watermark

A translucent mark in paper incorporated during manufacture for purposes of identification or protection of a document A mark that is imprinted on a document using color-shifting ink, thermal ink, or other printing technologies for purposes of identification, validation, or protection of a document Copyright or authorship information that is embedded in an electronic document and is not visible to the eye but can be read using appropriate software

1. A copyright-protection method of embedding a code into a digital audio or video file to attempt to thwart piracy or unlicenced use. 2. In desktop publishing, an inserted (and usually faint) overlay of an image or text onto pages of a document. Note: The watermark is usually visible on the computer screen in WYSIWIG fashion and on the printed pages of the final document. The watermark often verifies authenticity of authorship or release authority.