An apparatus and method for forming a substantially invisible watermark or
copy-deterrent pattern within a motion picture frame that utilizes
spectral image data in order to apply a pattern that is not objectionable
to a viewer, but that can be sensed and recorded by a video camera device.
A digital watermark or copy deterrent pattern, message, animation, or
obscuring effect can be formed to identify a legally distributed copy,
degrade the quality of an illegally recorded copy, or expand the storage
requirements for an illegally recorded copy using this technique. The
pattern is applied using some combination of UV and IR light sources just
outside the visible range, displayed on the movie screen. An illegally
recorded copy may bear a visible watermark or copy-deterrent pattern which
can be detected upon playback. A copy-deterrent pattern can also be used
to make video compression techniques less effective, requiring that an
illegally recorded copy require excessive amounts of storage media.
