Digital watermarking

August 24, 2009
Intellectual Property News and Interesting Facts

Digital watermarking is the process of possibly irreversibly embedding information into a digital signal.

The signal may be audio, pictures or video, for example. If the signal is copied, then the information is also carried in the copy.

In visible watermarking, the information is visible in the picture or video. Typically, the information is text or a logo that identifies the owner of the media.

When a television broadcaster adds its logo to the corner of transmitted video, this is also a visible watermark. In invisible watermarking, information is added as digital data to audio, picture or video, but it cannot be perceived as such (although it is possible to detect the hidden information).

An important application of invisible watermarking is to copyright protection systems, which are intended to prevent or deter unauthorized copying of digital media.