Advanced Television

iQIYI watermarking passes evaluation test

November 18, 2019

By Colin Mann

Claiming a further breakthrough in copyright protection, Chinese online entertainment service iQIYI has revealed that its self-developed watermarking system has passed the security evaluation test of the ChinaDRM Lab under Academy of Broadcasting Science, NRTA (National Radio and Television Administration), making iQIYI the first online video platform in China to receive such an accreditation.

In the evaluation process, the System successfully passed the test of embedding a 64-bit arbitrary watermark into video clips and retrieving the watermark from a random part of the videos. In another important security validation test, the watermark embedded by the System passed attack tests, including noise, ambiguity, 5-degree rotation, and cropping. The System enables watermark embedding without impairing the viewing experience. When a suspected piracy occurs, it can identify the copyright owner through watermark extraction and detection, achieving the purpose of copyright protection.

Digital rights management (DRM) technology has been widely used globally to secure content by means of data encryption. However, since the replicated copy doesn’t have obvious copyright recognitions, it is difficult to identify the copyright owner based only on the content in the event of piracy. Information hiding technologies, such as digital watermarking, can directly embed identification information into digital content without being detected, providing new means for copyright protection. By developing a video watermarking system that supports watermark embedding and extraction, iQIYI says it has reaffirmed its leading position in the innovative development of online content copyright management in China.

ChinaDRM Lab focuses in digital content protection and technology research, development of technical standards, as well as technology and system security validation. Its security assessment has been recognised by MovieLabs and other major international content providers. iQIYI’s self-developed DRM system, approved by ChinaDRM Lab last year, effectively prevented content replication and unauthorised access through video encryption.

With the recently-approved watermarking system, iQIYI has developed full coverage solutions from content source protection to piracy tracking based on independent research and development to enhance its digital copyright protection capability. iQIYI is also the first online video platform in China with two ChinaDRM Lab security accreditations. Digital watermarks have been applied to iQIYI products to effectively protect content copyright.

For a long period of time, iQIYI attaches great importance to and promotes the development of video copyright protection. In the future, iQIYI confirms that it will continue to build on digital copyright protection technology innovation, work closely with partners, and promote the construction of a healthy and sound ecosystem for the industry.

Categories: Articles, CA/DRM, Content, Piracy, Rights