Corbis, Digimarc Bring Active Content Solutions to Market.

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

TUALATIN, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2001

Digimarc Corp. (Nasdaq:DMRC), the world leader in digital watermarking solutions, announced today that it will partner with Corbis Corp. to support the launch of Active Content Solutions, a collection of digitally watermarked images that will act as its own distribution and licensing platform -- providing new marketing channels for both companies.

Corbis will deploy the Digimarc ImageBridge(TM) Enterprise Pro solution to embed Corbis images with imperceptible digital data that will link viewers directly to image-specific destinations once the image is opened or scanned. Corbis will also distribute the Digimarc ImageBridge reader software with its royalty-free images, providing viewers with automatic access to brand management services such as copyright notification, licensing opportunities and additional promotional information related to those images.

"Digimarc's brand management solutions are an important component for companies like ours that focus on distributing and licensing media via the Web," said Piper Carr, business development manager for Corbis. "Digitally watermarked images extend our marketing capabilities by carrying specific marketing and promotional information as images travel through the Web, linking viewers back to our site."

"With Digimarc ImageBridge," said Carr, "images become much more than just fine art and beautiful photography -- they become a marketing tool to help drive our brand and customer experience to a whole new level. Furthermore, Digimarc also helps agencies like Corbis to credit photographers and market their work in a way that protects their work."

Image viewers will have an opportunity to download the Digimarc ImageBridge reader free of charge when they access any image from Corbis' royalty-free image collection. The reader software will enable the viewer to detect and read an embedded digital message within a Digimarc-watermarked image. The digital message links viewers directly to a specific Website that provides further metadata on the image such as the location of similar images on the Web, copyright and licensing requirements, and purchasing opportunities. Corbis will also deploy the Digimarc MarcSpider(R) image tracking service to monitor the use of its digitally watermarked images as they travel through the public Web and help identify image usage infringements.

"Corbis continues to set the trend in the digital image space with their launch of Active Content Solutions," said Reed Stager, vice president and general manager of the Digimarc Media Commerce product group. "Our partnership will not only make digital watermarking solutions for brand management and enhancement ubiquitous on the Internet, but also will bring new revenue channels for organizations, such as stock photo agencies, that own and distribute large quantities of digital assets."

About Digimarc

Digimarc Corp. (Nasdaq:DMRC), based in Tualatin, Ore., is the world leader in digital watermarking solutions. Digimarc's patented digital watermarking technology is used in a range of solutions for brand protection, brand management and security applications. The technology allows digital data to be embedded imperceptibly in traditional and digital media content, including photographic or artistic images, movies, music, packaging, printed materials, promotional items, value documents, tickets and holograms, among others. The company continues to build a pervasive new communications platform by developing an increasing array of diverse product offerings. These offerings benefit a broad range of consumers, corporations and government institutions, enhancing the protection of copyrights, security of value documents and management of media, and fostering integrated marketing and e-commerce for many goods and services. Digimarc's leading customers include creative professionals, major media companies and central banks.

The company's offerings include the Digimarc MediaBridge(TM) family of solutions for brand management and enhancement, and the Digimarc family of security solutions for brand and document protection. The MediaBridge family includes Digimarc ImageBridge(TM), a means to communicate copyrights in digital images, track the images on the Internet and facilitate online licensing and related e-commerce, as well as Digimarc MediaBridge(TM) for Packaging and for Promotions, which offer a fundamentally new way for consumers to access the Internet using printed materials as direct portals to relevant destinations on the Internet. Digimarc's security family includes an anti-counterfeiting system, developed in cooperation with a consortium of leading central banks that deters the use of personal computers in the counterfeiting of value documents. Digimarc is also a member of the Video Watermarking Group (VWM Group), which includes Hitachi, Macrovision, NEC, Philips, Pioneer and Sony, to provide video copy prevention and play control solutions for digital recording devices. In addition, Digimarc video watermarking technology is being licensed for innovative new applications, such as broadcast monitoring. Digimarc has more than 250 U.S. patents pending and 29 issued. Digimarc's vision is to have its watermarking technology become a standard feature of all media content. Please go to www.digimarc.com for more company information.

About Corbis

Corbis Corp. is the definitive destination for photography and fine art in the digital age. With 65 million images, 2.1 million online, it is the leading provider of digital images to both the consumer and creative professional markets. The company provides imagery to creative professionals in magazine, book and newspaper publishing, advertising and graphic design, and Internet and new media publishing. Corbis is also the world's leading news photography agency. Its consumer image products include e-cards, personal-use digital images, and framed and unframed prints and posters. The company uses its extensive Internet technology to allow customers to quickly and conveniently access and purchase images and related products. Headquartered in Seattle, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Dusseldorf and Vienna, the privately owned company has approximately 1,200 employees worldwide. For more information about Corbis and its products and services, call 800/260-0444, 425/641-4505, fax [phone], or visit the Website at www.corbis.com.

Securities Safe Harbor 

All statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Although Digimarc believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those expectations or from historical results. Such risks and uncertainties are outlined in Digimarc's Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2000 and its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, each as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Digimarc is not obligated to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.