Film Print Code Symbols for Counterfeit Source Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for tracing counterfeit motion picture copies are unreliable due to frame rate differences between film and video cameras, incomplete recording, and difficulty in detecting and erasing coded symbols, leading to inefficient identification and prosecution of counterfeiters.
Innovation Solution
A coding system where each digit of a motion picture film's print number is represented by unique, small, unobtrusive code symbols resembling film defects, repeated in successive frames and locations, with a record kept of their locations to aid detection and prevent erasure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If a code symbol is made large and visible, then it is easier to detect and read, but it becomes obvious to counterfeiters who can easily find and delete it
Solution Approach 1:
The code symbol is designed with non-uniform local qualities: most of the frame contains normal film content, while only specific localized regions contain code elements. These code elements are distributed sparsely throughout the frame, making them locally distinct from the surrounding film content. This allows the code to be hidden within normal film regions while maintaining detectability through its unique local pattern.
Solution Approach 2:
The code symbol is segmented into multiple individual code elements distributed throughout the frame rather than forming a single contiguous pattern. Each code element is a separate visual marker that collectively represents the code value. This segmentation makes the code harder to detect as a whole pattern while maintaining readability through the collective arrangement of elements.
2Device complexity
If the code pattern uses a single design with varied element locations, then it simplifies the coding system, but it becomes difficult to read and requires manual templates
Solution Approach 1:
The code elements utilize visual properties analogous to color changes - specifically, they employ distinct visual characteristics (such as brightness, contrast, or pattern density) that differentiate code elements from normal film content. This allows automated detection systems to identify code elements based on their unique visual properties without requiring manual template matching.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters of the code elements (such as their spatial distribution, visual intensity, or pattern characteristics) to create detectable signatures. Rather than using a static single pattern, the code elements vary in their visual parameters, enabling automated recognition while maintaining system simplicity.
3Reliability
If code symbols are placed in every frame, then tracing reliability is improved, but film length increases and viewing time is extended
Solution Approach 1:
Code symbols are placed periodically rather than continuously - specifically, one code symbol appears in every fourth frame. This periodic placement maintains sufficient tracing reliability by providing frequent enough markers to track counterfeit copies, while significantly reducing the total number of code symbols compared to placing them in every frame, thus minimizing impact on film length and viewing time.
Data Source
AI summary
Information is incorporated into motion picture film prints in the form of images or patterns that appear as unobtrusive defects or artifacts. The unique codes are used in association with the print number of the film and are reproduced in video copies of the film made by counterfeiters. This code can be read from the counterfeit copy and can be used to trace the source of the counterfeit. The digits of the print number are recorded in separate frames to increase the difficulty to counterfeiters in detecting and deleting them.