Abstract: A method and apparatus that enhances a multicast information stream, such as an IP multicast session, in a communication network is provided. The stream is received through the communication network and is enhanced at substantially the time the first stream is received. The information stream may be enhanced by adding transcribed content, such as content generated by speech recognition software, or translated content, such as from a first language to a second language, to the stream. The information stream may also be enhanced by adding content to the first information stream, such as content related to the original content. The enhanced stream may be sent to a user as a second multicast information stream. The enhanced stream may be received by the user in place of, or along with, the original information stream. The enhanced content may be sent to the user at the conclusion of the information stream, if desired.

Abstract: A mobility support technique provides home agents and foreign agents in mobility aware access networks. Participating mobile hosts are assigned a home address that is used by other hosts as the mobile host's address. The home address actually addresses the home agent provided in the mobility aware access network. The home address provides additional privacy to the mobile host because it does not identify the mobile host's home premises network where the mobile host resides permanently absent any mobility of the mobile host. By providing home agents and foreign agents in a mobility aware access network, the agents may cooperatively establish optimal routing paths for data transmitted to a mobile host. The agents may identify a pseudo home agent, an agent in a mobility aware access network located near to a transmitting mobile host, that acts as the home agent of a destination mobile host.

Abstract: Proposed is a system and method for providing Intelligent Network services. In one embodiment, the system of the present invention includes a database interacting with a socket redirector installed on a client computer. In one method implemented using the system of the present invention, a socket redirector intercepts a standard Internet Protocol (IP) socket call from a client software application and identifies parameters within the socket call. If the redirector is able to determine that the identified parameters are addressed to the most appropriate socket for accommodating the software application's request, the IP socket call is sent to network software where the socket call is used to form packets which are sent over the network to the requested socket. If the redirector is unable to determine that the identified parameters are addressed to the most appropriate socket for accommodating the request, the redirector requests instructions from a database.

Abstract: A network based platform uses face recognition, speech recognition, background change detection and key scene events to index multimedia communications. Before the multimedia communication begins, active participants register their speech and face models with a server. The process consists of creating a speech sample, capturing a sample image of the participant and storing the data in a database. The server provides an indexing function for the multimedia communication. During the multimedia communication, metadata including time stamping is retained along with the multimedia content. The time stamping information is used for synchronizing the multimedia elements. The multimedia communication is then processed through the server to identify the multimedia communication participants based on speaker and face recognition models. This allows the server to create an index table that becomes an index of the multimedia communication.

Abstract: A signal is encoded, for example, perceptually and, during or after the perceptual coding process, a digital watermark is inserted into a quantized digital information signal resulting from the perceptual coding process in such a manner that its insertion is imperceptible to one later listening to, displaying or otherwise utilizing the information signal. Moreover, the digital watermark may be inserted in accordance with a key indicative of the location of the mark in the digitally encoded signal. The key may be protected with a trusted entity and distributed in such a manner as to be not detectable by a pirate. Consequently, the key may be utilized at watermarking apparatus that can be located anywhere in the distribution channel of a copyright protected work. The key may be embedded in a secure microprocessor of validating apparatus at a point of distribution or even at a point of sale.

Abstract: A signal is encoded, for example, perceptually and, during or after the perceptual coding process, a digital watermark is inserted into a quantized digital information signal resulting from the perceptual coding process in such a manner that its insertion is imperceptible to one later listening to, displaying or otherwise utilizing the information signal. Moreover, the digital watermark may be inserted in accordance with a key indicative of the location of the mark in the digitally encoded signal. The key may be protected with a trusted entity and distributed in such a manner as to be not detectable by a pirate. Consequently, the key may be utilized at watermarking apparatus that can be located anywhere in the distribution channel of a copyright protected work. The key may be embedded in a secure microprocessor of validating apparatus at a point of distribution or even at a point of sale.

Abstract: A network based platform uses face recognition, speech recognition, background change detection and key scene events to index multimedia communications. Before the multimedia communication begins, active participants register their speech and face models with a server. The process consists of creating a speech sample, capturing a sample image of the participant and storing the data in a database. The server provides an indexing function for the multimedia communication. During the multimedia communication, metadata including time stamping is retained along with the multimedia content. The time stamping information is used for synchronizing the multimedia elements. The multimedia communication is then processed through the server to identify the multimedia communication participants based on speaker and face recognition models. This allows the server to create an index table that becomes an index of the multimedia communication.

Abstract: Unicast endpoint clients (110, 111, 115) on an IP Unicast network (107, 108) are provided access to Multicast sessions on an IP Multicast network (101) through a Multicast-Unicast gateway server (120, 121). The server obtains information about sessions on the Multicast network and makes such information available to a Unicast client on the Unicast network upon request by the client. Upon being presented with a list describing the subject matter of each session, the user at the Unicast client selects the session to which he or she wants to join, which causes the Multicast-Unicast server to join the appropriate session on behalf of the requesting client for each media type in which the joining client wants to be a participant. The server then sets a bidirectional Unicast User Datagram Protocol (UDP) stream between itself and the client. All packets then received by the server from the Unicast client are address-translated to the appropriate Multicast session address.

Abstract: The invention provides an on-hold switching device that permits a subscriber to be engaged in other activities through a telephone network while being placed on-hold by another party. When placed on-hold, the on-hold switching device disconnects the subscriber from the other party and connects the subscriber to the telephone network so that the subscriber may engage in other activities. The on-hold switching device monitors the signal bus connected to the other party to determine whether the on-hold condition is removed. When the on-hold condition is removed, the subscriber is reconnected to the other party. Thus, the on-hold switching device permits a subscriber to be engaged in other activities when placed on-hold by the other party.

Abstract: A endpoint client (111-1) on an IP Unicast network (107) that is provided access to a Multicast session on an IP Multicast network (101) through a Multicast-Unicast gateway server (MUS) (120) is enabled to re-Multicast that session to other endpoint clients (111-2) on the network to which it is connected or to endpoint clients (134, 135) on any Multicast-capable sub-network (132) to which it is directly connected. To act as a re-Multicaster, the endpoint client receiving Unicast-addressed packets from the session from the MUS, re-translates these Unicast-addressed packets to Multicast-addressed packets by translating the Unicast address in the distribution field of each packet's header into a Multicast address and overwriting the Unicast address in each header with the Multicast address. When an endpoint client on the same or connected sub-network as the re-Multicaster desires to join a session that is being re-Multicast, it needs only connect to that Multicast address.

Abstract: In a multicast capable IP network implemented over an ATM network, each client terminal on a multimedia conference, for each media type it transmits, is assigned a multicast IP address and a port number (together known as a socket) on which to transmit packets, wherein each assigned multicast IP address is unique and different than the multicast IP address assigned to any other client for any media type. Each client terminal then selects, for each media type, which clients on the conference it wants to receive packets from. Only packets that are in fact requested by a client are routed over the multicast IP network to the requesting client. A single special purpose Multicast Address Resolution System (MARS) server is associated with the conference when the conference is established.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for use in a network utilizing Internet Protocol (IP), Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP), and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) protocol is provided. An intelligent policy mapping database (PMD) accessible at the network level by both the RSVP and ATM protocol stacks maps RSVP parameters to ATM parameters with input from factors outside of the RSVP or ATM protocol stacks, e.g., general customer data. With the basis of customer data or other information outside of the RSVP and ATM protocol stacks, a network reservation message to the PMD contains RSVP flow specifications which are mapped to correlated ATM Quality of Service (QoS) parameters.

Abstract: In a multicast capable IP network, each client terminal on a multimedia conference, for each media type it transmits, is assigned a multicast IP address and a port number (together known as a socket) on which to transmit packets, wherein each assigned multicast IP address is unique and different than the multicast IP address assigned to any other client for any media type. Each client terminal then selects, for each media type, which clients on the conference it wants to receive packets from. Only packets that are in fact requested by a client are routed over the multicast IP network to the requesting client. When a conference originator establishes the conference, a number of multicast IP addresses are allocated for later assignment to the clients during the conference. As each client joins the conference, it is assigned a multicast IP address from the allocated group for each media type it will transmit.

Abstract: Cross-service connectivity between use of the telephone network and use of an e-mail data network is provided by enabling a recipient of an e-mail message to receive e-mail messages through an alias e-mail address which is directly associated with the recipient's telephone number. Thus, the alias e-mail address consists of the recipient's telephone number as the recipient name at a well-known and publicized common domain name server. A sender therefore addresses an e-mail message to the recipient to that alias e-mail address using the recipient's alias telephone number name. A message addressed to the alias e-mail address is sent to a translation server at that known domain name, where the alias telephone number-recipient name is translated to the actual e-mail address comprising the recipient's actual name and associated domain name server, and the message is then forwarded to that recipient at that actual e-mail address.

Abstract: In order to reduce the delay and/or loss of packets caused by the transmission through a large number of routers on the Internet, a direct connection is established between a client (or its proxy) and a server if the client (or its proxy) and the server are connected to the same alternative subnetwork. Control management information, including the type of subnetwork to which each is connected, as well as the address of the client (or its proxy) and the server are transmitted to the other on the Internet in an optional HTTP header field. After receipt of the addressing information, a direct connection is established on the alternative subnetwork between the client (or its proxy) and the server for purposes of streaming information from the server to the client.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method of resolving protocol addresses using new protocols. Gateways that map ATMARP packets to NHRP packets are placed in the network to make translations between the two protocols. Therefore the installed base of networks can be maintained, with added functionality. Techniques for handling those areas where the two protocols do not match directly such as sub-address fields, purge packets and holding time expiration are also disclosed.

Abstract: On the Internet, different caches may contain copies of objects that have been copied from originating servers when they were accessed by users. Interconnected caches may have different objects stored thereon that might at some time be requested by a client terminal that is connected to a cache other than the one on which the object is stored. Rather than awaiting a request for a particular object and then querying each neighbor cache to determine whether a copy of the requested object is stored thereon, and then downloading the requested object if it is found, information about the contents of the neighbor caches is exchanged between these caches so that when a request for an object is received, the object can be retrieved from the cache in which it is stored. In the alternative, the object may be retrieved from the originating server if, for example, the object stored in a cache is stale based on the date and time it was last modified in the cache.