New patents are issued by the USPTO on Tuesdays. Today's Spotlight Patents concern aspects of digital watermarking and digital fingerprinting. Assigned to Verance, the first patent addresses techniques for watermark detection and metadata delivery associated with a primary content. Assigned to Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, the second patent addresses using a certificate for a target device that includes encrypted system attributes that are then verified against attributes of the target device prior to software usage.
9,942,602, "Watermark detection and metadata delivery associated with a primary content," assigned to Verance.
Abstract
Methods, devices, systems and computer program products enable enhances delivery and use of metadata that is associated a primary multimedia content. Watermarks that are detected by a watermark extractor produce an indication as to a state of the watermark detector as being in one of a an unmarked content state, a marked content state or a gap state, and cause the watermark extractor to transition from one state to another state based on event that are recognized based a failure or a success in detecting watermarks, an indication of low content activity and a previous state of the watermark extractor. The events and states associated with the watermark extractor further allows retrieval of new metadata associated with the primary content, use of an existing metadata in a modified manner or a change in presentation of a secondary content that is associated with the primary content.
9,940,446, "Anti-piracy protection for software," assigned to Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc.
Abstract
A certificate for a target device includes encrypted system attributes that are verified against attributes of the target device prior to software usage. A certificate server securely obtains system attributes from the target system and generates a certificate with encrypted components including some system attributes. The certificate is stored on the target device and software installation/execution is made dependent on validation of the certificate. An encrypted system fingerprint in the certificate is decrypted by the software at the target device and compared with locally obtained system attributes to verify authorization for software usage on the target device. The certificate represents an easy to use paradigm for anti-piracy protection of software.
