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Robust copyright tracing and trusted transactions using zero-watermarking and blockchain

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Abstract

Zero-watermarking technology is an effective method to protect image copyright, but it relies on trusted third party to store and manage the zero-watermarks. To solve this problem and meet the requirement of copyright trading simultaneously, this paper proposed a copyright protection and trading scheme by integrating zero-watermarking with blockchain technology. The proposed scheme provides functions including copyright registration, copyright trading and copyright query. In the copyright registration process, instead of uploading the actual image, the zero-watermark representing the image is registered on the blockchain. This approach ensures that duplicate images cannot be registered, safeguarding the ownership rights of the original image. The copyright trading procedure is designed with two phases to ensure that the trading details are approved and signed by both the seller and the buyer. This process guarantees the credibility and authenticity of the trading transaction. Additionally, the scheme allows the seller to determine whether the buyer has the right to resell the copyright, providing more flexibility in subsequent transactions. The function of copyright query also incorporates robust tracing capabilities enabled by zero-watermarking. This ensures that even if the image undergoes various attacks or modifications, it can still be traced and authenticated on the blockchain. Experimental evaluations have been conducted to validate the effectiveness of the copyright functions. Furthermore, the demonstration system showcases its robust traceability on the blockchain, as well as its efficient performance in terms of transactions throughput and latency.

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Data availability

The dataset used in the current study is available at two locations: (https://www.ece.rice.edu/~wakin/images/) and (https://sipi.usc.edu/database/database.php?volume=misc).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42301484), the Research Foundation of the Department of Natural Resources of Hunan Province (Grant No. 20240103XX), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20200839).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Zheng Lu, Jingliang Wei, Can Li, Junjie Zhai & Deyu Tong

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  1. Zheng Lu
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  2. Jingliang Wei
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  3. Can Li
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  5. Deyu Tong
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Correspondence to Deyu Tong.

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Lu, Z., Wei, J., Li, C. et al. Robust copyright tracing and trusted transactions using zero-watermarking and blockchain. Multimed Tools Appl (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-024-19325-2

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