Watermarking remains a cornerstone of content protection, evolving to address the challenges of today’s dynamic content creation and distribution landscape. At the Dec. 9 CDSA Summit @ Los Angeles, held at Google’s Spruce Goose Hangar, industry leaders explored the evolving role of watermarking in defending intellectual property against piracy and unauthorized distribution. The panel, “Watermarking: Evolving Our Last Line of Defense,” tackled pressing issues such as detecting leaks in short-form content, addressing the high costs of large-scale watermarking campaigns, and integrating these technologies into studio workflows without disrupting efficiency. Experts from NBC Universal, Paramount, Indee, and NAGRA highlighted advancements in watermarking technology and the increasing focus on safeguarding pre-release content and ancillary assets, from marketing materials to consumer products.
Panelists emphasized the importance of quick-detection watermarking for short-form content and trailers, given their vulnerability to leaks. They also noted that security firms have made significant strides in helping studios prioritize asset protection without incurring prohibitive costs. New innovations, such as machine learning-driven watermarking, are poised to further enhance content security at scale. The summit underscored the collaborative effort between content creators, distributors, and technology providers to innovate solutions that safeguard intellectual property while maintaining seamless workflows, reflecting the industry’s commitment to staying ahead of increasingly sophisticated threats.
Click here to read the full event coverage on CDSAonline.org