Protection of Intellectual Property in Web Communities by Modular Digital Watermarking

In this paper, we discuss the application of digital watermarking to the protection of intellectual property rights in web communities. Some contemporary problems related to the distribution and the usage of multimedia works in web communities are described. The advantages of digital watermarking are discussed and it is explained how our new modular approach can assist in providing the community members with effective self-regulation mechanisms. Two scenarios demonstrating how the legal usage of multimedia can be fostered and how legal violations can be "prevented" are presented. Taking them into consideration, a prototype digital watermarking solution is designed. Its architecture and an overview of its implementation are presented. Finally, a brief evaluation of the prototype solution is discussed as well as some possibilities for its future improvement.