Client-Side Digital Watermarking for Remote Display Security

The patent applies preliminary action by embedding digital watermarks in the encoded content before transmission to the client. The watermark is inserted into the bitstream during the encoding process on the server side, ensuring that tracing capability is built into the content before it leaves the secure environment. This allows unauthorized distribution to be traced back to the specific client device without requiring changes to the host-side rendering architecture.

The patent applies inversion by moving the watermarking operation from the server-side encoding process to the client-side decoding process. Instead of modifying the server's encoding components to insert watermarks, the solution modifies the client's decoder to insert watermarks during the decoding process. This reverses the traditional approach and eliminates the need for server-side changes while still achieving secure watermarking.

The patent applies local quality by making the watermark properties adjustable between visible and invisible forms. The watermark can be configured with different strengths and characteristics depending on the specific use case. For applications requiring strong deterrence, visible watermarks can be used. For applications prioritizing user experience, invisible watermarks with sufficient embedding strength can be used to maintain tracing capability without degrading display quality.