c2pa-metadata

# /digital-marketing-pro:c2pa-metadata — Embed Content Authenticity Provenance

## Purpose

Wraps `scripts/embed-c2pa.py` to add a **C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) manifest** to any AI-generated marketing asset. The manifest carries a machine-readable provenance trail (who generated it, what generator was used, what prompt produced it, when it was reviewed) plus a visible AI-generation claim in the IPTC digital-source-type vocabulary.

This is the technical mechanism brands use to comply with:

- **EU AI Act Article 50** (applicable 2 August 2026) — generative-AI marketing content must be marked in a machine-readable format using open, interoperable standards. C2PA is the emerging backbone. Penalty for non-compliance: up to **€15 million or 3% global annual turnover**.
- **NY synthetic-performer disclosure law** (effective June 2026) — $1K–$5K per violation, $10K repeat; applies to synthetic influencers and AI-generated endorsements.
- **FTC May 2026 endorsement guidance** — covers AI testimonials and synthetic creator content.
- **Australia Online Safety Act / UK Online Safety Act** — emerging deepfake disclosure requirements.

The resulting asset can be inspected by any C2PA-aware viewer (Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Truepic, [contentcredentials.org/verify](https://contentcredentials.org/verify)).

### C2PA spec versions to be aware of (June 2026)

- **Content Credentials 2.3** (released 9 February 2026 — [launch post](https://c2pa.org/the-c2pa-launches-content-credentials-2-3-and-celebrates-5-years-of-impact-across-the-digital-ecosystem/)) added format support for: **live video** (broadcast/streaming), **plain text documents**, **OGG Vorbis audio**, **large AVI video files**, and **EXIF Original Preservation Images**. If a brand is signing live-stream video or text-based assets for the first time, 2.3 is the floor version to target.
- **C2PA Spec 2.4** (April 2026 — [spec.c2pa.org/specifications/specifications/2.4](https://spec.c2pa.org/specifications/specifications/2.4/specs/C2PA_Specification.html)) introduces the **AI Disclosure Assertion (`c2pa.ai-disclosure`)** for machine-readable AI transparency info — this is the assertion the EU AI Act Article 50 deployer pathway will rely on. The Code of Practice WG1 (providers) and WG2 (deployers) draft guidance both reference C2PA-style assertions as the canonical machine-readable marking mechanism. See `skills/context-engine/eu-code-of-practice.md` for the full Article 50 context.
- The **C2PA Trust List** is now handled via the public C2PA Conformance Program (any CA meeting the Certificate Policy can join). Production signing certificates should come from a Conformance-Program-listed CA, not an ad-hoc cert.

**For DMP outputs**: when the underlying `embed-c2pa.py` script supports `--ai-disclosure` (or you're piping through a C2PA SDK ≥ 0.36 that handles 2.4), include the `c2pa.ai-disclosure` assertion alongside the existing IPTC digital-source-type claim. The combination gives you both human-readable (IPTC) and machine-readable (c2pa.ai-disclosure) Article 50 signaling.

## When to invoke

- Right after any AI image / video / audio generation step in the engagement workflow (Part 11 — AI Creative Instructions output)
- Before handing a generated asset to the design team for review
- As a pre-publish gate in `/digital-marketing-pro:check` for EU-targeted assets
- Bulk-applying to a backlog of AI-generated assets before EU AI Act enforcement on 2 Aug 2026

## Quick examples

```bash
# Single asset — image generated by Vertex AI / Nano Banana Pro
/digital-marketing-pro:c2pa-metadata \
    --input assets/q3-launch-hero.png \
    --output assets/signed/q3-launch-hero.png \
    --brand "Acme Corp" \
    --generator "Vertex AI / Nano Banana Pro" \
    --ai-claim ai-generated-content \
    --prompt "minimalist product hero shot, soft natural lighting"

# Video with human review tracked
/digital-marketing-pro:c2pa-metadata \
    --input campaigns/launch-video-v3.mp4 \
    --output campaigns/signed/launch-video-v3.mp4 \
    --brand "Acme Corp" \
    --generator "Runway Gen-4" \
    --ai-claim ai-generated-content \
    --reviewer "Jane Smith"

# Human-created image with AI-assisted edits
/digital-marketing-pro:c2pa-metadata \
    --input assets/founder-headshot-edited.jpg \
    --output assets/signed/founder-headshot-edited.jpg \
    --brand "Acme Corp" \
    --generator "Adobe Generative Fill" \
    --ai-claim ai-assisted-edits

# Production sign with a real C2PA signing certificate
/digital-marketing-pro:c2pa-metadata \
    --input assets/q3-launch-hero.png \
    --output assets/signed/q3-launch-hero.png \
    --brand "Acme Corp" \
    --generator "Vertex AI / Nano Banana Pro" \
    --ai-claim ai-generated-content \
    --signing-cert /secure/c2pa-prod-cert.pem \
    --signing-key /secure/c2pa-prod-key.pem
```

## AI claim values (IPTC digital source type)

| Value | When to use | Maps to IPTC URI |
|---|---|---|
| `ai-generated-content` | Asset fully generated by AI | `algorithmicMedia` |
| `ai-assisted-edits` | Human-created + AI-edited (e.g. Generative Fill) | `compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia` |
| `ai-no-substantive-changes` | AI used (e.g. upscaling) but no semantic change | `minorHumanEdits` |

The IPTC vocabulary is what EU AI Act regulators reference — using these values rather than ad-hoc strings makes the asset interoperable with the Article 50 enforcement tooling.

## Supported asset formats

`.png` · `.jpg/.jpeg` · `.webp` · `.gif` · `.tiff` · `.mp4` · `.mov` · `.webm` · `.mp3` · `.wav` · `.pdf`

## Signing certificate

Production C2PA signatures require a certificate from a CAI-recognized signing authority. The script will use one if you pass `--signing-cert` and `--signing-key`. If you omit them, the script generates a **self-signed 90-day dev certificate** for development testing only — a self-signed asset will verify as "signature present but signer not in trust list" at [contentcredentials.org/veri