Digimarc CDS Contract Extended

Digimarc Corporation has announced a five-year extension of its agreement with the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group (CBCDG), comprising 35 of the world’s central banks. The agreement, which was renewed two years early, is effective from January 2023 through to the end of 2029.

The CBCDG grew out of the Special Study Group on Modern Reproduction Technologies, which was set up by the central banks of the G10 countries back in the early 1990s to investigate emerging threats to the security of banknotes, particularly regarding colour copiers and scanners, and to propose solutions.

One such solution is Digimarc’s digital watermark technology, which is at the heart of the Counterfeit Deterrence System (CDS), introduced in 2004. This thwarts the digital reproduction of banknotes through digital imaging equipment and software by embedding the watermark in the artwork.

Through a series of agreements with manufacturers of colour reproduction equipment, when a user attempts to reproduce a protected banknote, the process is stopped, the user is alerted by means of a dialog box stating that the application does not support the unauthorised processing of the banknote design, and is then directed to the CBCDG website www.rules foruse.org.

‘Digimarc has been a key, long-term partner in the central banks’ worldwide effort to deter counterfeiting of currency and a major contributor to the program’s success. We are pleased to have renewed our agreement with Digimarc and to have Digimarc’s continued support for this important work,’ commented Erick Lacourrège, Executive Committee Chairman, CBCDG and Director General of Cash Services at the Banque de France.