Patent Abstract:
An apparatus including a transformer for transforming transform domain data into time domain data and a combiner for receiving material and combining said time domain data with said material to form data embedded material. Hence, the material is not subject any transformation at all.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present continuation Application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 to application Ser. No. 10/006,298, filed Dec. 6, 2001, and under 35 U.S.C. § 119 from United Kingdom Application No. 0029863.8, filed on Dec. 7, 2000, the entire contents of both are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to embedding data in material. Embodiments of the present invention relate to watermarking. 
         [0004]    Material as used herein means information material represented by information signals and material includes at least one or more of image material, audio material and data material. Image material is generic to still and moving images and includes video and other forms of information signals represents images. 
         [0005]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0006]    Steganography is the embedding of data into material such as video material, audio material and data material in such a way that the data is imperceptible in the material. 
         [0007]    Data may be embedded as a watermark in material such as video material, audio material and data material. A watermark may be imperceptible or perceptible in the material. 
         [0008]    A watermark may be used for various purposes. It is known to use watermarks for the purpose of protecting the material against, or trace, infringement of the intellectual property rights of the owner(s) of the material. For example a watermark may identify the owner of the material. 
         [0009]    Watermarks may be “robust” in that they are difficult to remove from the material. Robust watermarks are useful to trace the provenance of material which is processed in some way either in an attempt to remove the mark or to effect legitimate processing such as video editing or compression for storage and/or transmission. Watermarks may be “fragile” in that they are easily damaged by processing which is useful to detect attempts to remove the mark or process the material. 
         [0010]    Visible watermarks are useful to allow e.g. a customer to view an image e.g. over the Internet to determine whether they wish to buy it but without allowing the customer access to the unmarked image they would buy. The watermark degrades the image and the mark is preferably not removable by the customer. Visible watermarks are also used to determine the provenance of the material into which they are embedded. 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  shows one such known apparatus, generally  100 , for embedding a transform domain watermark in an image. The image  105  is received by the transformer  110  and output as a transform domain image  115 . The transform domain watermark  145  is then applied to the transform domain image  115  by the combiner  120  which outputs a transform domain watermarked image  125 . The transform domain watermarked image  125  is then received by the inverse transformer  130  and output as a spatial domain watermarked image  135 . 
         [0012]    However, a problem arises in that the image  105  may be degraded by the operation of both the transformer  110  and inverse transformer  130 . The transformers  110 ,  130  need to be very accurate to ensure that any degradation is minimised. Accurate transformers are relatively expensive and two are required. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus comprising a transformer for transforming transform domain data into spatial domain data; and a combiner for receiving material and combining said spatial domain data with said material to form data embedded material. 
         [0014]    Hence, in preferred embodiments the material is not subject any transformation at all. One less transformer is required than the prior art approach thereby reducing cost and complexity. Advantageously, since only the transform domain watermark is transformed the transformer can have less precision and range thereby further reducing cost and complexity. 
         [0015]    According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method comprising the steps of a) transforming transform domain data into spatial domain data; and b) combining said spatial domain data with material to form data embedded material. 
         [0016]    According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer program product arranged to carry out the method of said another aspect when run on a computer. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a prior art watermarking apparatus; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a watermark apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a watermark apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the strength adapter of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a watermark apparatus according to a further embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate a UMW structure; and 
           [0024]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  illustrate wavelet processing and notation. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0025]    Whilst the embodiments described herein refer to images and watermarking images it will be appreciated that the technique can be equally be applied to other material such as audio, video and data generally. 
         [0026]      FIG. 2  illustrates a watermark apparatus, generally  200 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. The watermark apparatus  200  comprises an inverse transformer  210  and a combiner  220 . In overview, the watermark apparatus  200  receives a spatial domain image  105  and a transform domain watermark  145 , and outputs a spatial domain watermarked image  225 . The transform domain watermark  145  is inverse transformed in a transformer  210  and combined with the spatial domain image  105  in a combiner  220  to produce the spatial domain watermarked image  225 . Only the transform domain watermark  145 , and not the spatial domain image  105 , is subject to subject any transformation. The spatial domain image  105  is not subject to any lossy processing which may degrade the spatial domain image  105  and is fully recoverable. 
       Spatial Domain Image  105   
       [0027]    The spatial domain image  105  is preferably a digital bitmap. The digital bitmap comprises of a plurality of pixels, each pixel having a particular binary value. 
       Transform Domain Watermark  145   
       [0028]    The transform domain watermark  145  comprises encoded watermark information. The transform domain watermark  145  is preferably a digital bitmap. The digital bitmap comprises of a plurality of pixels, each pixel having a particular binary value, each particular binary value encoding the watermark information. 
         [0029]    The transform domain watermark  145  may comprise wavelet coefficients, each coefficient being represented by one pixel of the digital bitmap. Wavelets are described in more detail below the section entitled wavelets. The value of each wavelet coefficient encodes the watermark information. The wavelet has watermark information which is encoded in coefficients in at least two bands in at least one level. In preferred embodiments, the upper horizontal band, hH 1 , hV 1  and the upper vertical band, 1H 1 , hV 1  are used to encode the watermark information as watermark information encoded in these bands have been found not to be readily perceptible in the spatial representation. Furthermore, watermark information is encoded in these bands because it has been found to be robust to image compression techniques such as those agreed by the Joint Picture Expert Group (JPEG). However, it will be appreciated that the watermark information may be encoded in any suitable coefficients and any band or level as appropriate. 
         [0030]    Alternatively, the transform domain watermark  145  may comprise Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) coefficients, each coefficient being represented by one pixel of the digital bitmap. DCTs are well known in the art. Preferably, the value of each DCT coefficient encodes the watermark information. 
         [0031]    The watermark information may, for example, identify the owner of the spatial domain image  105  or provide other information associated with the spatial domain image  105 . Preferably, the watermark information comprises a Universal Material Identifier (UMID) associated with the spatial domain image  105 . The use of a UMID is advantageous as it provides for unique identification of the spatial domain image  105 . UMIDs are described in more detail below in the section entitled UMIDs. Preferably, the watermark information is encoded by a Pseudo Random Symbol Stream. The use of Pseudo Random Symbol Stream encoding is advantageous as it reduces the visual perceptibility of the watermark and makes it more difficult for the watermark information to be isolated or removed. The Pseudo Random Symbol Stream spreads the watermark over many coefficients. Encoding or ‘spreading’ using Pseudo Random Symbol Stream&#39;s is well known in the art. The watermark information may also be subject to en- or correction coding to improve decoding success rates. 
       Inverse Transformer  210   
       [0032]    The inverse transformer  210  receives the transform domain watermark  145  and transforms transform domain watermark  145  into a spatial domain watermark  215 . Where the transform domain watermark  145  comprises wavelet coefficients, the inverse transformer  210  comprises an inverse wavelet transformer. Where the transform domain watermark  145  comprises DCT coefficients, the inverse transformer  210  comprises an inverse DCT transformer. It will be appreciated that other techniques for transform domain representation may also be used and suitable inverse transformers will be required as appropriate. Since only the transform domain watermark  145 , and not the spatial domain image  105 , is to be transformed the inverse transformer  210  can have less precision and range thereby further reducing cost and complexity. Any losses introduced into the spatial domain watermark  215  by the inverse transformer  210  may be recovered using decoding techniques such as error correction coding. 
         [0033]    The spatial domain watermark  215  is preferably a digital bitmap. The digital bitmap comprises of a plurality of pixels, each pixel having a particular value. 
       Combiner  220   
       [0034]    The combiner  220  receives the spatial domain image  105  and the spatial domain watermark  215 , and outputs a spatial domain watermarked image  225 . The combiner  220  arithmetically combines respective pixels of the spatial domain image  105  and the spatial domain watermark  215  to produce the spatial domain watermarked image  225 . 
       ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENT 
       [0035]      FIG. 3  illustrates a watermark apparatus, generally  300 , according to another embodiment of the present invention. The watermark apparatus  300  is similar to the arrangement of  FIG. 2  but with the inclusion of a strength adapter  310 . The strength adapter  310  adapts the strength of the spatial domain watermark  215  in dependence on the spatial domain image  105  to produce a strength adapted spatial domain watermark  315 . The combiner  220  arithmetically combines respective values of the spatial domain image  105  and the strength adapted spatial domain watermark  315  to produce a spatial domain watermarked image  325 . 
         [0036]    The strength adapter  310  allows the strength of the watermark spatial domain watermark  215  to be adapted such that the strength adapted spatial domain watermark  315  is not readily perceptible in the spatial domain watermarked image  325 . Each pixel of the spatial domain watermark  215  may be individually adapted in dependence on respective pixels of the spatial domain image  105 . Alternatively, a predetermined number of pixels of the spatial domain watermark  215  may be adapted in dependence on particular representative pixels of the spatial domain image  105 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 4  illustrates an embodiment of the strength adapter of  FIG. 3 . The strength adapter  310  comprises a generator  410  and a multiplier  420 . The generator  410  receives the spatial domain image  105  and generates strength control information  415 . The strength control information  415  is received by the multiplier  420  which, in response, adapts the magnitude of the spatial domain watermark  215  to produce a strength adapted spatial domain watermark  315 . 
         [0038]    The generator  410  may generate strength control information  415  such that each pixel of the spatial domain watermark  215  may be individually adapted in dependence on respective pixels of the spatial domain image  105 . Alternatively, the generator  410  may generate strength control information  415  such that a predetermined number of pixels of the spatial domain watermark  215  may be adapted in dependence on particular representative pixels of the image  105 . The strength control information  415  (α) is generated using the algorithm α=F(Image), where F(Image) is a function representing the ability of the image  105  to mask respective pixels of the spatial domain watermark  215 . 
         [0039]    The strength adapted spatial domain watermark  315  is then combined by the combiner  220  with the image  105  to produce a spatial domain watermarked image  325  as described above. 
       FURTHER EMBODIMENT 
       [0040]      FIG. 5  illustrates a watermark apparatus, generally  400 , according to a further embodiment of the present invention. The watermark apparatus  400  is similar to the arrangement of  FIG. 4  but with the strength adaptation being performed in the transform domain instead of the spatial domain. Hence, a transformer  430  is provided which transforms the spatial domain image  105  into a transform domain image  535 . 
         [0041]    The generator  410  receives the transform domain image  535  and generates strength control information  515 . The strength control information  515  is received by the multiplier  420  which, in response, adapts the magnitude of the transform domain watermark  145  to produce a strength adapted transform domain watermark  545 . 
         [0042]    The generator  410  may generate strength control information  515  such that each pixel of the transform domain watermark  145  may be individually adapted in dependence on respective pixels of the transform domain image  535 . Alternatively, the generator  410  may generate strength control information  515  such that a predetermined number of pixels of the transform domain watermark  145  may be adapted in dependence on particular representative pixels of the transform domain image  535 . 
         [0043]    The inverse transformer  210  receives the strength adapted transform domain watermark  545  and transforms the strength adapted transform domain watermark  545  into a strength adapted spatial domain watermark  555 . 
         [0044]    The strength adapted spatial domain watermark  555  is then combined by the combiner  220  with the spatial domain image  105  to produce a spatial domain watermarked image  525  as described above. 
         [0045]    Hence, it will be appreciated that only the transform domain watermark  145 , and not the image  105 , is subject to any transformation. Accordingly, the image  105  is not subject to any lossy processing and will be fully recoverable. 
       UMIDs 
       [0046]      FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate a UMID structure. 
         [0047]    The UMID is described in SMPTE Journal March 2000. Referring to  FIG. 6A  an extended UMID is shown. It comprises a first set of 32 bytes of basic UMID and a second set of 32 bytes of signature metadata. 
         [0048]    The first set of 32 bytes is the basic UMID. The components are:
       A 12-byte Universal Label to identify this as a SMPTE UMID. It defines the type of material which the UMID identifies and also defines the methods by which the globally unique Material and locally unique Instance numbers are created.   A 1-byte length value to define the length of the remaining part of the UMID.   A 3-byte Instance number which is used to distinguish between different instances&#39; of material with the same Material number.   A 16-byte Material number which is used to identify each clip. Each Material number is the same for related instances of the same material.       
 
         [0053]    The second set of 32 bytes of the signature metadata as a set of packed metadata items used to create an extended UMID. The extended UMID comprises the basic UMID followed immediately by signature metadata which comprises:
       An 8-byte time/date code identifying the time and date of the Content Unit creation.   A 12-byte value which defines the spatial co-ordinates at the time of Content Unit creation.   3 groups of 4-byte codes which register the country, organisation and user codes       
 
         [0057]    Each component of the basic and extended UMIDs will now be defined in turn. 
         [0058]    The 12-byte Universal Label 
         [0059]    The first 12 bytes of the UMID provide identification of the UMID by the registered string value defined in Table 1. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Specification of the UMID Universal Label 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Byte No. 
                 Description 
                 Value (hex) 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 1 
                 Object Identifier 
                 06h 
               
               
                 2 
                 Label size 
                 0Ch 
               
               
                 3 
                 Designation: ISO 
                 2Bh 
               
               
                 4 
                 Designation: SMPTE 
                 34h 
               
               
                 5 
                 Registry: Dictionaries 
                 01h 
               
               
                 6 
                 Registry: Metadata Dictionaries 
                 01h 
               
               
                 7 
                 Standard: Dictionary Number 
                 01h 
               
               
                 8 
                 Version number 
                 01h 
               
               
                 9 
                 Class: Identification and location 
                 01h 
               
               
                 10 
                 Sub-class: Globally Unique Identifiers 
                 01h 
               
               
                 11 
                 Type: UMID (Picture, Audio, Data, 
                 01, 02, 03, 04h 
               
               
                   
                 Group) 
               
               
                 12 
                 Type: Number creation method 
                 XXh 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0060]    The hex values in Table 1 may be changed: the values given are examples. Also the bytes  1 - 12  may have designations other than those shown by way of example in the table. Referring to the Table 1, in the example shown byte  4  indicates that bytes  5 - 12  relate to a data format agreed by SMPTE. Byte  5  indicates that bytes  6  to  10  relate to “dictionary” data. Byte  6  indicates that such data is “metadata” defined by bytes  7  to  10 . Byte  7  indicates the part of the dictionary containing metadata defined by bytes  9  and  10 . Byte  10  indicates the version of the dictionary. Byte  9  indicates the class of data and Byte  10  indicates a particular item in the class. 
         [0061]    In the present embodiment bytes  1  to  10  have fixed preassigned values. Byte  11  is variable. Thus referring to  FIG. 6B , and to Table 1 above, it will be noted that the bytes  1  to  10  of the label of the UMID are fixed. Therefore they may be replaced by a 1 byte ‘Type’ code T representing the bytes  1  to  10 . The type code T is followed by a length code L. That is followed by 2 bytes, one of which is byte  11  of Table 1 and the other of which is byte  12  of Table 1, an instance number (3 bytes) and a material number (16 bytes). Optionally the material number may be followed by the signature metadata of the extended UMID and/or other metadata. 
         [0062]    The UMID type (byte  11 ) has 4 separate values to identify each of 4 different data types as follows: 
         [0063]    ‘01h’=UMID for Picture material 
         [0064]    ‘02h’=UMID for Audio material 
         [0065]    ‘03h’=UMID for Data material 
         [0066]    ‘04h’=UMID for Group material (i.e. a combination of related essence). 
         [0067]    The last (12th) byte of the 12 byte label identifies the methods by which the material and instance numbers are created. This byte is divided into top and bottom nibbles where the top nibble defines the method of Material number creation and the bottom nibble defines the method of Instance number creation. 
         [0068]    Length 
         [0069]    The Length is a 1-byte number with the value ‘13h’ for basic UMIDs and ‘33W for extended UMIDs. 
         [0070]    Instance Number 
         [0071]    The Instance number is a unique 3-byte number which is created by one of several means defined by the standard. It provides the link between a particular ‘instance’ of a clip and externally associated metadata. Without this instance number, all material could be linked to any instance of the material and its associated metadata. 
         [0072]    The creation of a new clip requires the creation of a new Material number together with a zero Instance number. Therefore, a non-zero Instance number indicates that the associated clip is not the source material. An Instance, number is primarily used to identify associated metadata related to any particular instance of a clip. 
         [0073]    Material Number 
         [0074]    The 16-byte Material number is a non-zero number created by one of several means identified in the standard. The number is dependent on a 6-byte registered port ID number, time and a random number generator. 
         [0075]    Signature Metadata 
         [0076]    Any component from the signature metadata may be null-filled where no meaningful value can be entered. Any null-filled component is wholly null-filled to clearly indicate a downstream decoder that the component is not valid. 
         [0077]    The Time-Date Format 
         [0078]    The date-time format is 8 bytes where the first 4 bytes are a UTC (Universal Time Code) based time component. The time is defined either by an AES3 32-bit audio sample clock or SMPTE 12M depending on the essence type. 
         [0079]    The second 4 bytes define the date based on the Modified Julian Data (MJD) as defined in SMPTE 309M. This counts up to 999,999 days after midnight on the 17 Nov. 1858 and allows dates to the year 4597. 
         [0080]    The Spatial Co-Ordinate Format 
         [0081]    The spatial co-ordinate value consists of three components defined as follows:
       Altitude: 8 decimal numbers specifying up to 99,999,999 metres.   Longitude: 8 decimal numbers specifying East/West 180.00000 degrees (5 decimal places active).   Latitude: 8 decimal numbers specifying North/South 90.00000 degrees (5 decimal places active).       
 
         [0085]    The Altitude value is expressed as a value in metres from the centre of the earth thus allowing altitudes below the sea level. 
         [0086]    It should be noted that although spatial co-ordinates are static for most clips, this is not true for all cases. Material captured from a moving source such as a camera mounted on a vehicle may show changing spatial co-ordinate values. 
         [0087]    Country Code 
         [0088]    The Country code is an abbreviated 4-byte alpha-numeric string according to the set defined in ISO 3166. Countries which are not registered can obtain a registered alpha-numeric string from the SMPTE Registration Authority. 
         [0089]    Organisation Code 
         [0090]    The Organisation code is an abbreviated 4-byte alpha-numeric string registered with SMPTE. Organisation codes have meaning only in relation to their registered Country code so that Organisation codes can have the same value in different countries. 
         [0091]    User Code 
         [0092]    The User code is a 4-byte alpha-numeric string assigned locally by each organisation and is not globally registered. User codes are defined in relation to their registered Organisation and Country codes so that User codes may have the same value in different organisations and countries. 
         [0093]    Wavelets 
         [0094]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  illustrate wavelet processing and notation. Wavelets are well known and are described in for example “A Really Friendly Guide to Wavelets” by C Valens, 1999 (c.valensOlmindless.com) and available at http://perso.wanadoo.fr/polyvalens/clemens/wavelets/wavelets.html. 
         [0095]    Valens shows that the discrete wavelet transform can be implemented as an iterated filter bank as used in sub-band coding, with scaling of the image by a factor of 2 at each iteration. 
         [0096]    Thus referring to  FIG. 7B , a spatial domain image is applied to a set of high pass HP and low pass LP filters. At level  1 , the first stage of filtering, the image is filtered horizontally and vertically and, in each direction, scaled down by a factor of 2. In level  2 , the low pass image from level  1  is filtered and scaled in the same way as in level  1 . The filtering and scaling may be repeated in subsequent levels  3  onwards. 
         [0097]    The result is shown schematically in  FIG. 7A .  FIG. 7A  is a representation normal in the art. The horizontal axis indicates increasing horizontal frequencies and the vertical axis indicates increasing vertical frequencies. At level one the image is spatially filtered into four bands: the lower horizontal and vertical band, 1H 1 , 1V 1 ; the upper horizontal band hH 1 , 1V 1 ; the upper vertical band 1H 1 , hV 1 ; and the upper horizontal and vertical band, hH 1 , hV 1 . At level  2 , the lower horizontal and vertical band, 1H 1 , 1V 1  is filtered and scaled into the lower horizontal and vertical band, 1H 2 , 1V 2 ; the upper horizontal band hH 2 , 1V 2 ; the upper vertical band 1H 2 , hV 2 ; and the upper horizontal and vertical band, hH 2 , hV 2 . At level  3  (not shown in  FIG. 7A ), the lower horizontal and vertical band, 1H 2 , 1V 2  is further filtered and scaled. 
         [0098]    In so far as the embodiments of the invention described above are implemented, at least in part, using software-controlled data processing apparatus, it will be appreciated that a computer program providing such software control and a storage medium by which such a computer program is stored are envisaged as aspects of the present invention. 
         [0099]    Although particular embodiments have been described herein, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto and that many modifications and additions thereto may be made within the scope of the invention. For example, various combinations of the features of the following dependent claims could be made with the features of the independent claims without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7