Adobe has announced a partnership between the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) with Leica and Nikon to implement provenance technology into two exhibiting cameras: Leica's iconic M11 Rangefinder and Nikon's mirrorless camera Nikon Z 9.
This 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," says Dana Rao, Chief Trust Officer and General Counsel, 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 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," says Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, 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," says Naoyuki Murakami, Executive Fellow and Sector Manager of Development Sector in Imaging Business Unit, Nikon Corporation.
"As a company active in the imaging industry, we make utmost efforts to fulfill our professional and social responsibility regarding this issue."
