US Patent 8170269 Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program

The present invention provides an image processing apparatus which may include scene change detection means, object detection means, and determining means. The scene change detection means may be configured to detect a scene change in a motion picture. The object detection means may be configured to detect a predefined object that is contained as a subject in still pictures constituting the motion picture. The determining means may be configured to determine, in accordance with the result of a detection operation that is performed by the object detection means in relation to still pictures constituting a predefined scene between a scene change detected by the scene change detection means and a chronologically adjacent scene change, whether the predefined scene contains a still picture containing the predefined object as a subject.