Adobe Partners With Leica and Nikon To Implement Content Authenticity Technology Into Cameras

• Partners will advance CAI efforts, empowering photographers to establish authenticity of images at the point of capture

Today, Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced at Adobe MAX – the world’s largest creativity conference – a partnership between the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) and industry-leading camera manufacturers Leica and Nikon to implement provenance technology into two exhibiting cameras: Leica’s iconic M11* Rangefinder and Nikon’s industry-leading mirrorless camera the Nikon Z 9*. Today’s milestone will allow photographers and creators alike to increase trust in their digital work by securely attaching valuable provenance information at the point of capture, including when, where and how each image was captured. These details establish an image’s attribution and trustworthiness from the start, which helps protect against the spread of misinformation by empowering consumers to identify the origins and edit history throughout the digital content lifecycle.

“As iconic global brands, Leica and Nikon have empowered photographers to capture some of the most significant moments in modern history,” said Dana Rao, chief trust officer and general counsel at Adobe. “Together with CAI, Leica and Nikon will enable their global customer base to attach provenance to their images at the point of capture, creating a chain of authenticity from camera to cloud. We’re thrilled to have Leica and Nikon partner in the CAI's mission to restore trust in digital content.”

The CAI is an Adobe-led initiative with more than 800 partners working to increase trust online through provenance, which are the facts about the origins of a piece of digital content. Authored in partnership with CAI, the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) standard is being implemented in cameras for the first time, a significant step forward in establishing trusted content and properly attributing creators for their work. CAI is seeing accelerated adoption of its standard through these partnerships, and broad availability of free CAI open-source tools powering them.

Leica & CAI

For over a century, the Leica brand name has been synonymous with authentic images and cameras that have produced countless iconic photographs. Leica’s existing membership in the CAI and today’s extended partnership are broadening CAI’s reach to even more creative professionals and artists. The Leica innovation and development team recently implemented the C2PA standard in a Leica M11* Rangefinder camera to demonstrate the new provenance technology for the first time. Each image is provided with a forgery-proof signature that documents essential information, such as camera model, manufacturer and image content. This ensures an unbroken chain of authenticity from capture to completion. The first available Leica cameras with the C2PA standard are planned to ship in 2023.

“Leica cameras have always stood witness to iconic moments in world history. However, determining the authenticity of visual content has become increasingly difficult and important in the age of digital photography,” said Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leica Camera AG. “Now with the ability to provide this proof, we are once again strengthening trust in digital content and re-establishing Leica cameras as authoritative tools in the documentation of world events.”

Nikon & CAI

As a leader at the forefront of innovative photography and the first camera manufacturer to join both the CAI and C2PA, Nikon’s use of CAI technology will accelerate implementation of the provenance technology for millions of creative professionals. Nikon is exhibiting the Nikon Z 9* specially equipped with its image provenance function, which conforms to C2PA standards and was developed in collaboration with the CAI. Nikon also leveraged the CAI’s open-source toolkit to implement this provenance function. Nikon is developing the C2PA provenance functionality for a future camera model.

"Nikon believes the protection of individuals and enterprises involved in the imaging industry, as well as the entire society, from the unfavorable results of falsification and unauthorized use of images is a global issue,” said Naoyuki Murakami, executive fellow and sector manager of development sector in imaging business unit, at Nikon Corporation. “As a company active in the imaging industry, we make utmost efforts to fulfill our professional and social responsibility regarding this issue.”

To learn more about the Content Authenticity Initiative, please visit https://contentauthenticity.org/.

About Adobe

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

About Leica Camera – the partner of photography

Leica Camera AG is an international, premium manufacturer of cameras and sports optics. The legendary reputation of the Leica brand is based on a long tradition of excellent quality, German craftsmanship and German industrial design, combined with innovative technologies. An integral part of the brand's culture is the diversity of activities the company undertakes for the advancement of photography. In addition to the Leica Galleries and Leica Akademies spread around the world, there are the Leica Hall of Fame Award and, in particular, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA), which is considered one of the most innovative sponsorship awards existing today. Furthermore, Leica Camera AG, with its headquarters in Wetzlar, Hessen, and a second production site in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal, has a worldwide network of its own national organisations and Leica Retail Stores.

About Nikon

Nikon has been a pioneer in optical technology markets worldwide since its inception in 1917. Today, utilizing advanced technologies, Nikon offers a wide range of products and solutions from digital cameras and binoculars to industrial precision equipment such as FPD and semiconductor lithography systems, microscopes and measuring instruments as well as for the healthcare field. In the future, Nikon will take advantage of its core technologies to generate new core pillars of profit including the material processing business; Nikon strives to sustainably grow its enterprise value in medium- to long-term. For more information, visit https://www.nikon.com/.

*Use of the Leica M11 Rangefinder at Adobe MAX 2022 is for exhibit and demo purposes and does not mean or imply this specific model will be equipped with the provenance function.

*Use of the Nikon Z 9 camera at Adobe MAX 2022 is for exhibit and demo purposes and does not mean or imply this specific model will be equipped with the provenance function.

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