System and method for generation of signatures for multimedia data elements

A system for generating signatures of an input multimedia data element (MMDE), comprising:

• a storage;
• a processor;
• and
• a memory, the memory containing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the system to:
• identify low-level characteristics of the input MMDE;
• identify a plurality of portions of the input MMDE, wherein each portion of the plurality of portions of the input MMDE comprises an identified low-level characteristic of the input MMDE;
• partition the input MMDE into a plurality of minimum size MMDEs, wherein each minimum size MMDE comprises a portion of the plurality of portions of the input MMDE;
• generate a signature for each minimum size MMDE of the plurality of minimum size MMDEs;
• assemble at least a complex signature comprising a plurality of signatures of the minimum size MMDEs;
• and
• store the signatures of each of the minimum size MMDEs and the complex signature in association with the multimedia data element and the plurality of minimum size MMDEs in the storage.