Contents border detection apparatus, monitoring method, and contents location detection method and program and storage medium therefor

A contents border detection apparatus comprising:

• a digital watermark detector, for detecting a digital watermark embedded in contents for which a time element is provided;
• and
• a border detector, for detecting border locations for said contents corresponding to the state of said digital watermark detected by said digital watermark detector,
• wherein said border detector includes
• first border specification means, for specifying said border locations for said contents based on information, written in said digital watermark, that is detected by said digital watermark detector, and
• second border specification means, for specifying said border locations for said contents based on detection strengths of bits embedded as said digital watermark,
• wherein said border locations for said contents are detected by using the process results obtained both by said first and said second border specification means.

A contents border detection apparatus comprising:

• a digital watermark detector, for detecting a digital watermark embedded in contents including a time element;
• and
• a border detector, for detecting the location of the border of said contents in accordance with the state of said digital watermark detected by said digital watermark detector,
• wherein said border detector predicts the detection results for a predetermined bit based on a bit string segment, having a specific length, of a predetermined bit string that is embedded as a digital watermark in said contents, and depending on whether the actual detection results obtained for said predetermined bit match the prediction results, identifies said location of said border of said contents.

A monitoring method for specifying the time occupied by predetermined contents in broadcast data, including a variety of types of contents, comprising the steps of:

• detecting a digital watermark embedded in said contents of said broadcast data;
• employing the state of said digital watermark to detect the location of the border of said contents in said broadcast data;
• and
• employing said location of said border of said contents to designate the period of time that said contents occupy in said broadcast data,
• wherein said step of detecting said location of said border of said contents includes the steps of
• performing a first method, based on information written in said digital watermark, to identify said location of said border of said contents in which said digital watermark is embedded,
• employing a second method, based on information related to a bit embedded as a digital watermark, to specify the location of the border of said contents more accurately than is possible with said first method, based on said location of said border designated by said first method.

A monitoring method for specifying the time occupied by predetermined contents in broadcast data, including a variety of types of contents, comprising the steps of:

• detecting a digital watermark embedded in said contents of said broadcast data;
• employing the pattern of bits embedded as said digital watermark to detect the location of the border of said contents in said broadcast data;
• and
• employing said location of said border of said contents to designate the period of time that said contents occupy in said broadcast data.

A monitoring method for specifying the time occupied by predetermined contents in broadcast data, including a variety of types of contents, comprising the steps of:

• detecting a digital watermark embedded in said contents of said broadcast data;
• employing the detection strengths of bits embedded as said digital watermark to detect the location of the border of said contents in said broadcast data;
• and
• employing said location of said border of said contents to designate the period of time that said contents occupy in said broadcast data.

A contents location detection method for detecting the location, along the time axis, of predetermined speech or music contents in speech or music data comprising the steps of:

• detecting a digital watermark embedded in said speech or music contents of said speech or music data;
• employing a first method based on information written in said digital watermark to specify the location of the border of said speech or music contents in which said digital watermark is embedded;
• and
• employing a second method, based on the detection strength of a bit embedded as said digital watermark, to specify the location of the border of said speech or music contents more accurately than by said first method, based on said location of said border designated using said first method.