Canon Files Patent for Iris-Based Photo Watermarking
In what could be an amazing way to protect your photos from theft, Canon has applied for a patent in which a camera would record an image of your iris (similar to fingerprints, no two are alike) and embed the data into your photos. http://www.photographybay.com/2008/02/0 ... watermark/
Quote:
Another object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus that makes it possible to protect the copyright of photographic images by reliably acquiring biological information of a photographer for the purpose of personal authentication and writing this photographer information to the image of a subject without affecting processing, and in a manner transparent to operation, at the time of photography.
According to the present invention, the foregoing object is attained by providing an imaging apparatus for taking an image of a subject by an image sensing device, comprising: registration means for allowing a photographer to register his/her own biological information in advance; storage means for storing the biological information; and personal-data recording means for recording the biological information in a photographic image.
