HP Announces Strategic Investment in Digimarc Corp. to Help Combat Counterfeiting and Piracy in Digital Imaging - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Sept 20, 1999

Hewlett-Packard Company, the worldwide leader in inkjet imaging systems, solutions and supplies, has announced that it has invested $1.5 million in Portland, Ore.-based Digimarc Corporation, a provider of digital image copyright protection and anti-counterfeiting/anti-piracy solutions. HP's investment will help Digimarc foster new advancements in its patented digital watermarking technology and smart image applications.

Digimarc's technology enables persistent and imperceptible information to be embedded into such media objects as still images, music, video and many forms of documents. Because the embedded information is intricately woven into the fabric of the image, it stays with the image wherever it travels -- a useful component in copyright identification, copy control, licensing, tracking, and enhanced marketing and electronic-commerce opportunities.

Digimarc's products and services address the escalating global challenge of digital counterfeiting; piracy; and other unauthorized use and reproduction of commercial images, movies, music and valuable documents. Digimarc is also developing novel connected-media applications to facilitate marketing and commerce in the burgeoning digital economy.

"Digimarc has developed a leadership position in digital watermarking, an exciting technology that we think will become increasingly important for the authentication of electronic documents," said Bill Lloyd, vice president and chief technical officer of HP's Inkjet Imaging Solutions. "As the world's leader in digital imaging, HP has a big stake in helping our customers protect any form of output from their personal computers, printers and the Internet. Our investment in Digimarc makes good business and technological sense, and we envision a great future together in this important area."

"Having a financial and business relationship with HP will help Digimarc reach more consumers and businesses who are serious about managing and tracking media content," said Bruce Davis, president and chief executive officer of Digimarc. "Together, HP and Digimarc can strive to ensure that customers have the best tools and resources to identify, track, manage and enhance visual communications. This is a logical and natural business alignment, and we intend to create new and innovative solutions for the marketplace." About Digimarc

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Digimarc Corporation is a leading developer of digital watermarking solutions. The company's patented technology is used to identify, track, manage, and enhance visual communications. Digimarc's customers use its products in their copyright protection programs, in image asset management applications, to manage rights and licensing of their images, and to enhance online marketing programs. Images from leading stock photo agencies, photographers, and other sources contain digital watermarks, inserted using the Digimarc system. Digimarc readers are featured in image editing software programs from leading vendors. FMI: http://www.digimarc.com.

HP plans to launch Agilent Technologies as an independent company by mid-calendar 2000. Agilent consists of HP's test and measurement, semiconductor products, chemical analysis and healthcare solutions businesses, and has leading positions in multiple market segments.

HP has 123,500 employees worldwide and had total revenue of $47.1 billion in its 1998 fiscal year. Information about HP, its products and the company's Year 2000 program can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.