Abstract: A method for producing a sintered body is provided. The method for producing the sintered body comprising: forming a green body by molding a composition for forming a green body into a specified shape to obtain the green body, the composition comprising powder constituted of a metallic material and a binder containing a first resin which is decomposable by ozone; first debinding the green body by exposing the green body to a high ozone content atmosphere to decompose the first resin and remove the decomposed first resin form the green body to obtain a brown body; exposing the thus obtained brown body at least once to a low ozone content atmosphere whose ozone concentration is lower than an ozone concentration of the high ozone content atmosphere to obtain an intermediate brown body; and sintering the intermediate brown body which has been exposed to the low ozone content atmosphere to obtain the sintered body.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a technique by which machines can determine whether printed material is an original or a copy. A technique for outputting printed material which has an effect similar to that of security paper using normal paper instead of specially printed paper such as the security paper is provided. An image-processing apparatus generates a new image by expressing a latent image area with dots of a first dot size and a background area with dots of a second dot size which is different from the first dot size, and generates another image by moving each of the dots included in the latent image area in accordance with a bit value at the corresponding bit position in additional information.

Abstract: Additional information is embedded in document data by inputting document data, inputting additional information, and inputting image data. The additional information is embedded in the input image data using a first digital watermark method, and the additional information is embedded in the input document data using a second digital watermark method. The document data embedded with the additional information is composited with the image data embedded with the additional information, with the image data as a background image. In a case where an original document containing information embedded using the second digital watermark method is copied by a copying machine, the information embedded in the copied document cannot be detected. The first digital watermark method has a robustness such that, when an original document containing information embedded using the first digital watermark method is copied by a copying machine, information embedded in the copied document can be detected.

Abstract: This invention has as its object to provide a technique that can verify whether or not document data has been tampered with, by embedding identification information in document data in the background of the document data. To this end, this invention provides an information processing method for embedding additional information in document data, comprising a step of inputting document data, an extraction step of extracting identification information from the input document data as additional information, a step of inputting a predetermined image, an embedding step of embedding the additional information extracted in the extraction step in the input image, and a composition step of compositing the embedded image as a background image of the document data.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus that generates private information used as one of an encryption key for encrypting data or a generation key for generating falsification detection information used in detecting falsification of data, comprises a storage unit adapted to prestore key information, an input unit adapted to input calculation target information, a calculating unit adapted to perform a calculation on targeted information based on the key information held in the storage unit, a detecting unit adapted to detect a predetermined event, and a control unit adapted, when triggered by detection of the event by the detecting unit, to perform controls to generate the private information by making the calculating unit perform the calculation with the input calculation target information as the targeted information, and to place the key information stored in the storage unit in an unusable state.

Abstract: Upon applying a DRM protection process to an image which is generated by an image processing apparatus, which doesn't have any communication means that allows direct communications with a PC, without any alteration, encryption of the image in the apparatus and that of the image in the PC as an internal process of the DRM are required, resulting in poor efficiency. The apparatus executes a part of the DRM protection process for the image, and outputs the encrypted image. The PC receives the image which has undergone the part of the DRM protection process, executes the remaining part of the DRM protection process, and outputs the image which has undergone the DRM protection process. In this case, the PC transmits use condition of the input image to a license server, receives signed use condition from the server, and combines the signed use condition with the input encrypted image.

Abstract: It is required to protect the copyrights and the like of partial images which form respective parts of an image obtained by reading an image, exchanged using a print as a medium, by an image scanner or the like. Input image data is divided into a plurality of image regions having different features, digital watermarks, which are embedded in the detected image regions by embedding methods corresponding to the features of the image regions, are extracted, and the availability of the input image is checked on the basis of the extracted digital watermarks.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a scanning unit adapted to scan an image of a document, a detection unit adapted to detect a document type by analyzing image data of the document scanned by the scanning unit, a storage unit adapted to store a storage period for each document type, a calculation unit adapted to calculate an expiration date for storage of the image data based on the storage period corresponding to the document type detected by the detection unit, and a management control unit adapted to manage the image data based on the calculated expiration date for storage.

Abstract: An image processing method is provided to control an action for image data based on control information associated with the image data. The method includes generating an electronic signature to be affixed to image data, and generating control information used for controlling an action for the image data based on a result of verification of the electronic signature. The method further includes integrating the image data, the electronic signature, and the control information to generate integrated data and transmitting the integrated data.

Abstract: A method is provided that enables verification of whether a component of original image data has been altered at the location at which the component is to be reused without newly generating a signature. More specifically, the method includes inputting first document data including a plurality of components and signature information corresponding to the components, selecting at least one component from among the components, and extracting signature information corresponding to the at least one selected component. The method further includes storing the at least one selected component and the signature information corresponding to the at least one selected component in a memory, and generating second document data by pasting the at least one stored component and the stored signature information into a document selected as a paste location.

Abstract: A device and method for embedding plural kinds of additional information or multiple bits of additional information into one picture is provided. A region information generating step generates region information to specify at least two regions in the real picture spatial or frequency space corresponding to the picture data, a coefficient sequence generating step sets at least two coefficient sequences, which are different from each other, a watermark pattern generating step allocates the coefficient sequences to each divided region to generate watermark patterns, and an embedding step embeds digital watermark information by changing the picture data using the watermark patterns.

Abstract: An information processing method enables verification of validity of signed data using received partial signed data parts, even when all the signed data is not received. According to the information processing method, signature data including a signature value and digests of a plurality of partial signed data parts is received. Then, the signature data is verified by using the signature value and the digests of a plurality of partial signed data parts. Subsequently, the partial signed data is received according to a result of verifying the signature data. Then, the partial signed data is verified using the partial signed data and the digest of the partial signed data.

Abstract: A code stream and data indicating a normalization method are inputted to a normalization processing unit 21, and the normalization processing unit applies normalization processing to the code stream to generate a normalized code stream. Next, when signature data is inputted, a verification processing unit 22 performs encryption and decryption processing with respect to the signature data using a public key Kp and calculates a Hash value (first Hash value) and, on the other hand, calculates a Hash value of the normalized code stream (second Hash value). Next, the verification processing unit compares the first Hash value and the second Hash value and, if the first Hash value and the second Hash value are equal, judges that the code stream is not falsified. On the other hand, if the first Hash value and the second Hash value are not equal, the verification processing unit judges that the code stream is falsified.

Abstract: According to this invention, whether or not information has been tampered with can be detected while authentication information is set to be inseparable from digital information, and original digital data can be restored as long as it is free from tampering. For this purpose, when authentication information is embedded into digital information input by an image input unit (201), a Hash value calculation unit (202) generates authentication information based on that digital information, an encryption unit (203) encrypts the authentication information using an encryption key, and a digital watermarking unit (204) embeds the encrypted information in the digital information as a digital watermark.

Abstract: Whether or not information has been tampered with can be detected while authentication information is set to be inseparable from digital information, and original digital data can be restored as long as it is free from tampering. For this purpose, when authentication information is embedded into digital information input by an image input unit (201), a Hash value calculation unit (202) generates authentication information based on that digital information, an encryption unit (203) encrypts the authentication information using an encryption key, and a digital watermarking unit (204) embeds the encrypted information in the digital information as a digital watermark.

Abstract: An image processing method is provided. This method comprises: a first information extraction step of extracting first information, including a registration signal used to correct the geometrical distortion of an image; a determination step of employing results obtained at the first information extraction step to determine whether second information is to be extracted from the image; a division step of dividing the image into at least one block; and a selection step of selecting the block. In this method, the first information and the second information are embedded in the image as invisible or less visible electronic watermarks, and are added to components of said image that are less easily discerned by a human's eyes. Further, the amount of said first information is smaller than the amount of said second information, and the first information is embedded more deeply in the image than is the second information.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus which efficiently perform image coding and digital watermark embedding, and decoding and digital watermark extraction. For this purpose, an image is transformed to plural frequency subbands, at least one of the plural frequency subbands is selected, and in the selected frequency subband, a portion designated based on a matrix is changed, thereby digital watermark embedding is performed.

Abstract: It is possible to safely constitute a key management method having an access structure equivalent to the hierarchical key management method with a small amount of calculations. The method includes: a setting step for setting a set (,) of the number of times a one-way hash function is executed for each of the elements of the rank i; a key generation step for generating two separate keys for the elements as the value of the number of times the one-way function has been executed corresponding to the set of the number of times which has been set for the elements of the two original keys for each of the elements; and a key delivery step for delivering the two separate keys for the elements to each of the elements.

Abstract: Even when encoded (compressed) image data appended with an error-detecting code is encrypted, the apparatus which receives and reproduces that image data can execute a normal process without any insignificant re-send request and the like. To this end, encoded image data is input, and first error-detecting encoding information contained in its header is checked to determine whether or not an error-detecting code is appended. If it is determined that the error-detecting code is appended, the first error-detecting encoding information is changed to indicate the absence of an error-detecting code, and is saved as second error-detecting encoding information. Then, the encoded image data is encrypted.

Abstract: The present invention has an object to provide a data processing apparatus which can perform digital watermark embedding/extraction in accordance with manipulation, editing, and compression. To achieve the object, the data processing apparatus for performing compression processing on digital data comprises: a digital watermark extracting device extracting additional information, embedded as a digital watermark, from digital data; a digital watermark removing device removing the additional information, embedded as a digital watermark, from the digital data; an irreversible processing deice performing irreversible processing on the digital data; and a digital watermark embedding device embedding the additional information as a digital watermark in the irreversible-processed digital data.