US5841886A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Security system for photographic identification
Assignee: Digimarc Corp
•
Filing: 1996-12-04
•
Granted: 1998-11-24
•
Expires: 2016-12-04
Abstract
Abstract Security of photographic identification documents is enhanced by embedding within the photographic image encoded information that may be correlated to other information pertaining to the individual represented by the image, such other information being, for example, printed on the document adjacent to the photograph.
Inventors
- 👤 Geoffrey B. Rhoads
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 22:38
CPC Classifications
B; B42; B42D; B42D25/00; B42D25/40; B42D25/405; B42D25/415; B42D25/42; B42D25/20; B42D25/23; B42D25/30; B42D25/309; G; G06; G06F; G06F16/00; G06F16/90; G06F16/95; G06F16/955; G06K; G06K19/00; G06K19/06; G06K19/06009; G06K19/06037; G06K19/06046; G06K19/08; G06K19/10; G06K19/14; G06K19/18; G06K7/00; G06K7/10; G06K7/14; G06K7/1404; G06K7/1408; G06K7/1417; G06K7/1439; G06K7/1447; G06Q; G06Q20/00; G06Q20/30; G06Q20/34; G06Q20/341; G06Q20/38; G06Q20/40; G06Q20/401; G06Q20/4014; G06Q20/40145; G06T; G06T1/00; G06T1/0021; G06T1/005; G07; G07C; G07C9/00; G07C9/20; G07C9/22; G07C9/25; G07C9/253; G07D; G07D7/00; G07D7/003; G07D7/0032; G07D7/0034; G07D7/004; G07F; G07F17/00; G07F17/16; G07F17/26; G07F7/00; G07F7/08; G07F7/086; G07F7/10; G07F7/1008; G07F7/1016; G07F7/12; G10; G10L; G10L19/00; G10L19/018; G11; G11B; G11B20/00; G11B20/00086; G11B20/00094; G11B20/00166; G11B20/0021; G11B20/00884; G11B20/00891; H; H04; H04B; H04B1/00; H04B1/66; H04B1/665; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/00002; H04N1/00005; H04N1/00026; H04N1/00037; H04N1/00071; H04N1/00074; H04N1/00079; H04N1/32; H04N1/32101; H04N1/32144; H04N1/32149; H04N1/32154; H04N1/3216; H04N1/32203; H04N1/32208; H04N1/32251; H04N1/32288; H04N1/32352; H04N19/00; H04N19/46; H04N19/467; H04N21/00; H04N21/20; H04N21/23; H04N21/238; H04N21/2389; H04N21/23892; H04N21/80; H04N21/83; H04N21/835; H04N21/8358; H04N5/00; H04N5/76; H04N5/91; H04N5/913; G06K2019/06215; G06K2019/06253; G06T2201/00; G06T2201/005; G06T2201/0052; H04N2005/91307; H04N2005/91321; H04N2005/91335; H04N2201/00; H04N2201/32; H04N2201/3201; H04N2201/3204; H04N2201/3205; H04N2201/3207; H04N2201/3225; H04N2201/3226; H04N2201/3233; H04N2201/3269; H04N2201/327; H04N2201/3271; H04N2201/3274; H04N2201/328
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 63
Claim 1
Independent Claim
110 words
A method of correlating, with a photograph, information about an individual whose image appears in the photograph, the method comprising: steganographically encoding into a photograph multi-bit information that pertains to said individual, said encoding serving to add noise to the photograph, said noise not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit information except by computer analysis, said encoding not visibly interrupting the photograph, wherein the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said individual to human viewers thereof; decoding the encoded multi-bit information; and making an authentication decision about the individual whose image appears in the photograph based, at least in part, on said decoded multi-bit information.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
110 words
A method of correlating, with a photograph, information about an individual whose image appears in the photograph, the method comprising: steganographically encoding into a photograph multi-bit information that pertains to said individual, said encoding serving to add noise to the photograph, said noise not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit information except by computer analysis, said encoding not visibly interrupting the photograph, wherein the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said individual to human viewers thereof; decoding the encoded multi-bit information; and making an authentication decision about the individual whose image appears in the photograph based, at least in part, on said decoded multi-bit information.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 in which said authentication decision is made by an automated system, without intervention of human judgment.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 1 which includes providing said encoded photograph on a substrate, and printing readable text information on said substrate, said multi-bit information encoded in the photograph serving to represent, redundantly, some of the text printed on said substrate.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
130 words
A method of correlating, with a photograph, information about an individual whose image appears in the photograph, the method comprising: steganographically encoding into a photograph multi-bit information that pertains to said individual, said encoding serving to add noise to the photograph, said noise not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit information except by computer analysis, wherein the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said individual to human viewers thereof; automatically decoding the encoded information, notwithstanding rotation of the photograph from an initial orientation at which the photograph was encoded, wherein at least certain rotations of the photograph do not defeat decoding; and making an authentication decision about the individual whose image appears in the photograph based, at least in part, on said decoded multi-bit information.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
130 words
A method of correlating, with a photograph, information about an individual whose image appears in the photograph, the method comprising: steganographically encoding into a photograph multi-bit information that pertains to said individual, said encoding serving to add noise to the photograph, said noise not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit information except by computer analysis, wherein the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said individual to human viewers thereof; automatically decoding the encoded information, notwithstanding rotation of the photograph from an initial orientation at which the photograph was encoded, wherein at least certain rotations of the photograph do not defeat decoding; and making an authentication decision about the individual whose image appears in the photograph based, at least in part, on said decoded multi-bit information.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
137 words
A method of correlating, with a photograph, information about an individual whose image appears in the photograph, the method comprising: steganographically encoding into a photograph multi-bit information that pertains to said individual, said encoding serving to add noise to the photograph, said noise not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit information except by computer analysis, wherein the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said individual to human viewers thereof; decoding the encoded multi-bit information, said decoding including performing a domain transformation on a first set of data related to said encoded photograph, said domain transformation producing transformed data in a spatial frequency domain, and analyzing said transformed data; and making an authentication decision about the individual whose image appears in the photograph based, at least in part, on said decoded multi-bit information.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
137 words
A method of correlating, with a photograph, information about an individual whose image appears in the photograph, the method comprising: steganographically encoding into a photograph multi-bit information that pertains to said individual, said encoding serving to add noise to the photograph, said noise not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit information except by computer analysis, wherein the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said individual to human viewers thereof; decoding the encoded multi-bit information, said decoding including performing a domain transformation on a first set of data related to said encoded photograph, said domain transformation producing transformed data in a spatial frequency domain, and analyzing said transformed data; and making an authentication decision about the individual whose image appears in the photograph based, at least in part, on said decoded multi-bit information.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1 in which said decoding includes performing a plurality of statistical analyses on said encoded photograph to discern the multi-bit information signal therefrom.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
68 words
The method of claim 6 in which each statistical analysis includes analyzing a collection of spaced apart image signal values to discern a single, first datum related to the multi-bit information signal therefrom, said analysis to discern said first datum encompassing not just said spaced apart image signal values, but also image signal values adjacent thereto, said adjacent image signal values not being encoded with said first datum.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 7 in which said samples are pixel data and are spaced apart in the spatial image domain.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 7 in which said datum is one bit of the multi-bit information signal.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 in which said decoding includes performing a dot product operation.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 1 in which the encoding includes processing the photograph in accordance with key data in addition to said multi-bit information, each element of the input image having at least one element of said key data corresponding thereto.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 in which said decoding includes processing in accordance with pseudo-random key data.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
128 words
A method of correlating, with a photograph, information about an individual whose image appears in the photograph, the method comprising: steganographically encoding into a photograph multi-bit information that pertains to said individual, said encoding serving to add noise to the photograph, said noise not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit information except by computer analysis, wherein the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said individual to human viewers thereof, said encoding comprising a process in which the relative strength of the encoded multi-bit information changes locally in accordance with local characteristics of the photograph; decoding the encoded multi-bit information; and making an authentication decision about the individual whose image appears in the photograph based, at least in part, on said decoded multi-bit information.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
128 words
A method of correlating, with a photograph, information about an individual whose image appears in the photograph, the method comprising: steganographically encoding into a photograph multi-bit information that pertains to said individual, said encoding serving to add noise to the photograph, said noise not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit information except by computer analysis, wherein the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said individual to human viewers thereof, said encoding comprising a process in which the relative strength of the encoded multi-bit information changes locally in accordance with local characteristics of the photograph; decoding the encoded multi-bit information; and making an authentication decision about the individual whose image appears in the photograph based, at least in part, on said decoded multi-bit information.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method of claim 1 in which the photograph comprises a plurality of pixels, and wherein the encoding includes processing each of a plurality of said pixels in accordance with a plurality of bits of said multi-bit information, wherein there is a many bit-to-one pixel mapping between bits of said multi-bit information and pixels of said encoded photograph.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 14 in which a plurality of pixels said photograph are each processed in accordance with at least four bits of said multi-bit information.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 15 in which each pixel in the photograph is processed in accordance with a plurality of bits of said multi-bit information.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 1 in which the photograph comprises a plurality of pixels, and said encoding includes performing a binary addition operation between pixels of said photograph and elements of an overlay signal, said overlay signal conveying said multi-bit information.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1 which includes encoding calibration data in said encoded photograph, said calibration data aiding decoding of the multi-bit information from said encoded photograph without a priori information about the image represented thereby.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
11 words
A photo ID document produced by the method of claim 1.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
101 words
A photograph of a subject on a substrate, the photograph being steganographically encoded with multi-bit data, said data providing information related to the photograph, said encoding not visibly interrupting the photograph, said data being manifested as a slight snow effect on said photograph, said snow effect not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit data except by computer analysis, so that the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said subject to human viewers thereof, wherein said steganographic encoding permits discernment of the multi-bit data from said image without reference to information about the contents of said photograph.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
101 words
A photograph of a subject on a substrate, the photograph being steganographically encoded with multi-bit data, said data providing information related to the photograph, said encoding not visibly interrupting the photograph, said data being manifested as a slight snow effect on said photograph, said snow effect not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit data except by computer analysis, so that the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said subject to human viewers thereof, wherein said steganographic encoding permits discernment of the multi-bit data from said image without reference to information about the contents of said photograph.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
125 words
A photograph of a subject on a substrate, the photograph being steganographically encoded with multi-bit data, said data providing information related to the photograph, said data being manifested as a slight snow effect on said photograph, said snow effect not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit data except by computer analysis, so that the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said subject to human viewers thereof, wherein (1) said steganographic encoding permits discernment of the multi-bit data from said image without reference to information about the contents of said photograph; and (2) the intensity of said snow is related, by a non-linear relationship, to localized characteristics of said photograph, wherein the local intensity of said snow varies across the photograph.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
125 words
A photograph of a subject on a substrate, the photograph being steganographically encoded with multi-bit data, said data providing information related to the photograph, said data being manifested as a slight snow effect on said photograph, said snow effect not being perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit data except by computer analysis, so that the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of said subject to human viewers thereof, wherein (1) said steganographic encoding permits discernment of the multi-bit data from said image without reference to information about the contents of said photograph; and (2) the intensity of said snow is related, by a non-linear relationship, to localized characteristics of said photograph, wherein the local intensity of said snow varies across the photograph.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
15 words
The photograph of claim 20 in which the substrate is a page from a periodical.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
38 words
The photograph of claim 20 in which the multi-bit data embedded in the photograph serves to identify a proprietor of the photograph, wherein the photograph can be computer-analyzed to extract from the photograph information identifying the proprietor thereof.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
22 words
The photograph of claim 23 in which said multi-bit data is a serial number index into the registry database containing additional information.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
8 words
A photo ID document according to claim 20.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
91 words
A photo ID document comprising: a photograph on a substrate, the photograph portraying an individual; multi-bit information steganographically encoded within said photograph, said information being useful in making an authentication decision about the individual portrayed in said photograph, said steganographic encoding not visibly interrupting the photograph; wherein said encoding of the photograph serves to add noise thereto, but this noise is not perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit information except by computer analysis, wherein the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of the individual to human viewers thereof.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
91 words
A photo ID document comprising: a photograph on a substrate, the photograph portraying an individual; multi-bit information steganographically encoded within said photograph, said information being useful in making an authentication decision about the individual portrayed in said photograph, said steganographic encoding not visibly interrupting the photograph; wherein said encoding of the photograph serves to add noise thereto, but this noise is not perceptible as a representation of said multi-bit information except by computer analysis, wherein the encoded photograph appears to convey only an image of the individual to human viewers thereof.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
22 words
The document of claim 26 wherein the encoded information represents biometric information correlated to the individual whose image appears in the photograph.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
13 words
The document of claim 27 wherein the biometric information is a fingerprint image.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
28 words
The document of claim 26 which additionally includes human-readable text information located thereon, said encoded information in the photograph serving to represent, redundantly, some of the text information.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
15 words
The document of claim 29 in which said encoded information directly expresses said text information.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 13 in which said authentication decision is made by an automated system, without intervention of human judgment.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 13 which includes providing said encoded photograph on a substrate, and printing readable text information on said substrate, said multi-bit information encoded in the photograph serving to represent, redundantly, some of the text printed on said substrate.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 13 in which said decoding includes performing a plurality of statistical analyses on said encoded photograph to discern the multi-bit information signal therefrom.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 13 in which said decoding includes performing a dot product operation.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 13 in which the encoding includes processing the photograph in accordance with key data in addition to said multi-bit information, each element of the input image having at least one element of said key data corresponding thereto.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 13 in which said decoding includes processing in accordance with pseudo-random key data.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method of claim 13 in which the photograph comprises a plurality of pixels, and wherein the encoding includes processing each of a plurality of said pixels in accordance with a plurality of bits of said multi-bit information, wherein there is a many bit-to-one pixel mapping between bits of said multi-bit information and pixels of said encoded photograph.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 13 in which the photograph comprises a plurality of pixels, and said encoding includes performing a binary addition operation between pixels of said photograph and elements of an overlay signal, said overlay signal conveying said multi-bit information.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 13 which includes encoding calibration data in said encoded photograph, said calibration data aiding decoding of the multi-bit information from said encoded photograph without a priori information about the image represented thereby.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
11 words
A photo ID document produced by the method of claim 13.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
15 words
The photograph of claim 21 in which the substrate is a page from a periodical.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
38 words
The photograph of claim 21 in which the multi-bit data embedded in the photograph serves to identify a proprietor of the photograph, wherein the photograph can be computer-analyzed to extract from the photograph information identifying the proprietor thereof.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
8 words
A photo ID document according to claim 21.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the photograph includes plural columns of pixels, and the encoding changes pixels in more than two of said columns.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 44, wherein the encoding changes pixels in a majority of said columns.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 44, wherein the encoding changes pixels in all of said columns.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the encoding casts a slight snow effect on the photograph, but does not otherwise corrupt same.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the encoding does not alert a human viewer of the photograph that anything other than the individual's image is present.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
22 words
The photograph of claim 20 comprising plural columns of pixels, and the encoding changes pixels in more than two of said columns.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
15 words
The photograph of claim 49, wherein the encoding changes pixels in all of said columns.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
22 words
The photograph of claim 20 wherein the encoding casts a slight snow effect on the photograph, but does not otherwise corrupt same.
Claim 59
Dependent Claim
25 words
The photograph of claim 20 wherein the encoding does not alert a human viewer of the photograph that anything other than photograph subject is present.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
27 words
The photo ID document of claim 26 wherein the photograph includes plural columns of pixels, and the encoding changes pixels in more than two of said columns.
Claim 61
Dependent Claim
17 words
The photo ID document of claim 53, wherein the encoding changes pixels in all of said columns.
Claim 62
Dependent Claim
24 words
The photo ID document of claim 26 wherein the encoding casts a slight snow effect on the photograph, but does not otherwise corrupt same.
Claim 63
Dependent Claim
29 words
The photo ID document of claim 26 wherein the encoding does not alert a human viewer of the photograph that anything other than photograph of the individual is present.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-11-23 | 2002-05-25 | 2002-11-24 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-11-23 | 2006-05-25 | 2006-11-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-11-23 | 2010-05-25 | 2010-11-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |