Watermark

A watermark is a logo, text, or pattern that is intentionally superimposed onto another image. Its purpose is to make it more difficult for the original image to be copied or used without permission.

Often, a company or website that sells digital images will apply a watermark to low-resolution copies of the images, so the user can preview them. If the user purchases the image, the company provides the user with a high-resolution copy of the image that does not contain the watermark.

Pictured at right is an example of a watermark applied to a digital image. The watermark obscures the Computer Hope logo in such a way that it would be difficult to remove or erase.

Business terms, Copyright, DRM, Transparency, Video terms