An object of the present disclosure is to reduce the load of a user in a case where multiplexed information is embedded in an image. One embodiment of the present invention is an image processing apparatus having: a recognition unit configured to recognize an object within an image; a selection unit configured to select additional information corresponding to an object recognized by the recognition unit from among additional information stored in a storage unit; and a layout unit configured to lay out the additional information so that at least a part of an area in which additional information selected by the selection unit is embedded overlaps an area of an object recognized by the recognition unit.

Providing secure graphics outputs by performing at least the following: receive secure output data corresponding to a digital image, obtain one or more security keys, create a secure output marker for the secure output data, wherein the secure output marker comprises location information corresponding to a trusted output area of the digital image and data information that represents data content found within the trusted output area of the digital image, encrypt the secure output marker using the one or more security keys, embed the secure output marker within the graphics image to create a trusted graphics image; and render the trusted graphics image for exposure onto the display device.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for the production and labeling of objects in a manner suitable for the prevention and detection of counterfeiting. Thus, the system incorporates a variety of features that make unauthorized reproduction difficult. In addition, the present invention provides a system and method for providing a dynamically reconfigurable watermark, and the use of the watermark to encode a stochastically variable property of the carrier medium for self-authentication purposes.

Methods and apparatuses for watermark embedding and extracting are provided. A method for watermark extracting includes obtaining a carrier object embedded with a watermark image; determining at least one encoding region that includes watermark information; determining a plurality of template lattices from the at least one encoding region, the plurality of template lattices comprising a plurality of positioning template lattices and one or more encoding template lattices; and obtaining the watermark information according to the plurality of template lattices.

An example image forming apparatus includes a user interface device, an image forming job operator, a processor, and a memory. The processor executes instructions to display a preview screen of a document through the user interface device, perform an embedding process of embedding user-specific information into a plurality of user-specific information input areas included in the document, display state information of the plurality of user-specific information input areas on the preview screen in synchronization with progress of the embedding process, and, when the embedding process is completed, perform an image forming job with respect to the document in which the user-specific information is embedded, through the image forming job operator.

A method for authenticating digital information includes obtaining, in digital form, information for authentication; preparing the information for processing, such preparation including converting the information into a digital image; identifying segments of content in the digital image; grouping the segments of content into one or more segment groups; generating a marking sequence comprising shifting at least one of the one or more segment groups in one or more directions; and applying the marking sequence to the digital image, creating a unique marked copy of the digital image.

Methods and apparatuses for watermark embedding and extracting are provided. A method for watermark extracting includes obtaining a carrier object embedded with a watermark image; determining at least one encoding region that includes watermark information; determining a plurality of template lattices from the at least one encoding region, the plurality of template lattices comprising a plurality of positioning template lattices and one or more encoding template lattices; and obtaining the watermark information according to the plurality of template lattices.

A watermark image may be generated that includes a first set of encoded pixels each of which is assigned a first transparency value and a second set of encoded pixels each of which is assigned a second transparency value, the second transparency level being different from the first transparency level. The encoded pixels may be distributed among a set of blank pixels such that each encoded pixel neighbors one or more blank pixels in the watermark image, and in particular at least two blank pixels in the watermark image. Herein, each blank pixel may be assigned the second transparency value. The watermark image may be overlaid and blended over a background source image to create an encoded source image. A decoder system may recover encoded information from the encoded source image.

A method is provided of digitally imaging a secure portion and a non-secure portion of scratch-off-coating protected documents of at least one game using middleware. The method includes: (a) generating the secure variable indicia in non-vector raster format; (b) generating vector graphics to be imaged on physical document locations; (c) assigning the secure variable indicia in a non-vector raster format to documents in and shuffling the documents throughout a print run; and (d) linking via middleware the secure variable indicia in the non-vector raster format to associated vector graphics variable indicia to be digitally imaged on the documents and to generate vector graphics-formatted data for each document in the print run. The secure variable indicia assignment and shuffling are executed by non-vector raster game generation software output that is reinterpreted by the middleware to produce related vector graphic output for the secure variable indicia.

An image forming apparatus that cooperates with a management service and a blockchain service includes a generation unit that generates an embedded image from document information about a document, an acquisition unit that acquires an embedding setting for use in embedding the embedded image in the document, a printing unit that performs printing of the document with the embedded image embedded therein based on the embedding setting, and a registration unit that registers the document information with the blockchain service, wherein, while the embedding setting includes a setting for embedding a plurality of embedded images in the document and the printing unit outputs a printed product with a plurality of embedded images embedded therein, the registration unit registers the document information with the blockchain service in such a way as to prevent the document information from being registered in an overlapping manner in registering the document information.