Global Digital Watermarking Market - 2024-2031

Overview

Global Digital Watermarking Market reached US$ 1.36 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach US$ 3.09 billion by 2031, growing with a CAGR of 10.80% during the forecast period 2024-2031.

The substantial expansion of this market is chiefly propelled by the rising demand for digital rights management and the safeguarding of intellectual property across diverse sectors. The demand for secure and efficient content management systems, particularly in the media and entertainment sectors, drives market expansion.

A key growth element for the digital watermark technology industry is the swift digitization across multiple sectors, including media, entertainment and education. With the increasing digitization and online distribution of content, the risk of piracy and unlawful usage intensifies, requiring the implementation of digital watermarking systems. These solutions provide a dependable approach for integrating information into digital media, facilitating the tracking and verification of content ownership and utilization.

The rising occurrences of digital piracy and copyright violations also assist market growth. Industries like media and entertainment are especially susceptible, experiencing significant revenue declines due to illicit content distribution. Digital watermark technology offers an efficient solution to these challenges by allowing content creators and distributors to implant unique identifiers within their media, hence enhancing tracking and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Dynamics

The Rising Utilization By Prominent Technology Firms

Google has deployed its SynthID tool to watermark and identify AI-generated images, placing a digital watermark within the image pixels that is imperceptible to the human eye yet detectable for identifying purposes. Meta designates AI-generated content on its platforms, Instagram and Facebook, as "Made by AI," emphasizing the significance of watermarking in differentiating AI-produced media.

Furthermore, OpenAI's recent declaration in early 2024 regarding technologies designed to distinguish between legitimate and AI-generated photographs underscores the increasing necessity for digital watermarking. OpenAI has joined the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Information Provenance and validity (C2PA), endorsing international standards for validating the validity of digital content. These initiatives, supported by prominent industry stakeholders such as Microsoft, software companies, camera producers and internet platforms, stimulate the demand for effective digital watermarking solutions across multiple sectors.

Protecting Medical Data And Combatting Misinformation

A recent study by Tanya Koohpayeh Araghi at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has introduced an innovative approach to securing digital data, specifically regarding medical images. The research demonstrates significant advancements in data security with a novel digital watermarking technique that incorporates invisible watermarks and digital signatures within files. This development is particularly relevant to medical imaging-such as X-rays, CT scans and MRIs-ensuring the validity and integrity of these images when shared online.

The notion extends to multimedia content, facilitating strategies to combat misinformation by providing a reliable mechanism for tracking the origin and authenticity of digital materials. The study employs a combination of discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and singular value decomposition (SVD) to produce robust and inconspicuous digital watermarks. These watermarks are robust against common digital vulnerabilities, including as filtering and signal processing attacks.

Furthermore, the innovative method reduces computational complexity, hence improving its efficiency and accessibility for widespread application. The implementation of this technique in combatting fake news highlights its broader potential, enabling the detection of modified content and aiding in the identification of disinformation sources. This research is driving the market for advanced digital watermarking solutions, enhancing security across various sectors, including healthcare, media and cybersecurity.

Limited Effectiveness

Experts and an NBC News study indicate that, despite initiatives by firms like Adobe and Meta to establish watermarking standards, such as the C2PA watermark, the outcomes have been disappointing. Although these projects seek to enlighten the public about AI-generated content, the technology is still nascent and has not yet demonstrated its efficacy in effectively mitigating disinformation.

A primary limitation of watermarking technology is its susceptibility to evasion techniques. Invisible tags included in metadata and visible labels on photographs can be effortlessly eliminated using straightforward methods such as cropping or screenshotting. Moreover, prominent social media and technology firms have yet to implement rigorous regulations necessitating the labeling of AI-generated or AI-modified content, hence diminishing the efficacy of watermarking as a deterrent against the dissemination of incorrect information.

Segment Analysis

The global digital watermarking market is segmented based on type, deployment mode, technology, application and region.

Advancement In Invisible Digital Watermarking

Invisible watermarks are imperceptible to the human eye and are integrated into the digital content without impacting the viewer's experience. These watermarks are generally employed for forensic analysis, copyright safeguarding and broadcast surveillance. Invisible watermarks offer significant security benefits while preserving the content's visual integrity, rendering them particularly advantageous in sensitive and high-value contexts.

The invisible digital watermark sector experiences innovations with Google's launch of SynthID, a groundbreaking tool intended for inserting inconspicuous identity markers in generative graphics. SynthID, created by Google DeepMind, incorporates an imperceptible watermark at the pixel level, facilitating straightforward verification without compromising image quality or visibility to the human eye.

SynthID will first be accessible to a restricted cohort of users via Google's Imagen AI, which is a component of their cloud-based generative art toolkit. This technology corresponds with increasing market expectations for transparency in AI-generated content, especially as the functionalities of generative tools evolve.

Geographical Penetration

Rising Use In Several Industries In North America

North America digital watermarking market is witnessing substantial expansion, propelled by rising need for content authentication, copyright protection and secure digital media delivery. Industries including entertainment, media and advertising are swiftly implementing watermarking solutions to protect digital assets due to increasing apprehensions around piracy and unauthorized copying.

Moreover, as AI-generated material proliferates, firms are investing in invisible watermarking technologies that can integrate seamlessly with digital content without compromising its quality or appearance, rendering them especially attractive for creative sectors.

North American regulations are progressively endorsing digital watermarking as a mechanism for copyright enforcement and content transparency. Regulatory frameworks, including the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), furnish legal support for the safeguarding of watermarked property, granting content creators and companies avenues for redress against infringement.

Competitive Landscape

The major global players in the market include Digimarc Corporation, Nielsen Holdings PLC, Civolution (Kudelski Group), Verance Corporation, MarkAny Inc., Kantar Media, Digify, Verimatrix, Vobile Group Limited and ZOO Digital Group PLC.

Russia-Ukraine War Impact Analysis

The Russia-Ukraine crisis has impacted the digital watermarking sector, particularly as cyber warfare and information security gain prominence in the digital landscape. Since the conflict began in February 2022, Russia and Ukraine have encountered heightened cyber threats, including targeted assaults on digital infrastructure via DDoS and data-wiping methods.

The circumstances have intensified the demand for effective digital watermarking solutions to safeguard media integrity and prevent misinformation. Digital watermarking, integral to cybersecurity tactics, facilitates the identification and monitoring of digital material distribution, crucial for nations aiming to safeguard information and uphold narrative authenticity during crises.

Moreover, the battle has precipitated a transition towards cloud computing and improved digital resilience. Assaults on physical data centers have compelled governments and enterprises to shift data and applications to the cloud for enhanced security and continuity. In this context, digital watermarking is becoming an essential instrument for overseeing sensitive information in cloud-based systems, guaranteeing authenticity and traceability in situations with increased privacy requirements.

Type

• Visible Watermarking
• Invisible Watermarking
• Others

Deployment Mode

• Cloud-Based
• On-Premise

Technology

• Reversible Watermarking
• Non-Reversible Watermarking

Application

• Media and Entertainment
• Authentication and Security
• Copyright Protection
• Branding and Marketing
• Others

By Region

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • Germany
  • UK
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• South America
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Rest of South America
• Asia-Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Australia
  • Rest of Asia-Pacific
• Middle East and Africa

Key Developments

• In September 2023, Digimarc introduced the pioneering Secure, Automated, Fair and Efficient (SAFE) Digital Copyright Protection, representing a notable advancement in the Digital Watermark Technology sector. This innovative solution meets the changing requirements of content creators and businesses by offering a thorough and sophisticated method for digital copyright protection.

Why Purchase the Report?

• To visualize the global digital watermarking market segmentation based on type, deployment mode, technology, application and region, as well as understand key commercial assets and players.
• Identify commercial opportunities by analyzing trends and co-development.
• Excel data sheet with numerous data points of the digital watermarking market level with all segments.
• PDF report consists of a comprehensive analysis after exhaustive qualitative interviews and an in-depth study.
• Product mapping available as excel consisting of key products of all the major players.

The global digital watermarking market report would provide approximately 70 tables, 62 figures and 212 pages

Target Audience 2024

• Manufacturers/ Buyers
• Industry Investors/Investment Bankers
• Research Professionals
• Emerging Companies