Digimarc and Jura developing digital watermarks for travel documents
22 September, 2005
category: Biometrics, Financial, Government
Digimarc and Jura JSP, providers of machine-readable digital security features designed to authenticate ID documents, say they are developing interoperable digital watermark inspection software for passports and visas. Whether issuers secure their travel documents with Digimarc or Jura, the agreement ensures that inspectors will be able to authenticate ICAO-compliant documents using a single watermark reader.
Digimarc and Jura JSP to jointly develop software that detects digital watermark security features in ICAO-compliant travel documents
Digimarc Corporation, Beaverton, Ore. and Jura JSP, Budapest, Hungary, announced they are jointly developing interoperable digital watermark inspection software that will detect digital watermark security features in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)-compliant travel documents.
The cooperation provides issuers with a choice of suppliers and features when selecting covert digital watermark security features for passports, visas and other ICAO-compliant travel documents with the assurance that, regardless of that choice, inspectors will be able to authenticate these documents using a single watermark reader.
“Digimarc and Jura share a common vision for how digital watermarking can enhance the security of travel documents and strengthen the security of national borders and international travel,” said J. Scott Carr, corporate executive, marketing and development, Digimarc. “Through our cooperation, we bring U.S. and European talent and experience together to enable critical cross-issuer identity document inspection to further the fight against terrorism and identity theft.”
Machine-readable digital watermarks are uniquely suited for securing personalized travel documents, such as passports and visas, because of their covert, cross-jurisdictional inspection capabilities. They also provide valuable anti-counterfeiting security in new chip-based passports.
“As more travel documents rely on digital personalization, they will increasingly need new layers of digital security such as Jura D-IPI and Digimarc IDMarc,” said Ferenc Koltai, Chairman and CEO, Jura JSP. “Together, Jura and Digimarc bring issuers a range of options supported by a single interoperable reader designed to integrate smoothly with travel document scanners and border crossing applications.”
The jointly developed common reading platform is expected to be available early next year to system integrators and device manufacturers.
Digimarc and Jura are leading providers of machine-readable digital security features designed to secure and authenticate identity documents around the globe.
Digimarc’s IDMarc? is a covert digital security feature that can be used to fuse multiple elements of identity documents into a coherent, secure ID structure. Millions of digitally watermarked identity documents are in circulation today. On passports, the feature can link together the printed text, artwork, and portrait with the chip-resident digital data, including the facial image stored on the chip. This layered, interlocking approach enhances the overall integrity and security of travel documents.
Jura’s digital version of IPI? hides personal information as a special 2D-barcode in the photo. It remains unreadable by a lens but is machine readable. Encoding digital information into the image provides a high level of security because customers can use encryption unique to them. This encryption makes the re-creation of the embedded information very difficult, even for Jura. D-IPI is designed to protect a variety of identity and travel documents around the world.
About Digimarc
Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC), based in Beaverton, Oregon, is a leading supplier of secure identity and media management solutions. Digimarc provides products and services that enable the production of more than 60 million personal identification documents, including two-thirds of U.S. driver licenses and IDs for more than 20 countries. Digimarc’s digital watermarking technology provides a persistent digital identity for various media content and is used to enhance the security of financial documents, identity documents and digital images, and support other media rights management applications.
Digimarc has an extensive intellectual property portfolio, with 201 issued U.S. patents with more than 4,000 claims, and more than 400 pending patent applications in digital watermarking, personal identification and related technologies.
The Company is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, with other U.S. offices in Burlington, Massachusetts; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and the Washington DC area; and international offices in London and Mexico. Please go to www.digimarc.com for more Company information.
About Jura JSP
The JURA Group is a reputed supplier of proprietary graphical software developed for banknote and security printers and for licensing special patented security features for the protection of banknotes, passports, ID-cards and other security documents. JURA also supplies customers with ultra high resolution input and output devices for security prepress applications. With headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, the sales and customer services are conducted from offices in Vienna and Bangkok. The JURA Group is privately owned and managed by the founder since 1986.
For more information, visit: www.jura.at.
