Abstract:
A biometric watermark system and method generate a biometrically encoded bitstream from biometric data of a user and from electronic data to be transmitted to the user. The encoded bitstream has the biometric data acting as a biometric watermark. The encoded bitstream is then sent to a decoder of the user, with the biometric watermark providing security in the transmission in order to prevent unauthorized users from extracting the electronic data. The decoder utilizes the biometric data of the user to decode the biometrically encoded bitstream, so as to extract the biometric watermark, and to securely retrieve the electronic data.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority from the following U.S. Provisional Applications: Ser. No. 60/046,012 filed May 9, 1997; Ser. No. 60/055,534 filed Aug. 13, 1997; and, Ser. No. 60/067,008 filed Dec. 1, 1997. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This disclosure relates generally to the field of secure communications, and in particular to the secure transmission of data using biometric watermarks. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Electronic transactions and commerce, such as the transfer of electronic information in cyberspace, are generally conducted in a manner analogous to physical transactions such as commerce in goods and financial instruments in the physical world. For example, software programs are goods which may be transferred electronically between a seller and a buyer, and the cost of the purchase may be electronically transferred from the buyer to the seller in the form of credit card charge authorizations, electronic money (E-money), etc. 
     Because software programs have a value and may be transferred from one entity to another, such software programs face the dangers of counterfeiting and fraud in cyberspace. Such dangers are similar to the counterfeiting of physical entities having associated value and which may be transferred, for example, physical cash and credit cards. 
     Computer companies experience multi-billion dollar global losses annually due to fraud and counterfeiting of software. It is estimated that the annual global losses of “MICROSOFT” alone from software piracy exceed $2 billion. In addition, the music recording industry uses electronic and data manifestations of music which may be viewed as software. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has published a report indicating that numerous computer systems, such as Internet-accessible systems, provide databases and/or websites which offer pirated music. According to the RIAA report, the annual losses of legitimate companies in the music industry may be as large as $2 billion from the effects of pirated music. 
     Digital or electronic watermarks are used to add a layer of protection to valuable electronic products which may be transparent to users and counterfeiters alike. The term “watermark” is derived from the process of imprinting currency, such as United States $100 notes and postal money orders, with an unalterable image on the currency. In an analogous manner in cyberspace to the watermarks of the physical world, digital and/or electronic watermarks are data incorporated into a set of data such as a multimedia computer program which is electronically transparent for the purposes of electronic transactions and copying. As used herein, the term “electronically transparent” means that, without knowledge of the presence of the electronic watermark, one cannot distinguish the actual data from the electronic watermark data or from random noise. 
     Electronic watermarking may be incorporated into music data as well in a manner which does not affect the quality of the performance of the music when the electronic watermarks are removed from the music data. Further, digitized pictures such as paintings may have electronic watermarks incorporated therein indicating the owner and/or artist, which provides for improved security from unauthorized copying. 
     Heretofore, such electronic watermarking has been limited, for example, to specifying the publisher or owner&#39;s trademark or copyright, to specifying the name of the artist of the digitized painting, etc. Such relatively simple watermarking does not determine whether a subsequent copying of the watermarked electronic data is legal or illegal. For example, the purchasers of computer software may legally make a backup copy. The traditional electronic watermarking technologies do not assist in tracking down the sources of illegal copies such as pirate Internet websites using pirated multimedia information. In addition, traditional electronic watermarking is not protected from hackers who may detect and remove an electronic watermark with impunity. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is recognized herein that the combination of biometric data with electronic watermarks provides for secure electronic transactions of electronic data. 
     A biometric watermark system and method generate a biometrically encoded bitstream from biometric data of a user and from electronic data to be transmitted to the user. The encoded bitstream has the biometric data acting as a biometric watermark. The encoded bitstream is then sent to a decoder of the user, with the biometric watermark providing security in the transmission to prevent unauthorized users from extracting the electronic data. The decoder utilizes the biometric data of the user to decode the biometrically encoded bitstream, to extract the biometric watermark, and thence to securely retrieve the electronic data. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The features of the disclosed biometric watermark system and method are readily apparent and are to be understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic of the disclosed biometric watermark system; and 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of the operation of the disclosed biometric watermark system. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring in specific detail to the drawings, with common reference numbers identifying similar or identical elements, steps, and features, as shown in FIG. 1, a biometric watermark system  10  and method of use allow a user  12  to receive data in a secure manner by inserting biometric watermarks electronically into electronic data. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the user  12  sends a request  14  for data to a data provider  16 , which may be a database, a website on the Internet, a data processing clearing house for data transactions, etc. The request  14  for data may be an electronic purchase of software, music, multimedia products, etc., and may also include an exchange of electronic currency such as credit card information and/or E-money. 
     The request  14  for data may be sent via computer connections through a data channel  18 , such as a telephone modem connection between a computer of the user  12  and a computer interface of the data provider  16 . In alternative embodiments, the request  14  may be sent from the user  12  to the data provider  16  through a telephone such as through a human operator, through a touch-tone automated menu system, and/or through regular mail and thence through a mail order processing organization associated with the data provider. Accordingly, the request  14  may be sent independent of the data channel  18 , and so may utilize less secure communications than the data channel  18 . 
     The data provider  16  may process the request  14  and retrieve or otherwise prepare a requested data bitstream  20 , corresponding to the request  14 , to be sent to the user  12 . The request  14  for data may be an electronic purchase or order of, for example, the “INTERNET EXPLORER 4.0” application program available from “MICROSOFT”, and so the requested data bitstream  20  may be, for example, a data file or packet of at least 1 MB of data which constitutes the “INTERNET EXPLORER 4.0” application program. 
     Using the disclosed biometric watermark system  10  and method, the data provider  16  is capable of sending the requested data bitstream  20  to the user  12  with a biometric watermark uniquely identified with and corresponding to the user  12 . The biometric watermark is generated for the specific user  12  according to the method as described in greater detail herein. In order to receive the requested data bitstream  20 , the user  12  must first physically access a biometric scanner  22 ; for example, an iris or retinal scanner, a fingerprint and/or hand geometry scanner, a microphone and speech recognition system for recognizing speech patterns, etc. The biometric scanner  22  generates corresponding biometric data  24  which is unique to the user  12 . 
     The biometric scanner  22  transmits the biometric data  24  through the data channel  18  to the data provider  16 . In one embodiment, the data channel  18  may be a secure channel, with the biometric data  24  encrypted, for example, using public key cryptography systems which may be decrypted by the data provider  16 . In alternative embodiments, the biometric data  24  may optionally itself be encrypted by either the same or different biometric data  24  associated uniquely with the user  12 , using, for example, biometric certificates and biometric certifying authorities as described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/046,012, entitled “BIOMETRIC CERTIFICATES” filed May 9, 1997, which is incorporated herein by reference. The data provider  16  may therefore include a biometric database (not shown in FIG. 1) for verifying the biometric certificate, and therefrom decrypting the biometric data  24  for verifying the user  12 . 
     Upon receiving and optionally decrypting the biometric data  24 , the data provider  16  applies the biometric data  24  and the requested data bitstream  20  to an encoder  26  which encodes the requested data bitstream  20  with the biometric data  24  using encoding techniques known in the art. For example, the encoder  26  may be a JPEG encoder, an MPEG encoder, an H.261 encoder, or other devices known in the art for encoding and/or compressing the requested data bitstream  20 , which may be audio, video, imagery, software, graphics, text, or other data. 
     The encoder  26  uses the biometric data  24  to control the encoding process. For example, the biometric data  24 , or a predetermined portion thereof, may be used to form a filter or mask for modifying discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients of an MPEG encoder. The masking may be performed, for example, by logically ORing a predetermined set of DCT coefficients having a value of zero, or any other predetermined coefficient value, which replaces the zero values with at least a portion of the biometric data  24 . Subsequently, to remove the watermark upon decoding, the modified DCT coefficients may merely be zeroed out. 
     Accordingly, the encoded bitstream  28  is biometrically encoded to include a biometric watermark; that is, a watermark or modification of the data of the bitstream  20  based on the biometric data  24  unique to the user  12 . Since biometric data  24  from each user  12  is unique as being based on the unique physical characteristics of the user  12 , the corresponding biometric watermark encoded into the bitstream  20  is also unique. Without knowledge of the unique biometric data  24  of the user  12 , one cannot remove the biometric watermark without corrupting the bitstream  20 . Accordingly, the use of a secure data channel  18  ensures that the generation as well as the transmission of the biometrically encoded bitstream  28  is secure. 
     The data provider  16  then transmits the biometrically encoded bitstream  28  from the encoder  26  through the data channel  18  to a decoder  30  associated with the user  12 . In addition, the decoder  30  receives the identical biometric data  24  from the biometric scanner  22 . Since the identical biometric data  24  is used to encode the requested data bitstream, the biometric data  24  is uniquely able to remove the biometric data  24 , and so to generate a securely transmitted bitstream  32  corresponding to the requested data bitstream  20 , with improved security in processing the request  14  of the user and improve security from piracy. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the decoder  30  may decode the biometrically encoded bitstream  28  without removal of the biometric watermark. Any subsequent piracy of the bitstream  20  may be traced to any person involved in subsequent transfers and/or copying of the bitstream incorporating the unique biometric data of the requesting user  12 . Accordingly, the biometric watermark also provides a unique trace to individuals involved in piracy of data, software, etc. 
     The biometric watermark system  10  operates according to the method shown in FIG. 2, including the steps of generating biometric data  24  in step  34  using a biometric scanner  22 ; transmitting the biometric data  24  to a data provider  16  in step  36 ; and encoding first data with the biometric data  24  in step  38  with an encoder  26  to generate an encoded bitstream  28  having a biometric watermark associated with the biometric data  24 . As described above, the first data may be a requested data bitstream  20  such as a purchased software application program or multimedia product requested by the user  12 . 
     The method then transmits the encoded bitstream  28  to the decoder  30  in step  40 , and decodes the encoded bitstream  28  in step  42  with the decoder  30  using the biometric data  24  to remove the biometric watermark, thereby retrieving the first data as a securely transmitted bitstream  32 . 
     The application of biometrics as personal identifiers are therefore extended to electronic watermarks for electronic transactions, and thus are beyond the traditional use of biometric identifiers to protect access to operational software as well as to physical locations. Accordingly, end-to-end electronic transactions are provided with secure authentication and protection from fraud and unauthorized use, such as by theft. 
     In one embodiment, the disclosed biometric watermark system  10  may be used to allow the user  12  to order a movie electronically from a broadband distribution service storing movies electronically in a database as the data provider  16 . The user  12  as a buyer sends an associated unique biometric identifier to the seller of the movie, and the biometric watermark is used by the encoder  26  of the seller and the decoder  30  of the buyer to ensure proper delivery and use of the purchased movie. 
     In another embodiment, the user  12  may purchase software on-line from an on-line software vendor maintaining selectable software titles and versions. The purchase of software on-line is thus empowered and secured through the use of biometric watermarks as disclosed herein. With the biometric watermarks encoded into software prior to delivery to the purchaser, only the true buyer with the corresponding biometric characteristics is capable of accurately decoding the information received from the on-line software vendor. 
     Due to the uniqueness of biometric data for individuals, biometric watermarks are thus sufficiently powerful and secure to prevent hacking and fraud. Further, any unauthorized user receiving the biometrically encoded bitstream  28  without the accurate extraction of the biometric watermark receives a scrambled bitstream, as the biometric watermark acts as noise within the bitstream. For example, a biometric watermark in video data may cause a video player attempting to play the video data to generate fuzzy or distorted video pictures. Similarly, the biometric watermark in audio data may cause an audio player attempting to play the audio data to generate garbled and noisy audio tracks. 
     In addition, since the amount of biometric data may be relatively large, such as 2 MB, the use of biometric watermarks generated by such large amounts of biometric data is computationally secure from decryption methods. 
     Accordingly, biometric watermarks not only protect licensing and royalty payments associated with information, such as software and music, but also ensure that the products are delivered to and used only by the individual authorized to receive and use the information. Such biometric watermarking may be applied equally in business-to-business electronic transactions as well as business-to-consumer transactions. Accordingly, business communications, such as through Internet telephony, as well as business documents, products, inventions, software, financial reports, mergers and acquisitions, and essentially every sensitive piece of information may be electronically secured and transmitted using such biometric watermarks. 
     While the disclosed biometric watermark system and method are particularly shown and described herein with reference to the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that various modifications in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, modifications, such as any examples suggested herein, but not limited thereto, are to be considered within the scope of the present invention.