Digimarc Offers Free Digital Watermark Embedding and Detection Tools to Device and Chip Manufacturers and Content Creation Platforms
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Insights
Digimarc Corporation's announcement to offer free access to its digital watermarking tools represents a strategic move to position itself at the forefront of digital asset protection. The technology sector is rapidly evolving with generative AI, raising concerns over digital rights management and content authenticity. By providing these tools at no cost, Digimarc could become an integral part of the infrastructure for digital content protection, potentially increasing its relevance and adoption.
The move could also influence the competitive landscape, compelling other players in the digital watermarking space to reassess their business models. As device and chip manufacturers integrate these tools, Digimarc may benefit from increased brand visibility and the establishment of industry standards, which could solidify its market position and potentially lead to future revenue streams from premium services or partnerships.
Offering free watermark embedding and detection tools aligns with global regulatory trends favoring increased digital content security and authenticity. This initiative may enhance Digimarc's reputation and drive broader industry collaboration. By anticipating regulatory compliance needs, Digimarc is not only providing immediate value to partners but also positioning itself as a thought leader in content security.
Furthermore, the integration of these tools could act as a catalyst for new content creation platforms and device manufacturers to enter the market, knowing that robust security measures are accessible. This could indirectly stimulate market growth and innovation. However, the long-term impact on Digimarc's financials will depend on how this strategic move translates into market share and whether it can capitalize on the early adoption advantage.
In the context of cybersecurity, Digimarc's initiative to freely distribute digital watermarking tools is a significant contribution to the collective defense against misinformation and intellectual property theft. Digital watermarks serve as a layer of security to authenticate content origin and integrity, which is increasingly crucial in an era where deepfakes and misinformation can have severe societal impacts.
The adoption of digital watermarks at the device or platform level by major manufacturers could set a new security standard, potentially reducing the prevalence of unverified digital content. However, the effectiveness of this approach will hinge on widespread adoption and the continuous evolution of the technology to stay ahead of malicious actors who might seek to circumvent digital watermarks.
Digital Watermarking Pioneer Doubles Down on Commitment to Protect Digital Content Owners and Consumers
The speed with which generative artificial intelligence (AI) is developing, combined with the lack of regulation and the potential for heightened dissemination of misinformation in a pivotal election year around the world, has created the perfect storm.
“Generative AI didn’t create the problems of deepfakes and intellectual property misappropriation in the digital world, but it is forcing the world to take long overdue steps to address them,” said Riley McCormack, Digimarc President and CEO. “We are committed to protecting and empowering both the creators and consumers of digital content. Collaboration across an open digital ecosystem is a critical first step.”
The ability to embed and detect digital watermarks in synthetic and non-synthetic content at the device or platform level is fundamental to safeguarding digital assets in the era of AI. It is also the most secure, efficient, and ubiquitous way to deploy digital watermarks at scale to create a safer, fairer, and more transparent internet. In addition to gaining compliance with upcoming global regulations, device manufacturers (camera, smartphone, tablet, laptop, and more) and content platforms can now offer content creators native (on-device or in-platform) tools to bind authenticity and ownership information to digital assets by embedding digital watermarks before assets are published, while also protecting manifests based on the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) standard. These manifests are often stripped from content when uploaded to content libraries, websites, or published on social media. Equally important is on-device detection. Device manufacturers can now provide their customers with the ability to receive notification of digital content's corresponding information, thereby creating a more transparent digital ecosystem.
Not all digital watermarks are created equal.
Digital Watermarking is the science of hiding information about an item in the item itself. SAFE™ digital watermarks can communicate content provenance, authenticity, and copyright information about a digital asset in a way that is both secure and bound to the asset itself. To create a safer, fairer, and more authentic internet, digital watermarks must have five specific characteristics. Digital watermarks must be covert and machine readable, immutable, ubiquitous, redundant, and secure.
It is also important to note that metadata or manifests are not digital watermarks. Information about a digital asset, such as provenance and ownership, is referred to as metadata. Sometimes this metadata is stored in a format called a manifest. This information is critical to determining the ownership or authenticity of digital content. This said, metadata and manifests are not immutable, redundant, or ubiquitous. Metadata is easily removed from files. Digital watermarks, when embedded in a digital asset, give metadata enduring value, acting as a tether to retrieve a digital asset’s correct and unaltered manifest, and related metadata.
“We believe tools like robust digital watermarks can change our digital ecosystem from one of uncertainty, unfairness, and suspicion to one of greater authenticity, fairness, and trust,” said McCormack. “The technology to authenticate content online is available today, and as the pioneer and widely-recognized leader in digital watermarking, Digimarc will continue to lead the way for the creation of a system that protects the rights of content owners and consumers.”
Last month, Digimarc introduced the industry-first open-source web browser extension to validate and display digital asset manifests based on the C2PA standard. The new Content Credentials Chrome extension allows content consumers to check images for C2PA manifests – adding a Content Credentials pin (“CR”) to the image if a manifest is present. The web browser extension is now available in the Chrome Web Store.
We invite you to connect with us directly to learn more about Digimarc’s free offer for device and chip manufacturers and content platform companies at product@digimarc.com. You can also visit us at https://www.digimarc.com/products/digital-content-authentication.
About Digimarc
Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC) is a global leader in product digitization. A pioneer in digital watermarks, Digimarc connects every physical and digital item to a digital twin that enables the capture of product data, records events and interactions, and supports powerful new automations. Trusted to deter counterfeiting of global currency for more than 20 years, Digimarc is also recognized for ensuring product authenticity, improving plastics recycling, and more, with a commitment to promoting a prosperous, safer, and more sustainable world. In 2023, Digimarc was named to the Fortune 2023 Change the World list and honored as a 2023 Fast Company World Changing Ideas finalist. See more at Digimarc.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240104093489/en/
Susan Baldwin
Digimarc Corporation
509-939-1137
PR@digimarc.com
Nikki Habibi
The Hoffman Agency
971-226-4375
Digimarc@hoffman.com
Source: Digimarc Corporation
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