US 5841978

An analysis of United States Patent 5,841,978, focusing on its key details and claims, is provided below.

A search of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) dockets for the year 2026 was conducted, and no cases specifically referencing US Patent 5,841,978 were found.

Patent Summary

Title	Network linking method using steganographically embedded data objects
Assignee	Digimarc Corp
Inventor(s)	Geoffrey B. Rhoads
Filing Date	July 27, 1995
Issue Date	November 24, 1998
Status	Expired
Abstract	A network linking method is provided. According to one embodiment, a computer user indicates a data object, such as an image. A network address is steganographically embedded in the data object. The computer system reads the network address from the object, and uses it to link to a remote network site. In a preferred embodiment, the data object is an image, and the network address is embedded in noise in the image. The noise is preferably pseudo-random, and adaptively matched to the image so as to be imperceptible to a human viewer.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

US Patent 5,841,978 has six independent claims: 1, 5, 10, 16, 17, and 18. A plain-language summary of each is provided below.

Claim 1: This claim describes a method for a computer to automatically link to a network location. The process involves a user selecting an object (like an image) on their computer. The computer then analyzes the data of that object to find a hidden network address that has been secretly embedded within the object's own data. Once found, the computer uses this address to connect to the corresponding network site.

Claim 5: This claim outlines a similar linking method but initiated from a physical, printed object. A user employs an input device (like a scanner or camera) to capture data from the printed object. This captured data is then analyzed to detect a steganographically embedded network address. Using this decoded address, the system establishes a link to the relevant network location.

Claim 10: This claim details the method for creating a data object that can function as a network link. It involves taking a network address and embedding it as a hidden code directly within the data of a source object (such as an image or audio file). This embedding is done in a way that is not perceptible to humans. The resulting object, now containing the hidden link, is then stored.

Claim 16: This claim pertains to a physical, tangible object, such as a photograph or a document. The claim states that this physical object has a machine-readable network address secretly embedded into its structure. This embedded information is intended to be read by a device to initiate a network connection.

Claim 17: This claim describes a general-purpose computer that has been specifically programmed to execute the method of Claim 1. The computer is configured to identify an object selected by a user, analyze that object's data to extract a hidden network address, and then use that address to connect to a network site.

Claim 18: This claim covers a computer-readable medium, such as a floppy disk or CD-ROM. This medium contains software instructions that, when loaded onto a computer, enable the computer to perform the process of detecting a hidden network address within a data object and using that address to link to a network location.