Digimarc and Emergent Accelerate Work in Defense Imaging Market

Business Wire, July 17, 2001

TUALATIN, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 17, 2001

Positive Response to Early Sales and Marketing Efforts

Leads to Formal Agreement Between the Two Companies

Digimarc Corporation (Nasdaq:DMRC) and Emergent Information Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:EITI) today announced an agreement under which Emergent acquires exclusive rights to market and sell Digimarc digital watermarking for defense imaging applications to certain U.S. government segments.

The agreement solidifies the letter of intent announced by the two companies last October. Since then, Emergent and Digimarc have jointly marketed a combination of Digimarc secure digital watermarking and Emergent's systems integration services to several U.S. government agencies in the defense and intelligence community.

"Our customers in the defense market need to accurately identify and track the origins or specific attributes of digital images as they are distributed or shared among agencies, while maintaining and managing security," said Clarence "Smitty" Smith, special assistant to the president of Emergent's Government Services Group. "Combining Digimarc digital watermarking technology with our systems engineering and services, we can meet the unique needs of these customers and further distinguish Emergent's National Security offerings."

The joint solution allows sensitive digital images to be tagged with a covert digital watermark that stays with the image, even as it is copied, altered and distributed. The digital watermark becomes an imperceptible part of that image, helping maintain an important link between the original image, any derivatives of that image and any other information that is known about it.

"This relationship extends Digimarc's reach into the government sector, which is increasingly interested in new digital security technology to solve its problems," said J. Scott Carr, vice president and general manager of Digimarc Secure Documents. "We've had a very positive response to our early sales and marketing efforts with Emergent, and we're confident that digital watermarking will play an important role in enhancing the security of the defense and intelligence community's digital assets."

About Digimarc

Digimarc Corp., based in Tualatin, Ore., (Nasdaq:DMRC), is the world leader in digital watermark technology and applications. Digimarc's patented digital watermarking technologies allow digital data to be embedded imperceptibly in traditional and digital media content, including photographic or artistic images, movies, music, packaging, printed materials, promotional items, value documents, tickets and holograms, among others. The company continues to build a pervasive new communications platform by developing an increasing array of diverse media applications. These applications benefit a broad range of consumers, corporations and government institutions, enhancing the protection of copyrights, security of value documents, management of media and fostering integrated marketing and e-commerce for many goods and services. Digimarc's leading customers include creative professionals, major media companies and central banks.

The company's products include Digimarc ImageBridge, a means to communicate copyrights in digital images, track the images on the Internet and facilitate online licensing and related e-commerce; Digimarc MediaBridge, a fundamentally new way for consumers to access the Internet that transforms printed materials into direct portals to relevant destinations on the Internet; and a system, developed in cooperation with a consortium of leading central banks, that deters the use of personal computers in the counterfeiting of value documents. Digimarc is also a member of the Video Watermarking Group (VWM Group), which includes Hitachi, Macrovision, NEC, Philips, Pioneer and Sony, to provide video copy prevention and play control solutions for digital recording devices. In addition, Digimarc video watermarking technology is being licensed for innovative new applications, such as broadcast monitoring. Digimarc has more than 225 U.S. patents pending and 24 issued. Digimarc's vision is to have its watermarking technology become a standard feature of all media content. Please go to www.digimarc.com for more company information.

About Emergent

Emergent Information Technologies, Inc.'s Government Services Group is a leading provider of systems engineering, modeling, simulation and analysis, communications, command and control systems interoperability testing and evaluation, and space science mission data processing and analysis. Emergent's wholly owned subsidiary, Steven Myers & Associates, Inc. (SM&A) is the world's leading provider of competition management services, and also provides management consulting and commercial program management and systems engineering services. Additional information on Emergent is available on the Internet at www.emergent-IT.com.

Statements herein concerning Emergent Information Technologies' growth, strategies, future performance or projections may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Emergent Information Technologies' actual results may differ materially from those suggested as a result of various factors. Interested parties should refer to the disclosure set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Emergent Information Technologies' Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and the 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2001, for additional information regarding risks affecting Emergent Information Technologies' financial condition and results of operations.