DMRCE Digimarc (MM)

Digimarc Corporation (Nasdaq:DMRCE) today announced the availability of a new version of Digimarc(R) IDMarc(TM) with support for the entire range of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)-compliant travel documents. Already in use on millions of issued secure IDs, this newest version of the IDMarc digital watermarking-based security feature now provides specific support for securing chip-based ePassports. 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 links 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. This release of IDMarc version 3.0 has already been successfully validated on many of the commonly used travel document printers, including the Toppan MP300 series digital passport printer. Gary Christelis, vice president of Global Enterprise Technologies (GET), world-wide distributor of Toppan passport printers, stated that "GET is always seeking to offer our Toppan printer customers new digital technologies that further enhance the security of Toppan passports, and we are very pleased that the IDMarc product can be utilized with our printers. The beauty of the IDMarc product is that it is a highly effective, latent feature that can be easily introduced into both new and existing projects with our printers, yet significantly elevates the integrity of a passport." In a global move to enhance travel security and border control, ICAO has established a new standard that adds a contactless chip to travel documents and provides support for a common biometric. As a result, the United States, European Union countries, and many other issuers around the globe are moving to adopt these chip-based passports. The IDMarc security feature provides an important layer of counterfeit resistance for ICAO-compliant travel documents by offering enhanced protection to both the document and chip against photo substitution, data alteration and attacks on the chip. Digimarc provides software development kits to enable licensed vendors and systems integrators to securely incorporate the capability to decode the IDMarc feature in their reader device products. The 3M(TM) Authentication System with its 3M(TM) Full Page Reader from 3M Company as well as the DSVII-PA portable travel document reader from Datastrip Inc. are currently in the final phase of certification as IDMarc-compatible readers for authenticating travel documents and will be available in Q2 2005. "For border control agencies around the world, each new, verifiable security feature of a travel document enhances confidence in the document's authenticity. 3M is pleased to collaborate with Digimarc in identifying and inhibiting travel document fraud," said Todd Kealey, marketing development manager of 3M Company's Security Systems Division. "We see the addition of IDMarc verification in our family of portable document readers as an invaluable and exciting tool that provides a new level of identity document authentication capability for law enforcement, border control officials and the officer in the field," said Roger Morrison, director of Federal Sales of Datastrip Inc. "This new release of IDMarc creates a highly effective, interlocking digital security layer that further enhances the security of chip-based travel IDs against digital counterfeiting threats and attacks against the chip," said J. Scott Carr, president, Digimarc Watermarking Solutions. "The feature can be reliably inspected using secure software and standard travel document readers to establish the authenticity and integrity of protected documents across jurisdictions. We're pleased to be able to offer this enhanced version to issuers that are moving to ePassports, as well as to the smart card industry as a means to provide additional security to chip-based IDs." IDMarc v3.0 is available today. Pricing for authorized government issuers and device OEMs is available upon request. About Digimarc Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ:DMRCE), based in Beaverton, Oregon, is a leading supplier of secure media solutions used in a wide range of security, identification and digital media content applications. Digimarc provides products and services that enable 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 192 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 European offices in London. Please go to www.digimarc.com for more company information. About GET Global Enterprise Technologies Corp. is part of GET Group, a group of high technology development and application companies whose principal activities are systems integration and solutions for ID and travel document/passport issuing (Toppan) and management systems, border control systems, traffic systems, health care/medical claims systems, and smart card systems. With 14 international offices, its solutions serve government, commercial and financial clients around the world. About 3M Company Every day, 3M people find new ways to make amazing things happen. Wherever they are, whatever they do, the company's customers know they can rely on 3M to help make their lives better. 3M's brands include icons such as Scotch, Post-it, Scotchgard, Thinsulate, Scotch-Brite, Filtrete, Command and Dyneon. Serving customers in more than 200 countries around the world, the company's 67,000 people use their expertise, technologies and global strength to lead in major markets including consumer and office; display and graphics; electronics and telecommunications; safety, security and protection services; health care; industrial and transportation. For more information, including the latest product and technology news, visit www.3M.com/security. 3M, Scotch, Post-it, Scotchgard, Thinsulate, Scotch-Brite, Filtrete, Command and Dyneon are trademarks of 3M. About Datastrip Datastrip is a leading provider of mobile biometric verification devices and 2D bar code software with associated hardware. Datastrip and its integration partners provide total solutions for the production of ID cards, passports, national ID cards, driver's licenses, voter registration cards, health cards, financial cards and other identity documents, as well as mobile AFIS and biometric verification systems. For more information, call 800-548-2517 or visit www.datastrip.com. Securities Safe Harbor Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current reasonable expectations and are subject to certain assumptions, risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied from the statements herein or from historical results due to, among other things, changes in economic, business, competitive, technological and/or regulatory factors and trends. Digimarc is not obligated to (and expressly disclaims any obligation to) revise/update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release. More detailed information about risk factors that may affect actual results is set forth in filings by Digimarc with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Digimarc's 2004 Form 10-K, including Part II, Item 7 thereof ("Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations") under the captions "Overview," "Restatement of Financial Statements," "Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates," and "Liquidity and Capital Resources," Part I, Item 1 thereof ("Business") under the caption "Risk Factors" and Part II, Item 9A thereof ("Controls and Procedures").