Geometrically invariant image watermarking using SVR correction in NSCT domain

Based on the support vector regression (SVR) geometric distortions correction, we propose a robust image watermarking algorithm in nonsubsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) domain with good visual quality and reasonable resistance toward geometric attacks in this paper. Firstly, the NSCT is performed on original host image, and corresponding low-pass subband is selected for embedding watermark. Then, the selected low-pass subband is divided into small blocks. Finally, the digital watermark is embedded into host image by modulating the NSCT coefficients in small blocks. In digital watermark detecting procedure, the SVR geometrical distortions correction is utilized. Experimental results show that the proposed image watermarking is invisible, and robust against common image processing and some geometrical attacks. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.