This message is a followup to a discussion here a few weeks ago about
digital watermarking.
I recently encountered a British company with a watermarking-like
technology which is, I think, unusual.
Briefly, instead of superimposing a visible watermark, this approach
superimposes an invisible digital pattern, called a "fingerprint" by the
vendor. The (surprising) attribute of this fingerprint is that it is not
noticeable when the image is displayed or printed (even if printed to the
high standards of, say, a glossy magazine) but it can still be detected by
the appropriate software if the image is re-scanned and analysed. So it
allows creators of images to distribute usable digital high-resolution
copies of their images while being able to check/prove whether that image
has been re-used without permission, whether digital or printed form. Cost
varies but is apparently of the order of 2.5p per image plus some tens of
pounds annual registration.
Clearly this is not of interest to everyone who wants to protect their
property; it is a product conceived for commercial photo agencies.
However, it may be relevant to some projects which produce hi-res images.
The vendor's url is http://www.highwaterfbi.com.
Marc Fresko
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