Invisible proof of copyright

With a single mouse click, digital images, the latest pop songs or new films can be downloaded from the Internet. What's missing though is copyright protection. Digital watermark technology can help. At the Cebit, Fraunhofer researchers will be introducing new processes that provide proof of copyright, especially for audio data.

Banknotes have them. So do certified documents and old stock certificates: watermarks. Those that are only visible when held directly against the light, make it more difficult to counterfeit and reproduce valuable documents. This already proven, successful method has been adapted for use with digital data by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Darmstadt. "Digital watermarks" have the potential to protect electronic images, music and videos from illegal use and manipulation.
Christoph Busch of IGD explains the concept, Digital watermarks consist of imperceptible information embedded in pictures, audio data or video films. The indiscernible and inaudible supplemental data contains details such as information about the copyright owner, song title, a serial number or the address of the distributor. Using special programs, the digital watermarks can be read to determine the precise origin of an image, a video or a pop song an important factor in view of the ease with which illegal copies can be distributed through the Internet. Musicians and the recording industry in particular suffer the impact of so-called pirate copies. In the key U.S. market, the number of CDs purchased up to 22 December 2002 decreased by 9.3%, to 624.2 million, according to the market research firm Nielsen SoundScan.
Fraunhofer researchers are developing watermarks for audio data in order to improve copyright protection for both musicians and the music industry. Digital watermarks do not prevent the production of pirate copies, but they can make it more difficult to commercially distribute illegal copies of music. We have developed watermarks for uncompressed data, such as CD recordings, as well as for music recorded with compression techniques such as MP-3 files, reports Christian Neubauer of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen. What makes this development unique is that both processes are compatible with one another, meaning that the inaudible marks can be read with the same program.
For the distribution of music via the Internet, transaction watermarks are extremely appealing. These are automatically generated during the download process. If a customer purchases Robbie Williams' latest hit from an Internet music provider, the song is downloaded with an inaudible copyright certificate. According to Neubauer, One way to do this is to embed an encrypted customer number in the music. If pirate copies of the song surface at some later point, this forensic watermark can pinpoint the customer that illegally copied the piece of music.
But what happens when several thousand customers access an Internet music service provider's server at the same time? To ensure that each customer is able to download the protected music in real-time onto their computers, the IGD researchers came up with a clever trick. The audio data is digitally marked beforehand, once with a 0 and once with a 1. A special algorithm using block coding is then used to compile the song requested by the customer. Much like a patchwork quilt, the algorithm assembles the song in a specific pattern using both the marked (with zeros and ones) and unmarked segments of the audio data. The inaudible watermark is then downloaded and woven into the music in real-time. The underlying watermark technology has already been licensed by PhonoNet GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Phonographic Industry National Trade Association (Bundesverbandes der Phonographischen Wirtschaft e.V). PhonoNet is implementing the IGD-developed technology in order to provide watermarks for the music data that is encrypted and transmitted within their music promotion network.
Digital watermarks can also easily be used with live radio broadcasts. A field trial conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Publication and Information Systems IPSI, the IIS and the Darmstadt local radio station RADAR, has proven that the concept works. The IIS system will also be used in advertising research in Australia. In addition to the music and radio broadcast industries, archives are also taking advantage of this technology to record proof of copyright ownership for stored data. The German Radio Archive (DRA) is currently testing a process that was jointly developed by IPSI and its commercial spin-off Platanista GmbH. According to Martin Steinbach of IPSI, The DRA key and library catalog number will be embedded in the audio documentation. This will ensure that the DRA can always be identified as the copyright owner in cases where illegal copies are produced and distributed.
These and other current digital watermark technology research results will be presented at the Fraunhofer exhibition stand in Hall 11, booth A14.,Contacts: ,Dr. Christoph Busch ,Tel: +49/ 61 51 / 15 5-1 47 ,E-mail: [e-mail]
Fraunhofer-Institut fur Graphische Datenverarbeitung IGD ,Fraunhoferstra?e 5 ,D-64283 Darmstadt
Dr.-Ing. Christian Neubauer ,Tel: +49/ 91 31 / 7 76-3 55 ,E-mail: [e-mail]
Fraunhofer-Institut fur Integrierte Schaltungen IIS ,Am Wolfsmantel 33 ,D-91058 Erlangen
Martin.Steinebach ,Tel: +49/ 61 51 / 8 69-8 45 ,E-mail: [e-mail]
Fraunhofer-Institut fur ,Integrierte Publikations- und Informationssysteme IPSI ,Dolivostra?e 15 ,D-64293 Darmstadt
Weitere Information: ,http://www.cebit2003.fraunhofer.de/ (Fraunhofer auf der CeBIT),

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