Abstract: Pages of books are copied without distortion due to curvature of the page near the book binding or the distortion in a copied page is corrected using the spacing of equidistant bars on tape strips applied to the top and bottom edges of a page before copying. The tape is preferably transparent and rather narrow and easily attached to a page to be copied. The first step in the distortion correction procedure is to locate the bars at the top and bottom of the page. The distortion of the spacing between the imaged bars is computed based on the known distance between the equidistant bars. The computed distortion of the spacing is then input to a distortion correction algorithm. The output of the distortion correction algorithm generates a corrected image. This image may also optionally delete the bars so that they are not printed in the copy. The corrected image is then copied.

Abstract: A watermarking scheme is provided that allows the watermarked image to be authenticated by an authentication agent without revealing the human-readable content of the image. There is disclosed an approach that combines privacy control with watermarking and authentication mechanisms. The watermark can be made to be imperceptible to humans. Public key cryptography allows the authentication agent to authenticate without being able to watermark an image. Watermark information may also be encoded in a vector graphics image that includes at least one stroke defined by coordinate values of an ordered sequence of points. This may be obtained by providing watermark information as a bit sequence, identifying one or more redundant properties of the image, modifying the redundant properties based upon the bit sequence to generate a representation of the image and storing the representation of the image for subsequent use.

Abstract: A system and method for maintaining customer privacy where an identity of the customer must be divulged. The invention includes separating data associated with the institution into a first database of private data and a second database of public data; storing an encrypted copy of the private data and an unencrypted copy of the public data with an intermediary service provider; providing to the customer a security system that allows the customer to decrypt the encrypted data and remain anonymous to the intermediary service provider; merging the encrypted copy of the private data and the unencrypted copy of the public data; and providing an interface that allows the customer to view the merged data.

Abstract: In order to verify the authenticity of manufactured goods, a smart tag is attached to the goods containing encrypted authentication information, such as a serial number, a description of the good's physical appearance or chemical decomposition, its color, or digital images of the good etc. The encryption procedure comprises public/private key encryption with zero-knowledge protocols. Zero knowledge protocols allow a smart tag to be authenticatable and yet be duplication resistant by allowing the verifying agent to convince him/herself that the smart tag is authentic without revealing its authentication information. The verification procedure can be done using a reader at a point of sale (POS) machine equipped with the appropriate public key and zero-knowledge protocols to decrypt the authentication information. A printed version of the serial number or other authentication information may be placed on the goods in human readable form to quickly verify the information electronically read from the smart tag.

Abstract: An apparatus, business method and program product for selectively providing access to a service facility such as a financial institution or bank. Client access codes (passwords, PINs) are maintained by the service facility in a database. When a client seeks access to the service facility, e.g., access to the client's account, a random sequence of character is generated and passed to the client. The client responds with an offset that when combined with the random character sequence is the client's access code. The client sends the code to the service facility and is granted access to the client's account. Optionally, the service facility may specify an intended relationship between the offset and the random character sequence, e.g., the offset is added/subtracted from the random character sequence. For additional security, dummy characters may be embedded in the random character sequence.

Abstract: An electronic event recorder for attachment to a vehicle is provided which can broadcast encrypted signature and data, thereby leaving behind an electronic version of a “fingerprint” in the event of an accident or traffic violation. The fingerprint, captured by an external data acquisition system or another vehicle so equipped, provides a history of events related to the vehicle. The event recorder is preferably integrated on a smart card and housed in a tamper proof casing. In a first mode of operation, monitoring stations along the roadways periodically send an interrogation signal, such as when radar detects that the vehicle is speeding. Upon receiving the interrogation signal the smart card transmits the vehicle's signature information to the monitoring station where it is time and date stamped along with the speed of the vehicle.

Abstract: Pages of books are copied without distortion due to curvature of the page near the book binding or the distortion in a copied page is corrected using the spacing of equidistant bars on tape strips applied to the top and bottom edges of a page before copying. The tape is preferably transparent and rather narrow and easily attached to a page to be copied. The first step in the distortion correction procedure is to locate the bars at the top and bottom of the page. The distortion of the spacing between the imaged bars is computed based on the known distance between the equidistant bars. The computed distortion of the spacing is then input to a distortion correction algorithm. The output of the distortion correction algorithm generates a corrected image. This image may also optionally delete the bars so that they are not printed in the copy. The corrected image is then copied.

Abstract: A method and system offer confidential purchase of electronic data which can be used without any need of knowledge in cryptography nor mastery of computer use beyond usual usage of the World Wide Web (WWW). The method and system which guarantee confidentiality as long as there is no collusion between agents working for a large number of reputable companies whose references can be easily checked on the Internet before proceeding to the order. In addition, the method and system allow for guaranteed payment and offer recourse in case of improper delivery.

Abstract: A method is presented for marking high-quality digital images with a robust and invisible watermark. It requires the mark to survive and remain detectable and authenticatable through all image manipulations that in themselves do not damage the image beyond useability. These manipulations include JPEG “lossy” compression and, in the extreme, the printing and rescanning of the image. The watermark also has the property that it can detect if the essential contents of the image has changed. The first phase of the method comprises extracting a digest or number N from the image so that N only (or mostly) depends on the essential information content, such that the same number N can be obtained from a scan of a high quality print of the image, from the compressed form of the image, or in general, from the image after minor modifications (introduced inadvertently by processing, noise etc.). The second phase comprises the marking.

Abstract: A system and method for detecting parallel marketing of an item, include forming at least one of a coating and a code on the item, interrogating the at least one of the coating and said code, and determining from the interrogating whether the item has been transferred from an authorized merchant to an unauthorized merchant.

Abstract: A digital watermarking method encodes different pairs of watermarks into each of a plurality of images offered for use by a vendor. The watermarks in each pair are derived from two separate collections of watermarks and sufficiently different so as to prevent false positives. Because each pair of watermarks is assigned to a different customer relative to a particular image, unauthorized use of a digital image sold to a customer may be determined by locating the associated pair of watermarks assigned to the customer in the image. Collusion detection is also realized by forming each pair of masks from sub-collections of masks which are detectable in an image formed by combining the same images sold to one or more customers.

Abstract: A customer relationship management (CRM) system in which customer data can be dynamically controlled by the customer. The CRM system may reside on a server that is accessible by a plurality of customers of a business and a customer service representative (CSR) of the business, and comprise: a database for storing data for each of the plurality of customers related to interactions with the business; a customer interface that allows each customer to access customer specific data; a data subset identification system that allows the customer to identify a subset of the customer specific data; and a CSR interface that allows the CSR to view only the subset of customer specific data.

Abstract: A system and method for detecting parallel marketing of an item, include forming at least one of a coating and a code on the item, interrogating the at least one of the coating and said code, and determining from the interrogating whether the item has been transferred from an authorized merchant to an unauthorized merchant.

Abstract: An electronic event recorder for attachment to a vehicle is provided which can broadcast encrypted signature and data, thereby leaving behind an electronic version of a “fingerprint” in the event of an accident or traffic violation. The fingerprint, captured by an external data acquisition system or another vehicle so equipped, provides a history of events related to the vehicle. The event recorder is preferably integrated on a smart card and housed in a tamper proof casing. In a first mode of operation, monitoring stations along the roadways periodically send an interrogation signal, such as when radar detects that the vehicle is speeding. Upon receiving the interrogation signal the smart card transmits the vehicle's signature information to the monitoring station where it is time and date stamped along with the speed of the vehicle.

Abstract: An electronic event recorder for attachment to a vehicle is provided which can broadcast encrypted signature and data, thereby leaving behind an electronic version of a “fingerprint” in the event of an accident or traffic violation. The fingerprint, captured by an external data acquisition system or another vehicle so equipped, provides a history of events related to the vehicle. The event recorder is preferably integrated on a smart card and housed in a tamper proof casing. In a first mode of operation, monitoring stations along the roadways periodically send an interrogation signal, such as when radar detects that the vehicle is speeding. Upon receiving the interrogation signal the smart card transmits the vehicle's signature information to the monitoring station where it is time and date stamped along with the speed of the vehicle.

Abstract: Digital halftoning techniques in printers which construct and utilize a mask in a dithering algorithm for a multitone printer are generalized by using a decision matrix in conjunction with a dithering matrix. For each pixel in the image, pixel grey value and a mask threshold value are obtained. Based on these values, a decision is made on the grey level to be printed at each pixel. For extensions to multiple component color images, each component is treated independently as if it were a grey scale image. The mask threshold values and sizes are likely to be tuned per component and therefore different.

Abstract: The invention includes various systems, architectures, frameworks and methodologies that can securely enforce a privacy policy. A method is include for securely guaranteeing a privacy policy between two enterprises, comprising: creating a message at a first enterprise, wherein the message includes a request for data concerning a third party and a privacy policy of the first enterprise; signing and certifying the message that the first enterprise has a tamper-proof system with a privacy rules engine and that the privacy policy of the first entity will be enforced by the privacy rules engine of the first enterprise; sending the message to a second enterprise; and running a privacy rules engine at the second enterprise to compare the privacy policy of the first enterprise with a set of privacy rules for the third party.

Abstract: The invention includes various systems, architectures, frameworks and methodologies that can securely enforce a privacy policy. A method is include for securely guaranteeing a privacy policy between two enterprises, comprising: creating a message at a first enterprise, wherein the message includes a request for data concerning a third party and a privacy policy of the first enterprise; signing and certifying the message that the first enterprise has a tamper-proof system with a privacy rules engine and that the privacy policy of the first entity will be enforced by the privacy rules engine of the first enterprise; sending the message to a second enterprise; and running a privacy rules engine at the second enterprise to compare the privacy policy of the first enterprise with a set of privacy rules for the third party.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for halftoning digital images renders color data subject to constraints on the number of colorants which can be deposited on a single pixel and constraints on consecutive pixels rendered with the same color. The color data to be rendered is mapped into a second data set in an achievable color gamut space. Then, using a digital halftoning method in the achievable color gamut space, the second data set is rendered, so that the constraints are satisfied.

Abstract: A technique combines most of the advantages of both blue noise and clustering in generating a partially clustered aperiodic mask and using it in a dither array algorithm for halftoning, such that the amount of clustering can be modulated. A method to create an enlarged partially clustered aperiodic dither mask, appearing as a modulated version of a periodic enlargement of original mask, is used when the original mask generates patterns that are not visually pleasing or the original mask doesn't generate enough distinct grey levels. The method of halftoning of grey scale images utilizes a pixel-by-pixel comparison of the image against a partially clustered aperiodic mask in which the clustered aperiodic mask is comprised of a partly random and partly deterministic single valued function which is designed to produce visually pleasing dot configurations when thresholded at any level of grey.