Watermarks alone? No.
Visible and invisible watermarks can be cropped, blurred, or re-encoded out of existence. The draft Code of Practice explicitly notes "no single active marking technique suffices" — including watermarks.
Enforcement starts 2 August 2026
Comply with EU AI Act Article 50
with one integration.
Capture is the only solution that combines embedded C2PA credentials and ERC-7053 on-chain registration — the multi-layered approach the EU draft Code of Practice explicitly requires. Avoid fines up to €15M or 3% of global turnover.
€15M
Maximum fine for non-compliance
3%
Of global annual turnover (whichever is higher)
2 Aug 2026
Article 50 enforcement begins
1–2 weeks
Typical Capture integration time
The legal text
Article 50 in plain English
| Sub-article | Requirement | How Capture satisfies it |
|---|---|---|
| 50(1) | Disclose AI–human interaction | Out of scope (UI obligation, not content marking) |
| 50(2) | Mark synthetic content in a machine-readable format | C2PA credentials embedded at generation time |
| 50(3) | Disclose biometric / emotion recognition | Out of scope (UI / consent obligation) |
| 50(4) | Label deepfakes | C2PA `generator` claim + ERC-7053 attestation |
| 50(5) | Provide robust, durable, machine-readable marking | Multi-layer: C2PA plus on-chain ERC-7053 record |
Why a multi-layered approach
Single-layer marking is not compliant
C2PA alone? No.
C2PA metadata travels in the file, but a screenshot or social-platform re-upload often strips it. Capture adds an on-chain layer that survives stripping — the file's content hash remains discoverable on-chain.
Capture's two layers? Yes.
C2PA inside the file plus ERC-7053 on-chain. If either layer survives, the content is provably AI-generated. This is the architecture the EU explicitly endorses.
Compliance checklist
Are you Article 50 ready?
Self-assessment (10 questions)
- Do all AI outputs from your system carry a machine-readable marker?
- Does that marker survive a screenshot or social-media re-upload?
- Is the marking implemented as multi-layer (in-file + durable secondary signal)?
- Can a third-party auditor verify your marking without contacting your team?
- Do you log every generation event with a timestamp and consent receipt?
- Do you publish a TDM policy at
/.well-known/tdm-policy.json? - Do your terms of service explicitly cover AI-generated content disclosure?
- Have your engineers tested compliance with the official C2PA validator?
- Do you have a documented response plan for Article 50 incident reports?
- Have you scheduled a third-party audit before 2 Aug 2026?
If you answered "no" to two or more, talk to us.
Frequently asked
EU AI Act Article 50 questions
What is EU AI Act Article 50?
Article 50 of the EU AI Act imposes transparency obligations on providers and deployers of generative AI systems. It requires AI-generated or manipulated content to be marked in machine-readable formats so the marking can be reliably detected. The article also covers human-AI interaction disclosure and deepfake labelling.
When does Article 50 enforcement begin?
Article 50 becomes fully enforceable on August 2 2026. The European Commission published a draft Code of Practice in January 2026, an updated draft is expected in March 2026, and the final code is anticipated in June 2026.
How much is the fine for non-compliance?
Failure to comply with Article 50 transparency obligations can result in fines of up to €15 million or 3% of total global annual turnover, whichever is higher. Penalties apply to both AI system providers and to professional deployers of AI-generated content.
Does watermarking alone satisfy Article 50?
No. The draft Code of Practice explicitly states that "no single active marking technique suffices" to meet the legal requirements of robustness and reliability. Providers must implement a "multi-layered approach" — typically embedded C2PA credentials plus a secondary durable signal such as on-chain registration.
How does Capture satisfy the multi-layer requirement?
Capture combines two layers in a single pipeline. Layer 1 — C2PA Content Credentials embedded in the file. Layer 2 — ERC-7053 on-chain registration on the Numbers Mainnet, which survives metadata stripping, screenshotting, and re-uploading. This is exactly the multi-layered approach the Code of Practice mandates.
What is C2PA and is it required?
C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) is the open technical standard for embedding cryptographically signed content credentials into media files. It is one of the primary mechanisms specified in the draft Code of Practice. Capture is a C2PA implementer with an ISO 27001-certified signing service.
How long does Capture compliance integration take?
A typical integration with an existing AI inference pipeline or CMS takes 1–2 weeks. Capture provides a Node.js SDK, REST API, and CLI for server-side use, and native iOS / Android SDKs for on-device signing. Reuters integrated in under 4 weeks; smaller teams ship in days.
Is Capture compatible with our existing AI workflow?
Yes. Capture is designed as drop-in middleware. Sign happens after generation, before delivery, with no model retraining. The signing API has sub-100ms median latency, so it adds negligible overhead to user-facing workloads.
What about California SB 942?
California SB 942 requires disclosure of AI-generated content, including provenance disclosure metadata that travels with each piece of content. Capture's C2PA + ERC-7053 implementation satisfies SB 942 simultaneously with EU Article 50 — one integration, multi-jurisdictional coverage.
How does on-chain registration help when metadata is stripped?
When a screenshot, social-media re-upload, or metadata-stripping editor removes embedded C2PA credentials, the file content remains. Capture's ERC-7053 record indexes the file by its content hash, so any compliant viewer can look up the on-chain record and recover the full provenance chain — even with all in-file metadata gone.
Is Capture compliance an open standard or vendor-locked?
Open. C2PA, ERC-7053, and x402 are all open specifications stewarded by neutral foundations. Capture's role is to provide production-grade infrastructure and SDKs. You can replace any layer with a different implementation while keeping the same compliance properties.
How do auditors verify our compliance?
Auditors check three things — (1) a valid C2PA credential block in each file, (2) a corresponding ERC-7053 record on the Numbers Mainnet, and (3) a sample of x402 consent receipts proving licensing flows. Capture provides an audit dashboard that exports these on demand for regulators or third-party assessors.