Abstract: A method for utilizing a title signal contained in data through a comparison of the title signal to a player signal stored in a player device is provided. Preferably, the data is digital image, video, or audio data. The method includes the steps of: providing data having the title signal; detecting, at the player device, the title signal in the data: comparing the title signal to the player signal stored at the player device; and performing an action based upon the comparison. In a preferred implementation, the action is performed if the title signal matches the player signal, and the action is to inform the device user of the match and the winning of a prize. In another preferred implementation, the title signal is a subsignal of a watermark signal encoded in the digital data, in which case the method further comprises the steps of: extracting the watermark signal from the digital data; and decoding the subsignal.

Abstract: A method for utilizing a title signal contained in digital data through a comparison of the title signal to a player signal stored in a player device. The method includes the steps of: downloading the digital data having the title signal via an Internet connection; possibly transferring the downloaded digital data to the player device; detecting, at the player device, the title signal in the data: comparing the title signal to the player signal stored at the player device; and performing an action based upon the comparison. In a preferred implementation of the present invention, the player device is a personal computer and the digital data is either image, video, audio or multimedia data or is an application program for running on the personal computer. Preferably, the player device is a personal computer. In other embodiments the title signal is contained in or part of an application program or is contained in data to be input into the application program.

Abstract: A message in the form of a sequence of bits is encoded into relatively short, non-binary signals. The message (or vector) is divided into two halves. The encoder first determines an encoding of the message into a vector half the length of the eventual encoded vector. The half-length vector forms the first half of the encoded, and is negated to form the second half of the encoded vector. An identical synchronization signal is added to both halves of the encoded vector. The synchronization signal is used to compensate for the possibility that the received vector (or message) is cyclically rotated from the original vector. During decoding, the decoder first obtains the synchronization signal by adding the two halves of the vector together, canceling the encoded message. The synchronization signal is used to find the original cyclical shift of the vector. The decoder obtains the half-length encoded message vector by taking the difference between the two halves of the aligned full-length encoded vector.

Abstract: A method for data preparation and watermark insertion. The method includes the step of preparing the data at a first time by manipulating at least one set of the data characteristics for subsequent insertion of a first watermark. In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention the method further includes the step of inserting the first watermark by manipulating the set of data characteristics at a second time subsequent to the first time. In still yet another preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, the method further includes the step of inserting a second watermark at a third time, before, during, or after the first time, by manipulating at least one set of the data characteristics. In a variation of the present invention a method for inserting a watermark into compressed data is provided. The compressed data has sets of data characteristics.

Abstract: A method for data preparation and watermark insertion. The method includes the step of preparing the data at a first time by manipulating at least one set of the data characteristics for subsequent insertion of a first watermark. In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention the method further includes the step of inserting the first watermark by manipulating the set of data characteristics at a second time subsequent to the first time. In still yet another preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, the method further includes the step of inserting a second watermark at a third time, before, during, or after the first time, by manipulating at least one set of the data characteristics. In a variation of the present invention a method for inserting a watermark into compressed data is provided. The compressed data has sets of data characteristics.

Abstract: A method for detecting a watermark signal in digital image data. The detecting method includes the steps of: computing a log-polar Fourier transform of the image data to obtain a log-polar Fourier spectrum; projecting the log-polar Fourier spectrum down to a lower dimensional space to obtain an extracted signal; comparing the extracted signal to a target watermark signal; and declaring the presence or absence of the target watermark signal in the image data based on the comparison. Also provided is a method for inserting a watermark signal in digital image data to obtain a watermarked image.

Abstract: A message in the form of a sequence of bits is encoded into relatively short, non-binary signals. The message (or vector) is divided into two halves. The encoder first determines an encoding of the message into a vector half the length of the eventual encoded vector. The half-length vector forms the first half of the encoded, and is negated to form the second half of the encoded vector. An identical synchronization signal is added to both halves of the encoded vector. The synchronization signal is used to compensate for the possibility that the received vector (or message) is cyclically rotated from the original vector. During decoding, the decoder first obtains the synchronization signal by adding the two halves of the vector together, canceling the encoded message. The synchronization signal is used to find the original cyclical shift of the vector. The decoder obtains the half-length encoded message vector by taking the difference between the two halves of the aligned full-length encoded vector.

Abstract: A method for inserting a watermark signal into data to be watermarked. The method includes the steps of: applying a partial watermark extraction to unwatermarked data for generating a first set of intermediate extracted values; identifying a first set of target values that are to replace the intermediate extracted values; computing the difference between the first set of target values and the first set of intermediate extracted values; and adding the computed difference throughout the unwatermarked data.

Abstract: Detection of a watermark in blocks of video or image data which has been subjected to affine geometric distortion is accomplished by approximating the distortion by a spatially varying translation of the blocks. The watermark is extracted by spatial translations of the blocks based on an assumed affine geometric distortion. The extracted watermarks are correlated with possible watermarks and the maximum correlator output is tested for statistical significance in order to determine whether a watermark is present in the image or video frame. The data may be compressed or uncompressed data. If the affine geometric distortion is known, a search for the maximum correlator output over a space of possible distortions can be performed.

Abstract: A digital watermark is inserted into multimedia data containing two image fields by placing a positive watermark into a first field and a negative watermark into a second field. The positive watermark and negative watermark are opposite of one another. The two fields can be interlaced fields of a field-based video signal or alternate rows of a frame-based video signal. The watermark is extracted from field-based watermarked data by separating the watermarked data into two fields and subtracting one of the fields from the other field to generate a watermarked signal. The resultant watermarked signal is processed in a conventional manner to extract and detect the watermark.