US Patent 7515730 Progressive image quality control using watermarking

The ability to remove a watermark from an encoded image by reversible watermarking opens the possibility of various novel applications. Several such applications are detailed. One permits different classes of consumers to gain access to different versions of an image. A pristine image is intentionally degraded in some fashion, and distributed to consumers. By reference to one or more watermarks in the degraded image, some or all of the degradation can be removed, or transformed to a less-objectionable state. Through such arrangements, image consumers with different needs can gain access to versions of the image having differing qualities.