NeoMedia Technologies, Inc (NEOM)

[N E O M]

Inside this article it speaks of Digimarc and their watermarking technology. Here is what Digimarc says about their product (the point for us is that it surely utilizes the indirect method):

https://www.digimarc.com/solutions/technology.asp

Pay special attention to words in bold

Digimarc Technology at WorkDigimarc's business partners share our vision for the value of digital watermarking in a wide range of applications.Many solutions are available today, helping to secure and enrich our lives, such as...

Link from Print-to-Web
Communicate Ownership
Authenticate Content and Objects
Monitor Broadcasts and Internet Distribution
Identify and Manage Content
Manage Digital Rights
Deter Counterfeiting and Piracy
Secure and Authenticate IDs
Link from Print-to-Web

Digimarc technology can transform print ads, posters, product packaging and more into an interactive media using a mobile phone or other digital device equipped with special software. Consumers can use the handheld devices they use daily to instantly read the watermark in printed images, logos and other graphic elements and automatically connect to additional information on the product or service. The watermark includes a digital identifier that links to a database to enable any number of different actions — communicate pricing and where to buy locations, provide information on complementary products, engage the consumer in an interactive contest or game, or complete the sale by linking to the company's web site.

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Communicate Ownership
Content (images, audio, and video) often circulates anonymously, without the ability to communicate who owns it or how to contact them to obtain the right to use it.Digital watermarking provides a persistent digital identity for all forms of media content and enables copyright holders to reliably communicate their ownership while also providing links to related details and purchase information. This helps to promote licensing and protect copyrighted content from unauthorized use or becoming an "orphaned work."

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Authenticate Content and Objects

Digimarc technology helps companies and inspectors who need to
verify that content (images, audio, and video) is genuine, and from an authorized source, as well as confirm that it has not been altered or falsified. The presence and/or the continuity of a digital watermark can quickly help determine whether or not the content has been altered. Additionally, digital watermarks add yet another layer of security to encrypted content in order to protect your assets and help identify the source of leaks.

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Monitor Broadcasts and Internet Distribution
Today, more than ever, content owners and distributors need to be able to track broadcasts and Internet distribution of their content. All broadcast television in the US is already embedded with a unique digital identifier which contains distributor and/or date and time information. Detectors are placed in major markets where broadcasts are received and processed. The digital watermark is decoded and used to reference a database, resulting in reports to the owner or distributor that the content has aired in a given market, at a specific time, and that it was played in its entirety. Additional information can be provided, including usage and license compliance, advertising clearance verification, and detection of unauthorized use.

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Identify and Manage Content
Digimarc technology can give all forms of media content (images, audio, and video) a unique digital identity to enable content owners or service providers to quickly identify specific content, filter for the content online, and trace it through its distribution path. This means you can...

Identify intended receivers and trace content found outside of its authorized distribution path to the last authorized recipient
Effectively manage content in a digital asset management system (DAM), with the ability to tag content and tie it back to the original stored in the DAM
Filter for content online, for instance copyrighted content that may be uploaded to YouTube or MySpace or explicit content that is unsuitable for children
Locate where your content is showing up online, and much more
Using Digital Watermarks in a Digital Asset Management System
Digital watermarks are used effectively as a persistent media asset tag, acting as a primary key into a digital asset management system (DAM). This allows any piece of tagged content (images, audio, and video) to lead back to the original, stored in the content management system. Tagged content can also link to metadata in the system, such as keywords, rights and permissions, etc. The link can be used when passing content between enterprises or asset management systems to retrieve related information from remote systems. Digimarc technology can extend digital asset solutions outside compliant internal systems, and can speed entering metadata into a local DAM system. The digital watermark carries identifiers for the content and possibly the distributor. The related database links the content identifier to the owner and to the content information in the DAM system.

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Manage Digital Rights
With Digimarc technology, digital rights management (DRM) systems can connect content (images, audio, and video) outside the DRM back to the DRM, such as linking the content to usage rules, billing information, and other critical metadata. Digital watermarking allows content to pass through the analog domain and over legacy equipment, keeping information about usage rights permanently attached. The watermark contains a digital identifier (and possibly one for the distributor) and links to the related database with the owner, usage rules and billing information. The distributor identifier, if used, can tie to the method of distribution.

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Deter Counterfeiting and Piracy

Digimarc technology enables a wide range of applications to deter counterfeiting and piracy. Since digital watermarks provide an imperceptible, persistent digital identity for all forms of content (images, audio, video), the absence of the watermark or partial presence of one quickly indicates that the content may be counterfeit or altered. Digital watermarks survive digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversions to protect content as it is reintroduced into the digital domain for activities like burning content onto a DVD or loading to a PC for unauthorized distribution over the Internet.

Digital watermarks allow information about the owner, usage rights and more to be permanently attached to the content. The technology also provides the means to embed copy and play control instructions that indicate when play is not allowed and/or that copies can or cannot be made.

Additionally, digital watermarks can be personalized to an individual recipient of content so that if it leaves that person's possession, it can be traced back to where it was leaked. This creates a powerful to deterrence for both careless and malicious behavior.

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Secure and Authenticate IDs

Digital watermarking is being used very successfully in driver licenses and IDs as part of a linked and layered security strategy for secure credentials. Watermarks offer a security feature that is imperceptible to the human eye, but can be quickly detected and decoded by a range of computers and readily available scanning devices. These scanners quickly detect counterfeits, photo swapping and data alteration — the most common methods of creating fake IDs. Since digital watermarking is digital information woven into the artwork of the card, it requires no additional real estate and allows quick implementation in new and existing card designs. It requires no special inks or materials, and is a low-cost, highly effective feature to add in ID inspection and counterfeit deterrence.