Information processing method and apparatus, and computer program and computer-readable storage medium

An information processing method for verifying whether or not document data matches an original, comprising:

• an input step of inputting document data that includes a character string;
• a first extraction step of extracting, from the document data input in the input step, first additional information embedded using a first digital watermark method, wherein the first digital watermark embedding method embeds information in an image using a parameter defining a robustness, and wherein the parameter is determined so that, in a case where an original document, in which information has been embedded using the first digital watermark method, is copied by a copying machine, the embedded information cannot be detected in the copied document output from the copying machine;
• a second extraction step of extracting, from the document data input in the input step, second additional information embedded using a second digital watermark method, wherein the second digital watermark method embeds information in an image by changing a distance between characters in the image so that, in a case where an original document, in which information has been embedded using the second digital watermark method, is copied by a copying machine, the embedded information can be detected in the copied document output from the copying machine;
• and
• a determination step of determining that verification is impossible in a case where the second additional information cannot be extracted, determining that the inputted document data corresponds to a copy in a case where the second additional information can be extracted and the first additional information cannot be extracted, or where the first and second additional information can be extracted but do not match, and otherwise determining that the input document data corresponds to the original.

An information processing apparatus for embedding additional information in document data, comprising:

• document data input means for inputting document data that includes a character string;
• additional information input means for inputting additional information;
• image data input means for inputting image data as a background image;
• first embedding means for embedding the additional information in the input background image data, using a first digital watermark method and a parameter defining a robustness, wherein the first digital watermark method embeds information in an image by changing a pixel value using the parameter defining the robustness, and wherein the parameter is determined so that, in a case where an original document, in which information has been embedded using the first digital watermark method, is copied by a copying machine, the embedded information cannot be detected in the copied document output from the copying machine;
• second embedding means for embedding the additional information in the input document data, using a second digital watermark method, wherein the second digital watermark method being of embeds information in an image by changing a distance between characters in the image so that, in a case where an original document, in which information has been embedded using the second digital watermark method, is copied by a copying machine, the embedded information can be detected in the copied document output from the copying machine;
• composition means for compositing the document data in which the additional information has been embedded in the second embedding means as a foreground image, and the background image data in which the additional information has been embedded by the first embedding means;
• and
• output means for outputting the document data composed with the background image data by the composition means.

A computer program, embodied in a computer-readable medium, comprising codes for controlling an apparatus to function as an information processing apparatus for embedding additional information in document data, said program controlling the apparatus to function as:

• document data input means for inputting document data that includes a character string;
• additional information input means for inputting additional information;
• image data input means for inputting image data as a background image;
• first embedding means for embedding the additional information in the input background image data, using a first digital watermark method and a parameter defining a robustness, wherein the first digital watermark method embeds information in an image by changing a pixel value using the parameter defining the robustness, and wherein the parameter is determined so that, in a case where an original document, in which information has been embedded using the first digital watermark method, is copied by a copying machine, the embedded information cannot be detected in the copied document output from the copying machine;
• second embedding means for embedding the additional information in the input document data, using a second digital watermark method, wherein the second digital watermark method embeds information in an image by changing a distance between characters in the image so that, in a case where an original document, in which information has been embedded using the second digital watermark method, is copied by a copying machine, the embedded information can be detected in the copied document output from the copying machine;
• composition means for compositing the document data in which the additional information has been embedded in the second embedding means as a foreground image, and the background image data in which the additional information has been embedded by the first embedding means;
• and
• output means for outputting the document data composed with the background image data by the composition means.

An information processing apparatus for verifying whether or not document data matches an original, comprising:

• input means for inputting document data that includes a character string;
• first extraction means for extracting, from the document data input by the input means, first additional information embedded using a first digital watermark method, wherein the first digital watermark method embeds information in an image using a parameter defining a robustness, and wherein the parameter is determined so that, in a case where an original document, in which information has been embedded using the first digital watermark method, is copied by a copying machine, the embedded information cannot be detected in the copied document output from the copying machine;
• second extraction means for extracting, from the document data input by the input means, second additional information embedded using a second digital watermark method, wherein the second digital watermark method embeds information in an image by changing a distance between characters in the image so that, in a case where an original document, in which information has been embedded using the second digital watermark method, is copied by a copying machine, the embedded information can be detected in the copied document output from the copying machine;
• and
• determination means for determining that verification is impossible in a case where the second additional information cannot be extracted, determining that the inputted document data corresponds to a copy in a case where the second additional information can be extracted and the first additional information cannot be extracted, or where the first and second additional information can be extracted but do not match, and otherwise determining that the input document data corresponds to the original.

A computer program, embodied in a computer-readable medium, having codes for controlling an apparatus to function as an information processing apparatus for verifying whether or not document data matches an original, said program controlling the apparatus to function as:

• input means for inputting document data that includes a character string;
• first extraction means for extracting, from the document data input by the input means, first additional information embedded using a first digital watermark method, wherein the first digital watermark method embeds information in an image using a parameter defining a robustness, and wherein the parameter is determined so that, in a case where an original document, in which information has been embedded using the first digital watermark method, is copied by a copying machine, the embedded information cannot be detected in the copied document output from the copying machine;
• second extraction means for extracting, from the document data input by the input means, second additional information embedded using a second digital watermark method, wherein the second digital watermark method embeds information in an image by changing a distance between characters in the image so that, in a case where an original document, in which information has been embedded using the second digital watermark method, is copied by a copying machine, the embedded information can be detected in the copied document output from the copying machine;
• and
• determination means for determining that verification is impossible in a case where the second additional information cannot be extracted, determining that the inputted document data corresponds to a copy in a case where the second additional information can be extracted and the first additional information cannot be extracted, or where the first and second additional information can be extracted but do not match, and otherwise determining that the input document data corresponds to the original.