Modified patchwork-based watermarking scheme for satellite imagery

As a major global satellite data provider, National Remote Sensing Agency, Department of Space, Government of India, needs to protect copyright associated with the data. In this paper, we propose a modified patchwork-based watermarking (MPW) scheme in the spatial domain. The proposed MPW algorithm is capable of embedding a watermark with minimal manipulation of the original image pixel values. The watermark contains information about the provider and the intended recipient of the data. The MPW watermark embedding process does not create any visual artifacts and is imperceptible. The watermark retrieval process operates with the help of a key and does not require the original image. Our results demonstrate that the presented scheme successfully incorporates copyright requirements for satellite imagery.