Patent ID: 7068810

Claim:
An apparatus for embedding data in information material, said data including a plurality of data items, said data items having a different relative importance with respect to each other, said apparatus comprising: an encoding processor operable to encode each of said data, items in accordance with at least one error correction code, said encoded data items including redundant data introduced by said error correction code; a combining processor operable to combine said encoded data items with said information material; and a control processor operable to receive data indicative of said relative importance of said data items to be embedded and to control said encoding processor and said combining processor to encode and embed said data items in accordance with said relative importance, wherein said combining processor is operable in combination with said encoding processor to allocate an amount of a limited data embedding capacity provided by said information material, to generate an amount of said redundant data included in said encoded data items in accordance with said allocation, each of said data items being encoded and embedded to the effect that a proportion of said limited data embedding capacity is allocated to said encoded data items in accordance with said relative importance, and to embed control information in the information material indicative of at least one of the encoding and embedding applied to said data items.