Watermarking Audiovisual Content for User Traceability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audiovisual products face challenges in preventing copying, especially when distributed to a large number of authorized users, as current copy prevention methods are ineffective during playback, allowing unauthorized copies to be made with relative ease.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a method that allocates unique user identities and embeds a sequence of watermark characters within the audiovisual product, which are displayed during playback, ensuring that any copied content can be traced back to the original user, thereby acting as a strong deterrent against copying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If copy prevention features are implemented in the audiovisual product, then copying from the original medium is made difficult, but copying during playback remains easy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by embedding watermark characters in the audiovisual content before distribution. These watermarks are pre-integrated into the video frames at specific time codes, so that when the content is played back, the watermarks are already present and can be captured along with the video signal. This preliminary embedding ensures that even though copying during playback is technically easy, the copied content automatically contains traceable identification information.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the audiovisual product is distributed to a large number of authorized users, then wider access is provided, but the risk of unauthorized copying increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning unique watermark identifiers to different users or user groups. Each authorized user receives content with a specific watermark pattern or identifier embedded in it. This means that while the distribution reach is wide, each local instance of the content has a unique quality characteristic (the specific watermark identifier) that allows tracking. If copying occurs, the harm can be traced back to the specific user or group associated with that watermark identifier.
3Reliability
If watermark characters are embedded in the audiovisual product, then copying can be traced to the original user, but the complexity of the product increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying specific parameters of the audiovisual content (such as pixel values in video frames) to embed the watermark characters. The watermarks are integrated into existing video frames at predetermined time codes without fundamentally changing the overall structure of the audiovisual product. The navigation structure and time code system provide a framework, but the actual watermarking is achieved by changing local parameters (pixel data) rather than restructuring the entire product.
Data Source
AI summary
An audiovisual product (400) is recorded with a set of watermark characters (421, 701) as video or audio objects. A sequence of the watermark characters (421, 701) is selected and reproduced upon playback to uniquely identify a particular playback instance. Ideally, a user identity code is received upon playback amongst a predetermined set of user identity codes, and the sequence of watermark characters (421, 701) is selected and replayed according to the received user identity code. The sequence of watermark characters (421, 701) allows the user identity code to be traced should the audio and/or visual output of the audiovisual product (400) be recorded such as with a video cassette recorder (VCR).