Interviews with Digital Media Thought Leaders
Has Digital Watermarking Come of Age? (Part 2 of 2)
Podcast Video | Posted by Phil Leigh on January 22, 2008
Summary: If you would like to learn how digital watermarking can protect media (digital or analog) from piracy and create incremental revenues, this interview is for you. (Part 2 of 2).
Our guest today is Bruce Davis who is the CEO of Digimarc. His company is a pioneer in the field of digital watermarking and holds a strong patent portfolio. The technology protects media from piracy in both the digital and analog domains. Digital locks alone are useless once the media is rendered into the human analog interface whether it’s via a video display screen, audio speakers, or magazine picture whereas the digital watermark remains effective. In the second part of this two-part interview we conclude with the question-and-answer period following the Digimarc narrator’s PowerPoint presentation. My questions focus in three areas.
First is an inquiry into Digimarc’s announcement last November to partner with Nielsen in order to provide digital watermarking applications and services to media companies.
Our second line of questioning concentrates on the patent situation. Digimarc is known to be a pioneer, but I wanted to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of their patent portfolio.
The third line of investigation focuses on the potential obstacles to mainstream adoption for the technology.
One problem with trying to protect Digital Media files exclusively with digital locks is that the media ultimately must be rendered in an analog form. For example, if I want to watch a video, ultimately the file must be displayed on my computer monitor and the audio played through my PC’s speakers. That means that if I want to copy it, all I have to do is use commonly available screen capture software.
Phil’s Take. Digital watermarking is a fascinating technology largely because it is persistent across both the analog and digital domains. Nonetheless, two basic points may hinder widespread adoption. First, the playback devices need to be made compliant. No PC or appliance manufacturer wants to add any expense to their hardware unless required to do so, or unless they can anticipate that the extra investment will create added revenue. Second, even when acceptance moves out of the early adopter stage, digital watermarking advocates must exercise care to avoid the snafus that accompanied DRM.
Categories: Podcast Video
Tags: Bruce Davis, Digimarc, digital media, Digital Watermarking, DRMs, Media Piracy, Media Protection, Phil Leigh
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