Abstract: In an information distribution processing system having a plurality of information processing apparatuses connected through a network, at least one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses can acquire distribution information to which is added first additional information as an electronic watermark using a first adding method, and second additional information as an electronic watermark using a second adding method. An extraction unit extracts the first additional information using the first adding method, and an identification unit identifies an information processing apparatus that is able to extract the second additional information, based on the first additional information.

Abstract: In an information processing system having a plurality of information processing apparatuses connected through a network, at least one of the plurality of information processing apparatuses can add first additional information to input information as an electronic watermark using a first adding method, and can add second additional information to the input information as an electronic watermark using a second adding method. The first adding method has a higher robustness than the second adding method, and the first additional information can be used for identifying the second adding method.

Abstract: An extracting apparatus extracts first information from image data, the first information being embedded in the image data in accordance with a first embedding method which uses publicly available information. A first extracting unit extracts third information including the first information and second information from the image data, the third information being embedded in the image data in accordance with a second embedding method which uses secret information that is not made publicly available, and a second extracting unit extracts the first information from the third information.

Abstract: A configuration is provided in which whether or not an article to be copied by a scanner is a copy-prohibited article such as a bill can be judged in a relatively short period of time. First, a copy object is prescanned by a scanner and read in rough pixel density, and with respect to the image, whether or not a copy object is a copy-prohibited article is checked. After completion of checking, main scanning is carried out to obtain a desired image of high density. As the result of the checking, the possibility that a copy object is a copy-prohibited article is examined, and when the possibility is low, said image of high density is output, and when the possibility is high, the image is checked again. As the result of checking, the possibility that a copy object is a copy-prohibited article is examined, and when the possibility is high, processing that the image is totally coated is carried out to output an unnormal image, and when the possibility is low, a normal image is output.

Abstract: To provide a variety of methods for extracting digital watermark information from an image as correctly as possible. For example, a first pattern arrangement and a second pattern arrangement which is different from the first pattern arrangement for use in a calculation for extracting the digital watermark information are provided. A state of an original image without the digital watermark information embedded is inferred, using a second pattern arrangement, and a reliability of the digital watermark information to be extracted in accordance with the state is determined. Or to decide the embedding position of the digital watermark information from the image data, the extracting start position is discriminated by detecting the positional information by multiple times at the different extracting start positions. Or to detect a geometrical distortion, a registration signal is embedded on the image.

Abstract: A data processing apparatus has a first embedding unit adapted to embed first information in digital image data in accordance with a first embedding method which utilizes publicly available information. The apparatus also has a second embedding unit adapted to embed second information in the digital image data having the first information embedded therein in accordance with a second embedding method which utilizes secret information that is not made publicly available, the second information being used to detect whether the first information is altered.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus and method for deriving a digital watermark embedded in an image is provided which has a recognizing unit for recognizing a predetermined characteristic area in the image and a deriving unit for extracting the digital watermark from the image data in the recognized characteristic area.

Abstract: This invention provides an image data encryption technique which facilitates management of access keys in encrypting image data having a hierarchical structure in which the data of each layer can be specified by at least two parameters, and is resistant against exchange of access keys between a plurality of users. To implement this technique, in this invention, in encrypting image data having a hierarchical structure in which a layer is specified by layer and resolution levels, an access key K for the highest resolution and highest layer is set. Access keys are generated by using a one-way function in a direction which the level becomes low. The access key for a given layer can be generated from either of the access keys of layer and resolution located at the higher level. The data of each layer is encrypted in accordance with a corresponding access key.

Abstract: On an encrypted object code obtained by encrypting an object code, there is discriminated whether an inhibited code defined in data format is present in a code concerning such encrypted object code, and, in case such inhibited code is judged absent, the encrypted object code is determined as an encryption result of the object code.

Abstract: A method for image processing comprising inputting and reading a combined image that includes a latent image unperceivable by the human eye, a patterned image in the background allowing the latent image to appear clearly on a recording medium when data recorded on a recording medium is copied onto another recording medium, and text and/or image data embedded with a digital watermark. The text and/or image data is extracted from the combined image and the digital watermark extracted from the text and/or image data. A permission code enabling copying of image data composed of a combination of a patterned image and the extracted text and/or image data onto a recording medium is input. The copying is regulated based on the extracted digital watermark and the permission code.

Abstract: Distance d1 between the right edges of A1 and B2, and distance d2 between the right edges of A3 and B4 are calculated. If data to be embedded is 1, one or a combination of a process for increasing the size of B2 in the column direction or decreasing the size of B4 in the column and a process for moving the position of B2 toward B3 or moving the position of B4 toward B3 is executed to meet d1>d2. If data to be embedded is 0, one or a combination of a process for decreasing the size of B2 in the column direction or increasing the size of B4 in the column direction, and a process for moving the position of B2 toward B1 or moving the position of B4 toward B5 is executed to meet d1<d2.

Abstract: Circumscribing rectangles of respective characters in a document image are obtained. In a first pair as a pair of a first circumscribing rectangle in a first line (a line of A1 to A7) serving as a reference line, and a second circumscribing rectangle in a second line (a line of B1 to B4 or C1 to C7) as one of lines other than the reference line, and a second pair as a pair of a third circumscribing rectangle in the first line, and a fourth circumscribing rectangle in the second line, of these circumscribing rectangles, at least one of the circumscribing rectangles included in these pairs is controlled to vary the distance between the circumscribing rectangles of the first pair, and the distance between the circumscribing rectangles of the second pair in accordance with digital watermark information to be embedded, thereby embedding the digital watermark information.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to efficiently embed digital-watermark information in a document image by adjusting robustness and quality of the image. In order to achieve the object, watermark information and image information are input, a first parameter determining embedding strength and a second parameter determining image quality are set, and the digital-watermark information is embedded in the image based on the first and second parameters. When the entire information cannot be embedded, the first or second parameter is adjusted so as to embed a larger amount of digital-watermark information in the image.

Abstract: To enable a user to efficiently recognize authenticity of a paper document, the content of a input electronic document is read by an OCR technique, a hash value in regard to the read OCR result is stored as authenticity confirmation information on a server, and a URL indicating a position where the hash value has been stored is embedded in the electronic document by using a digital watermark.

Abstract: The present invention provides a technique that allows for a valid modification that is authorized by the author of data, while assuring the originality of the data. An information processing apparatus for processing original data created by a predetermined author is provided. The information processing apparatus includes a modification-information storing unit for storing modification information regarding a modification onto a storage medium when the original data is modified, and a modification-assuring-information creating unit for creating modification assuring information for assuring that the modification information is true.

Abstract: A registration signal embedding method of embedding registration signals adaptively in accordance with image signals. The frequency property of image data is determined, and either a first registration signal or a second registration signal is selected in accordance with the frequency property, and is added to image data. The registration embedded in this way has the advantage of increased resistance and easy detection.

Abstract: A deterrent effect for a forgery of an image can be provided and both of the protection of a picture quality of an image of a relatively low similarity and the prevention of a forgery of an image of a relatively high similarity can be realized. For this purpose, an image processing apparatus has embedding processing means for embedding predetermined information which can specify an output apparatus and an output date/time as a digital watermark having a resistance according to a similarity with a specific image 106 into an output image, thereby enabling the deterrent of a forgery of the specific image 106 according to the similarity to be realized while outputting an image which the operator intends to output.

Abstract: This invention provides a technique capable of always keeping digital watermark information embedded in image data having the embedded digital watermark information by an optimum scheme on the basis of a time factor, or removing a digital watermark, or erasing the image data. An apparatus for achieving the above object has functions of holding image data having additional information embedded as a digital watermark, detecting time information related to the image data, and changing the embedding scheme for the additional information as the digital watermark embedded in the image data on the basis of the detected time information.

Abstract: This invention has as its object to provide a technique for embedding digital-watermark information in image data while minimizing deterioration of the original image quality. To this end, a data processing apparatus of this invention has input means for inputting image data consisting of a plurality of coefficients, and embedding means for embedding digital-watermark information in coefficients having values falling within a predetermined range of the input image data.

Abstract: The invention is to precisely extract a digital watermark from image data which are subjected to embedding of the digital watermark in a state of a binary image and are then converted into a multi-value image (gray scale image).