US 6,311,214 · Granted 2001-10-30

The Patent That Put Invisible Barcodes on Everything You Print

Imagine pointing your phone's camera at a printed magazine ad, business card, or book cover and instantly jumping to a website without typing anything. This patent describes a way to hide digital data invisibly in printed materials so cameras can read them and connect you online.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a method of embedding hidden digital information into printed objects—like mail, packaging, or advertisements—in a way that's invisible to the human eye but readable by optical sensors. What's protected here is the technique of encoding multiple bits of data into printed media and using an optical device to decode that data and link it to an internet address or other digital content.

Why it matters

This patent represents an early foundational technology for connecting the physical and digital worlds. Filed in 1999 and granted in 2001, it anticipated what would later become QR codes and similar visual-tracking technologies. By embedding machine-readable data directly into everyday printed materials, it created a new category of interactive print that didn't require separate tags or modifications to existing products.

Real-world use

When you scan a product package with your phone and a product page loads, or when a printed ad links you to a website through a hidden code, you're using technology descended from this invisible-encoding approach.

Original USPTO abstract

A printed object, such as an item of postal mail, a book, printed advertising, a business card, product packaging, etc., is steganographically encoded with plural-bit data. When such an object is presented to an optical sensor, the plural-bit data is decoded and used to establish a link to an internet address corresponding to that object.

Patent details

Publication number: US 6,311,214
Filing date: 1999-06-29
Grant date: 2001-10-30
Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
Inventor(s): RHOADS GEOFFREY B.
CPC class: G06K19/06037

View original record on Google Patents →

Want to file your own patent?

If you're building a consumer product that connects physical items to digital experiences, check our free patent scanner to see what invisible-linking ideas are already claimed in your space.

Free patentability scan