Library · Operations
Watermarking licenses to trace a leak
When a cracked copy appears, the first question is which license it came from. A hidden mark tied to the buyer and the machine answers it without guessing.
What a mark is
A short string issued by the server, tied to the license and the device, that the software embeds where it is hard to strip everywhere: the about box, log headers, metadata of exported files.
Why tie it to the device
With a license-only mark, the buyer can blame someone they shared with. A device part tells which machine produced the leaked copy.
When a leak turns up
- Read the mark from the leaked copy.
- Look up the license and device.
- Revoke, block the device and contact the buyer under your sales terms.
Be open with buyers
State in your terms that licensed copies carry an identifying mark. The goal is tracing leaks, not watching users.
With ClavisAUH
In Advanced Protection, turn on Forensic Watermarking: every sign-in returns a signed mark for the software to embed.