Solution applied to Google watermark removal technology

Shutterstock announced that it has completed the application of a solution through enhanced watermarking technology to address the copyright protection controversy sparked by the stock photo watermark removal algorithm technology recently revealed by Google. According to the method disclosed by Google, computer vision technology can automatically remove watermarks embedded in photos, thereby jeopardizing the copyrights of photographers and creators protected by watermarks.

As a solution to this announcement, Shutterstock developed a random watermark generator and implemented changes to insert a unique watermark for each image. The shapes of the modified watermarks differ for each image, and the names of the contributors who uploaded the images are also included. By creating completely different watermarks for each image, it was made technically difficult for algorithms to identify and remove them. The new watermarks successfully passed Google's algorithms, proving their effectiveness in copyright protection. Even before Google's research results were announced, Shutterstock had already protected its assets by applying new watermarks to more than 150 million of its images.

Watermark before change


Watermark after change

Marty Brodbeck, Chief Technology Officer at Shutterstock, said regarding the technology, “When developing the watermark enhancement technology, the primary consideration was preserving image quality. Since simply changing the transparency or position of the watermark did not solve the problem, we chose a shape modification method. Another challenge was how to apply the new watermark to a vast collection of over 150 million images. Our technology development team quickly and effectively applied the developed solution to assets securely stored in various locations through collaboration with internal and external partners.”