user having a certain set of privileges with respect to an initial three-dimensional (3D) model associates a watermark with the initial 3D model, so that the watermark is displayed whenever the initial 3D model is viewed or edited. A second user having a smaller set of privileges with respect to the initial 3D model is permitted to view, copy and/or modify the initial 3D model, but is not permitted to remove or alter the content of the watermark. The watermark is continuously displayed as the second user works with the initial 3D model. When the second user applies a change to the initial 3D model, an indication of the modifications applied by the second user is generated and stored with the model data corresponding to the updated 3D model.