HK1235126A1 - System and method for creating a temporal-based dynamic watermark - Google Patents

Description

System and method for creating time-based dynamic watermarks

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to watermarking content prior to or during playback.

Background

Digital watermarking is a technique for embedding data in media content, such as audiovisual content, for example. An ordinary consumer of the media content may not notice the digital watermark, but the digital watermark carries information that can be used for various purposes. For example, a digital watermark embedded in a digital movie file may be used to identify the producer or distributor of the media content, or may identify the origin of the digital movie file carrying the media content. The digital watermark may or may not be visible to a viewer of the content.

Disclosure of Invention

Various embodiments are directed to dynamically generating watermarks during viewing of an audiovisual work capable of indicating changes in the presentation environment of media content. For example, the watermark payload utilized in generating the dynamic watermark may be configured to reflect one or more changes in the number of viewers watching the movie in the theater. Other embodiments are directed to dynamically generating watermarks capable of indicating changes in a chain of devices used in distribution and/or playback of media content. For example, the watermark payload may be configured to reflect when the media content changes from being rendered on a television to being rendered on a tablet.

According to one embodiment, a computer-implemented method includes generating a watermark payload based on a chain of one or more devices that distribute (distribute) content through the one or more devices. The computer-implemented method further includes detecting a change in the chain of one or more devices; and altering the watermark payload based on the detected change in the chain of one or more devices.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus includes a processor and a memory unit operatively connected to the processor. The memory unit comprising computer code is configured to cause the processor to: generating a first digital watermark; embedding a first digital watermark in a digital media content file; detecting a change in a condition associated with distribution of a digital media content file; generating a second digital watermark reflecting the change in the condition; and embedding the second digital watermark in the digital media content file.

According to another embodiment, a computer-implemented method includes generating a watermark payload based on one or more environmental characteristics presented during content distribution; detecting a change in one or more environmental characteristics; and altering the watermark payload based on the detected change in the one or more environmental characteristics.

Drawings

The present disclosure, in accordance with one or more various embodiments, is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict typical or example embodiments.

Fig. 1A is a flowchart illustrating example operations that may be carried out to generate a dynamic watermark in accordance with one embodiment.

Fig. 1B is a flowchart illustrating example operations that may be carried out to generate a dynamic watermark in accordance with another embodiment.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example environment in which various embodiments may be implemented.

Fig. 2B shows a schematic representation of a dynamic watermark in the example environment of fig. 2A.

Fig. 2C is a graphical representation of a change watermark payload, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an example computing component that may be used to implement various features of embodiments described in this disclosure.

The drawings are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed.

Detailed Description

Due to advances in computer networks, communication technologies, and digital storage media (such as hard drives, blu-ray disc (TM), and compact discs), the use of digital technology to distribute and/or present media content has become popular. For example, a digital movie may refer to a digital movie file that is projected on the aforementioned digital storage media using a digital projector or received via the internet or a dedicated communication link between a theater and a content provider.

As described above, a digital watermark may be embedded in a digital cinema file and subsequently detected to identify the producer or distributor of the media content, and/or the origin (point of origin) of the digital cinema file carrying the media content. However, conventional systems and methods of watermarking are "static" in that the origin or source of the digital movie file may only consider the initial distribution chain of the device when generating the digital watermark. Thus, any subsequent changes in the distribution chain are not detected, and any circumvention of DRM restrictions or protection may occur with such changes. In addition, changes in the environment (such as changes in the number of viewers present during playback of the media content) or changes in the location in which the media content is presented may also suggest DRM circumvention. Accordingly, various embodiments disclosed herein address such changes in the distribution chain and/or environment for dynamically generating digital watermarks.

Fig. 1A illustrates example operations carried out in accordance with various embodiments for generating a watermark to be embedded in media content, such as a digital cinema file, where the watermark may be dynamically changed to reflect changes in the distribution/presentation chain of the device. Implementations of those operations in the example system 200 will be reflected with reference to fig. 2A and 2B.

It should be noted that the media content in the present disclosure may be any type of content including, but not limited to, movies, broadcast TV programs, online videos, user-created videos/content, music, images, sports games, video games, and the like. The media content may also be a recording of any type of event or circumstance, the presentation of which is recorded for presentation in real-time or for later consumption. Further, the media content may be accessible from or sourced by one or more broadcast entities, media content servers, personal devices, etc. The protected content may be content with DRM access control restrictions, such as specially encoded content files, content that is identified as non-reproducible without the content owner's consent, and so on.

At operation 100, a watermark payload is generated based on a chain of one or more devices distributing and/or rendering content through the one or more devices. According to various embodiments, different methods of digital watermarking may be utilized. The watermark payload is an example of one or more digital data elements or metadata that may be embedded in the media content, and in particular, the watermark payload is the number of bits of the watermark that the watermark encodes within a time unit (in the video context, the number of bits embedded per frame or series of frames). The watermark payload may reflect, for example, changes to some aspect of certain pixels in the media content. Changing the pixels may include, but is not limited to, moving the position of the pixels, changing the color and/or hue of the pixels, and applying a mathematical transformation to the pixel data.

According to a first type of digital watermark, known as a forensic watermark, software may be applied to a digital movie file that alters the content (such as pixels) of one or more frames. The watermark payload may be embedded in the digital cinema file in a frame or over the course of several frames, seconds or minutes of the digital cinema file. This results in a watermark that is visually imperceptible or barely perceptible to a viewer, but can be detected and extracted (using a detector) in an illegally copied copy of the digital cinema file. The watermark may indicate a source of the digital motion picture file and/or a distribution chain associated with distributing/rendering the digital motion picture file (discussed in more detail below with reference to fig. 2A and 2B).

Another form of digital watermarking, referred to as session-based watermarking, may involve digital watermarking of a digital motion picture file in the same or similar manner as described above. In this type of digital watermarking, the user or purchaser of the digital motion picture file (and the time and/or date the user recorded, copied, or otherwise attempted to copy the digital motion picture file) may be identified via the session-based digital watermark.

Fig. 2A illustrates an example system 200 in which dynamic watermarking according to various embodiments may be implemented. The system 200 may include one or more distribution devices 202a-202n, each of which may have a respective processor 204a-204n and memory unit 206a-206 n. The distribution devices 202a-202n may be configured to receive and/or store media for distribution and/or presentation. The distribution devices 202a-202n may be DVRs, cable/satellite/Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) set-top boxes, game consoles, tablet Personal Computers (PCs), smart phones, laptop PCs, and the like. For example, the distribution device 202a may be a game console, the distribution device 202b may be an audio receiver, and the distribution device 202n may be a TV, monitor, or other presentation/media content consumption apparatus.

The system 200 may also include a content provider 212, which may be a television broadcast network entity (e.g., ABC), a cable provider (e.g.,) Or any other digital media content distributor, such as,or other third party distributor. The content provider 212 may include a content server 214 along with any required rights that may be maintained in a rights (entitlements) database 218, and the digital media content 216 may be stored on the content server 214. It should be noted that where the content provider 212 is, for example, a digital media content distributor (such as,etc.), the distribution device 202a may receive the media content from a separate broadcast entity 220, such as a cable provider. According to another embodiment, the content provider 212 may be a content creator, e.g., a production studio, that also distributes its own content to consumers. According to yet another embodiment, the distribution device 202a may receive media content on the digital storage medium 230.

DRM protection or restrictions may be applied to media content 216. Thus, according to various embodiments, one or more licenses (licenses) or temporary licenses can be created, utilized, and/or transferred to an appropriate entity. Such licenses can be configured to account for different levels of access and/or distribution, time limitations, usage limitations, and partitioning if desired. For example, the broadcasting entity 220 may obtain temporary licenses for some media content 216 from the content provider 212. In this manner, the viewer is allowed to request and receive the media content for viewing via an interface (e.g., video on demand) of the broadcast entity 220. As another example, the viewer may purchase a license directly from the content provider 212 in order to view the media content 216.

Network 210 may be any communication network such as a cellular or data network, a satellite network, an intranet, an extranet, a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a wireless LAN (wlan), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), a portion of the internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), or any combination thereof. Accordingly, the network 210 may employ various communication media such as coaxial cables, fiber optic cable systems, ethernet, radio waves, and the like.

Fig. 2B illustrates a focused view of a system 200 that focuses the digital watermarking aspects of various embodiments disclosed herein. Thus, the distribution device 202a is shown in more detail to include an embedder 207, a device identifier 209, and an environmental condition unit 211 (discussed in more detail with reference to FIG. 1B). It should be noted that in this context, the distribution device 202a may be considered a source device relative to other devices in the distribution chain.

In operation, a digital signal 201, such as an audio, image or video signal representation of a digital movie file, may be used as a carrier (host) for a digital watermark that is imperceptible or nearly imperceptible embedded therein by the process employed by the embedder 207. The watermarked host signal 215 (i.e., the digitally watermarked media content) is then transferred through the communication channel(s) connecting distribution device 202a to distribution devices 202b-202 n. The communication channel(s) may include one or more wired or wireless connections. It should be noted that when watermarked host signal 215 is received by detector 240, the received watermarked host signal is a distorted version of watermarked host signal 215, as communication channel 250 may represent further processing of watermarked host signal 215 (i.e., compression, scaling, filtering, clipping, or additional channel noise introduced during circumvention of DRM protection).

The digital watermark may be embedded in the host signal 201 in the spatial domain, the transform domain, or a combination thereof. First, the digital watermark may be converted into a bit stream, and insertion of the bit stream may be performed by substitution. For example, when using the host signal spatial domain, the least significant bits of the pixel values may be replaced by watermark bits ("1" or "0"). To ensure that the watermarked host signal 215 is perceptually the same as the (original) host signal 201, the components in the spatial domain modified by the bitstream may be those components that are perceptually least important. When embedding the bitstream in the transform domain, a transform such as Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), Counterlet Transform (CT), or Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) may be used. Thus, one or more transform coefficients may be used to embed the watermark bits. In the transform domain, most of the image energy is distributed over the low-if coefficients. Thus, the modifications made by replacing the watermark bits into these coefficients are distributed over the entire image, and therefore, changes to the watermarked image due to further processing (e.g., compression) will only slightly change the watermarked coefficients.

Additive watermarking is another method for embedding a watermark bit stream into the host signal 201. For example, when the host signal spatial domain is used to embed a watermark bit into a pixel in an image, if the bit is a "1", then a certain value may be incremented, otherwise no incrementing is performed. The larger the added value, the more robust and less perceptible the watermarking method. To improve imperceptibility, the increased values may be divided among a group of pixels (e.g., an 8 x 8 block). In the transform domain, if the embedded watermark bit is "1", a multiplicative watermark may be used, where the significant coefficient is multiplied by a certain value.

Some content may be formatted in a manner that allows for alternative methods of forensic marking. One such alternative may utilize variants to deliver the payload when formatting the content according to the international organization for standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)14496-12ISO base media file format and using the ISO/IEC23001-7 common encryption scheme (CENC). In particular, the content or media data may be used to construct sample variants, where the sample variants may provide forensic information in sample data identifying a render of the DRM client. As with the embedded watermark payload, such variations may be altered/corrected according to changes in the environment and/or distribution chain (as will be discussed below).

However, unlike conventional watermarking systems and methods, the digital watermark (or variant-based forensic mark) contemplated in this disclosure is dynamic. Referring back to FIG. 1A, a change in a chain of one or more devices is detected at operation 102. That is, as described above, the device identifier 209 obtains one or more associated device identifiers from each of the distribution devices 202a-202n at the time the digital watermark is initially generated. Such device identifiers may include make, model, serial number, software version, etc., or some combination thereof. Identifying each device in the distribution or presentation chain allows the detector to determine where in the chain circumvention of DRM protection may have occurred.

Additionally, and if one or more devices in the chain change, for example, in place of another device, the device identifier 209 is aware of the change and can dynamically change or adjust the initially generated digital watermark to reflect the change. That is, at operation 104, the watermark payload is changed based on the detected change in the chain. For example, distribution device 202b should be replaced with distribution device 202c, the replacement known to device identifier 209, and a new digital watermark may be generated and embedded via embedder 207. The distribution device identifier may be obtained by the device identifier 209 via one or more applications running on a first or "source" distribution device (distribution device 202A in fig. 2A and 2B). Alternatively, the device identifier 209 may obtain the distribution device identifier via a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) identifier referred to as Extended Display Identification Data (EDID), which may receive reports from each distribution device operating in an HDMI chain that includes the respective distribution device identifier. It should be noted that other methods of obtaining a distribution device identifier are also contemplated herein, such as spoofing an EDID to make it possible to send/receive a security certificate identifier. Once detected, the subsequent watermark may reflect the distribution chain including distribution device 202a, distribution device 202c, and distribution device 202n, while the initial watermark reflects the distribution chain including distribution device 202a, distribution device 202b, and distribution device 202 n. Thus, attempts to circumvent DRM protection using the distribution device 202c may be detected (e.g., if the distribution device 202c is a receiver known to have available DRM attacks).

With respect to the watermark payload, a conventional watermark payload may be delivered over time, with the payload message being repeated throughout the playback of the media content. In contrast, and as described above, various embodiments alter the watermark payload during playback/distribution to reflect the altered conditions, such as the distribution chain of the distribution device. According to one embodiment, the watermark payload may be a bitmask 10110010 as shown in tables 1 and 2, where the location indicates the distribution device in the distribution chain or an operational aspect thereof. According to another embodiment, the watermark payload may be, for example, an alphanumeric string, which refers to a database entry containing relevant forensic information, which in this example may be distribution device identification information.

TABLE 1

Position A:	1
		position B:	0
position C:	1
		position D:	1
position E:	0
		position F:	0
position G:	1
		position H:	0

TABLE 2

Fig. 2C illustrates an example of altering a watermark payload in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 2C shows 30 frames or groups of frames, each represented by a box. The frames or groups of frames 0-10 are embedded with a first watermark payload a represented by the alphanumeric characters "a 4124". The distribution chain of display devices associated with the distribution and/or presentation of content remains unchanged from time 00:00:00 to time 00:05: 12. Thus, the watermark payload a is embedded in the frames or groups of frames 0-10. However, at time 00:05:12, one or more distribution devices change. To capture this change, the watermark payload a is changed and a new/updated watermark B, represented by the alphanumeric character "B392209", is then embedded in the frame or group of frames 11-14. At time 00:07:04 another change to the distribution chain of the distribution device occurs, at which point another new/updated watermark C, represented by the alphanumeric character "CGH 3224", is then embedded in the frame or group of frames 15-30.

As alluded to previously, some embodiments may dynamically generate a digital watermark based on changes in environmental characteristics. FIG. 1B illustrates example operations that may be carried out to dynamically generate a digital watermark in response to an environment. At operation 110, a watermark payload is generated based on one or more environmental characteristics present during the distribution of the content.

For example, referring to fig. 2A, system 200 may be an example of a digital cinema system in which digital movie files, referred to as Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs), are received on a hard disk drive (an example embodiment of digital storage media 230) or via a satellite or fiber optic communications network (an example embodiment of network 210). The distribution device 202a may be a movie server on which digital movie files are downloaded and decrypted. Distribution device 202b may be a screen/projection management system for controlling media content playlists, lighting, sound and/or distribution devices 202n, and distribution device 202n may be a digital projector through which digital movie files are rendered.

Referring to fig. 2B, the environmental characteristics unit 211 may include one or more processors and memory on which one or more algorithms are stored and executed for analyzing data received from one or more environmental inputs 213. The environmental input 213 may include, but is not limited to, one or more still or video cameras, one or more sensors, temperature monitors, positioning units or receivers, etc. relaying raw data indicative of environmental conditions. For example, a still or video camera may be used to detect the number of viewers present in the theater, or alternatively, the environmental characteristics unit 211 may receive pressure or temperature sensor data indicative of patrons sitting in the theater seats. Yet another example may involve detecting the number of mobile devices (such as smartphones) present in a theater to estimate the number of viewers present. According to this particular example, in addition to detecting circumvention of DRM protection, various embodiments may be used to detect other forms of circumvention/enforcement of validation, such as validating ticket sales. Accordingly, and referring back to FIG. 1B, a change in one or more environmental characteristics (such as a change in the number of people in a theater) is detected at operation 112. At operation 114, the watermark payload is altered based on the detected change in the one or more environmental characteristics. Altering the watermark payload may be accomplished in the same or similar manner as described above.

It should be noted that any parameter(s) or characteristic(s) may be monitored and documented/recorded in the watermark payload, where a user or security administrator or the like may configure the dynamically generated watermarks disclosed herein as desired. Additionally, it should be noted that any detected changes in the environmental characteristics or distribution chain may be documented/recorded in a temporal manner (i.e., along with the date/time when the change occurred). Furthermore, the generation of dynamic watermarks based on changing environmental conditions or distribution chains need not be mutually exclusive. That is, both the environmental conditions and the distribution chain may be monitored simultaneously and used as a basis for generating the dynamic watermark. Furthermore, changes in the distribution chain and/or environmental conditions as described above may be detected by comparing the current state with the initial or original state and/or with a previous state.

It should be noted that although the various embodiments presented herein have been described in the context of video/visual-based media content, other embodiments may be adapted for use in other contexts, such as audio, e.g., radio content, podcasts, games, audio books, and other such content. Furthermore, while embodiments of imperceptible or barely perceptible watermarks have been described in context, other embodiments may dynamically generate the visible overlay.

Fig. 3 illustrates example computing components that may be used to implement various features of the systems and methods disclosed herein, such as the above-described features and functionality of one or more features of the distribution device 202 a.

As used herein, the term component may describe a given functional unit that may be carried out according to one or more embodiments of the present application. As used herein, a component may be implemented using any form of hardware, software, or combination thereof. For example, one or more processors, controllers, ASICs, PLAs, PALs, CPLDs, FPGAs, logic components, software routines, or other mechanisms may be implemented to make up a component. In implementations, the various components described herein may be implemented as discrete components, or the functions and features described may be shared, in part or in whole, among one or more components. In other words, the various features and functionality described herein may be implemented in any given application and may be implemented in one or more separate or shared components in various combinations and permutations as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this specification. Although various features or functional elements may be described or claimed as separate components, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such features and functionality may be shared among one or more common software and hardware elements, and that such description should not require or imply the use of separate hardware or software components to implement such features or functionality.

Where one or more components of an application are implemented, in whole or in part, using software, in one embodiment, these software elements may be implemented to operate with computing or processing components capable of performing the functionality described with respect thereto. One such example computing component is shown in fig. 3. Various embodiments are described in terms of this example computing component 300. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implement an application using other computing components or architectures.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a computing component 300 may represent computing or processing power such as found in self-adjusting displays, desktop, laptop, notebook, and tablet computers; handheld computing devices (tablet, PDA, smart phone, cell phone, palmtop, etc.); a workstation or other device with a display; a server; or any other type of special or general purpose computing device as may be desired or appropriate for a given application or environment. Computing component 300 may also represent computing power embedded within or otherwise available to a given device. For example, computing components may be found in other electronic devices, such as, for example, navigation systems, portable computing devices, and other electronic devices that may include some form of processing capability.

Computing component 300 may include, for example, one or more processors, controllers, control components, or other processing devices, such as processor 304. Processor 304 may be implemented using a general or special purpose processing engine such as, for example, a microprocessor, controller or other control logic. In the illustrated example, processor 304 is connected to bus 302, however any communication medium may be used to facilitate interaction with or external communication with other components of computing component 300.

Computing component 300 may also include one or more memory components, referred to herein simply as main memory 308. For example, Random Access Memory (RAM) or other dynamic memory may be used to store information and instructions to be executed by processor 304. Main memory 308 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor 304. Computing component 300 may likewise include a read only memory ("ROM") or other static storage device coupled to bus 302 for storing static information and instructions for processor 304.

Computing component 300 may also include one or more various forms of information storage mechanism 310, which may include, for example, a media drive 312 and a storage unit interface 320. The media drive 312 may include a drive or other mechanism to support fixed or removable storage media 314. For example, a hard disk drive, solid state drive, tape drive, optical drive, Compact Disk (CD) or Digital Video Disk (DVD) drive (R or RW), or other removable or fixed media drive may be provided. Thus, the storage medium 314 may include, for example, a magnetic hard disk, an integrated circuit package, a magnetic tape, a memory cartridge, an optical disk, a CD or DVD, or other fixed or removable media that is read by, written to, or accessed by the media drive 312. As these examples illustrate, the storage media 314 may include a computer-usable storage medium having stored therein computer software or data.

In alternative embodiments, information storage mechanism 310 may include other similar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions or data to be loaded into computing component 300. Such means may include, for example, a fixed or removable storage unit 322 and an interface 320. Examples of such a storage unit 322 and interface 320 can include a program cartridge and cartridge interface, a removable memory (e.g., flash memory or other removable memory device) and memory slot, a PCMCIA slot and card, and other fixed or removable storage units 322 and interfaces 320 that allow software and data to be transferred from the storage unit 322 to the computing device 300.

Computing component 300 may also include a communications interface 324. Communication interface 324 may be used to allow software and data to be transferred between computing component 300 and external devices. Examples of communication interface 324 may include a modem or soft modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet, network interface card, WiMedia, IEEE 802.XX, or other interface), a communication port (such as a USB port, an IR port, an RS232 port, BluetoothOr other port) or other communication interface. Software and data transferred via communications interface 324 may typically be carried on signals, which may be electronic, electromagnetic (including optical), or other signals capable of being exchanged by a given communications interface 324. These signals may be provided to communications interface 324 via a channel 328. This channel 328 may carry signals and may be implemented using a wired or wireless communication medium. Some examples of a channel may include a telephone line, a cellular link, an RF link, an optical link, a network interface, a local or wide area network, and other wired or wireless communication channels.

In this document, the terms "computer program medium" and "computer usable medium" are used to generally refer to transitory media or non-transitory media such as, for example, memory 308, storage unit 320, media 314, and channels 328. These and other various forms of computer program media or computer usable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a processing device for execution. Such instructions contained on the medium are generally referred to as "computer program code" or "computer program product" (which may be grouped in the form of computer programs or other groupings). Such instructions, when executed, may enable the computing component 300 to perform the features or functions of the present application as discussed herein.

While described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects, and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment described, but instead can be applied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the other embodiments of the application, whether or not such embodiments are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present application should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term "including" should be read to mean "including but not limited to," and the like; the term "example" is used to provide illustrative examples of the items in discussion, rather than an exhaustive or limiting list thereof; the terms "a" or "an" should be read to mean "at least one," "one or more," and the like; and adjectives such as "conventional," "traditional," "normal," "standard," "known," and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available at a given time, but instead should be read to encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that may be available or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those that are apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future.

In some instances, the presence of expansion words and phrases such as "one or more," "at least," "but not limited to," or other like phrases should not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such expansion phrases may not be present. The use of the term "component" does not imply that the aspects or functionality described or claimed as part of the component are all configured in a common package. Indeed, any or all of the various aspects of the components (whether control logic or other components) may be combined in a single package or maintained separately, and may further be distributed in multiple packets or packages or across multiple locations.

In addition, various embodiments set forth herein are described in terms of exemplary block diagrams, flow charts and other illustrations. As will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this document, the illustrated embodiments and their various alternatives may be implemented without limitation to the illustrated examples. For example, block diagrams and their associated descriptions should not be construed as imposing particular architectures or configurations.

Claims (20)

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

generating a watermark payload based on a chain of one or more devices through which the content is distributed;

detecting a change in the chain of the one or more devices; and

changing the watermark payload based on the detected change in the chain of the one or more devices.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the generating of the watermark payload occurs at a first device of the one or more devices of the chain.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the first device comprises a source device within the chain.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the altered watermark payload reflects a temporal aspect of the detected change in the chain.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein detecting the change in the chain of the one or more devices comprises detecting additional devices in the chain.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein detecting the change in the chain of the one or more devices comprises detecting removal of at least one of the one or more devices.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein detecting the change in the chain of the one or more devices comprises detecting replacement of at least one of the one or more devices with at least one additional device.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising embedding the altered watermark payload in at least one frame of the content, wherein the content comprises a digital movie file.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising extracting an altered watermark payload and discerning therefrom the change in the chain of the one or more devices.

10. A computer-implemented method, the computer-implemented method comprising:

generating a watermark payload based on one or more environmental characteristics presented during the distribution of the content;

detecting a change in the one or more environmental characteristics; and

altering the watermark payload based on the detected change in the one or more environmental characteristics.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the one or more environmental characteristics are detected by receiving one or more environmental inputs configured to monitor an environment at or near a location of the content distribution.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein detecting the change in the one or more environmental characteristics comprises compiling information about an initial state of the one or more environmental characteristics and comparing a current state of the one or more environmental characteristics to the initial state of the one or more environmental characteristics.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein detecting the change in the one or more environmental characteristics comprises detecting a change in a number of viewers watching content in a theater and a time when the change in the number of viewers occurs, and wherein altering the watermark payload comprises altering a generated watermark to reflect the change in the number of viewers and the time when the change in the number of viewers occurs.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein detecting the change in the one or more environmental characteristics comprises comparing a current state of the one or more environmental characteristics to a previous state of the one or more environmental characteristics.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising extracting an altered watermark payload and discerning therefrom the change in the one or more environmental characteristics.

16. An apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a memory unit operatively connected to the processor, the memory unit comprising computer code configured to cause the processor to:

generating a first digital watermark;

embedding the first digital watermark in a digital media content file;

detecting a change in a condition associated with distribution of the digital media content file;

generating a second digital watermark reflecting the change in the condition; and

embedding the second digital watermark in the digital media content file.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the change in condition comprises an environmental change.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the change in conditions comprises a change in a distribution chain of devices used to at least one of distribute and present the digital media content files.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus comprises a first device in the distribution chain of devices.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first digital watermark and the second digital watermark comprise payloads, and wherein embedding the second digital watermark comprises replacing a payload of the first digital watermark with a changed payload of the second digital watermark.