Patent ID: 6909784

Claim:
A recording apparatus of an electronic watermark comprising: detecting means for detecting a first electronic watermark signal from inputted original contents data, wherein the first electronic watermark signal is scattered into a plurality of information units of the original contents data; memory means for storing the first electronic watermark signal detected by said detecting means; extracting means for extracting a part of the contents data from the original contents data; deciding means for judging whether or not the first electronic watermark signal exists in the part of contents data extracted by said extracting means; inserting means for inserting a second electronic watermark signal, having a content that is equivalent to that of the first electronic watermark signal detected by said detesting means, into the part of contents data extracted by said extracting means; and switching means for outputting either: (a) the part of the contents data extracted by said extracting means in the event the deciding means judges that the first electronic watermark signal exists in the part of contents data; or (b) the part of contents data inserted with the second electronic watermark signal by said inserting means in the event the deciding means judges that the first electronic watermark signal does not exist in the part of contents data.