Binary Watermark Application in Color Image Protection

The original concept of color image protection against unauthorized copying and distribution is presented in this paper. The protection is performed by inserting the binary image into the chrominance part of the carrier image using the block Singular Value Decomposition (SVD). The proposed algorithm belongs to the class of blind algorithms and solves the false positive problem. A binary image obtained by encoding the desired information with the Quick Response (QR) code is used as a watermark. In the experimental part of the work, the limit of the differential threshold T which determines the strength of watermark inserting, was determined. The results obtained in the experimental part of the work confirm the high quality of the proposed algorithm. The embedded watermark does not cause noticeable image degradation while ensuring error-free watermark extraction. The QR code can be used to encode various information about ownership or about the place and time the image was created. The presented algorithm can also be effectively used in copyright protection.