Protecting images with an image watermark

A watermarking apparatus comprising means for imparting an invisible watermark onto an original digitized image, the means for imparting comprising:

• means for providing said original digitized image comprised of a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel of said pixels includes brightness data that represents a brightness of at least one color;
• and
• means for multiplying said brightness data associated with at least one of said pixels by a predetermined brightness multiplying factor in the range of 0.8 to 1.1, there being one multiplying factor for each pixel of said plurality of pixels, said one multiplying factor modifying only the brightness of said each pixel of said pixels.

A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing the imparting of an invisible watermark onto an original digitized image, the computer readable program code means in said computer program product comprising:

• computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the provision of said original digitized image comprised of a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel of said pixels includes brightness data that represents a brightness of at least one color;
• and
• computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the multiplication of said brightness data associated with at least one of said pixels by a predetermined brightness multiplying factor in the range of 0.8 to 1.1, there being one multiplying factor for each pixel of said plurality of pixels, said one multiplying factor modifying only the brightness of said each pixel of said pixels.

A watermarking method comprising imparting an invisible watermark onto an original digitized image, the step of imparting comprising the steps of:

• providing said original digitized image comprised of a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel of said pixels includes brightness data that represents a brightness of at least one color;
• and
• multiplying said brightness data associated with at least one of said pixels by a predetermined brightness multiplying factor, said brightness multiplying factor, “mf”, is selected from the group consisting of (0.8≦“mf”≦1), wherein the value of said multiplying factor for each of said plurality of pixels is determined independent of a multiplying factor of an adjacent pixel.

A watermarking apparatus comprising means for imparting an invisible watermark onto an original digitized image, the means for imparting comprising:

• means for providing said original digitized image comprised of a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel of said pixels includes brightness data that represents a brightness of at least one color;
• and
• means for multiplying said brightness data associated with at least one of said pixels by a predetermined brightness multiplying factor, said brightness multiplying factor, “mf”, is selected from the group consisting of (0.8≦“mf”≦1), wherein the value of said multiplying factor for each of said plurality of pixels is determined independent of a multiplying factor of an adjacent pixel.

A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing the imparting of an invisible watermark onto an original digitized image, the computer readable program code means in said computer program product comprising:

• computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the provision of said original digitized image comprised of a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel of said pixels includes brightness data that represents a brightness of at least one color;
• and
• computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the multiplication of said brightness data associated with at least one of said pixels by a predetermined brightness multiplying factor, said brightness multiplying factor, “mf”, is selected from the group consisting of (0.8≦“mf”≦1), wherein the value of said multiplying factor for each of said plurality of pixels is determined independent of a multiplying factor of an adjacent pixel.

A watermarking method comprising imparting an invisible watermark onto an original digitized image, the step of imparting comprising the steps of:

• providing said original digitized image comprised of a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel of said pixels includes brightness data that represents a brightness of at least one color, said digitized image comprises at least one region comprising an array of pixels, each element of said array comprises an individual multiplying factor, said array is transformable by a discrete transformation to a complementary space of multiplying factor representing values, said multiplying factor representing values are modifiable in said complementary space and transformable by to an array of modified multiplying factors;
• and
• multiplying said brightness data associated with at least one of said pixels by a predetermined brightness multiplying factor, said brightness multiplying factor, “mf”, is selected from the group consisting of (0.8≦“mf”≦1).