Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Description of Business	Description of Business Digimarc Corporation (“Digimarc” or the “Company”), an Oregon corporation, enables governments, banks and businesses around the world to automatically and reliably identify and interact with virtually any media. The Company has pioneered the Digimarc® Intuitive Computing Platform (ICP^TM), a comprehensive set of technologies for identifying, discovering and interacting with digitally-enhanced media. The platform includes Digimarc Barcode, a proprietary method for imperceptibly enhancing packaging, print, images, thermal labels, audio and other objects with data that is detected by enabled devices, such as smart phones, computers, barcode scanners and machine-vision equipment. Digimarc Discover software enables an ecosystem of connected devices to easily identify content or materials and deliver information.
Interim Consolidated Financial Statements	Interim Consolidated Financial Statements Our significant accounting policies are detailed in "Note 1: Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. Significant changes to our accounting policies as a result of adopting Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” are discussed in Note 3 below. The accompanying interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared from the Company’s records without audit and, in management’s opinion, include all adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring adjustments) necessary to fairly reflect the financial condition and the results of operations for the periods presented. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with the SEC on February 22, 2018. The results of operations for the interim periods presented in these consolidated financial statements are not necessarily indicative of the results for the full year.
Reclassifications	Reclassifications Certain prior period amounts in the accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes thereto have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation. These reclassifications had no material effect on the results of operations or financial position for any period presented.
Contingencies	Contingencies The Company evaluates all pending or threatened contingencies or commitments, if any, that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s operations or financial position. The Company assesses the probability of an adverse outcome and determines if it is remote, reasonably possible or probable as defined in accordance with the provisions of ASC 450, “Contingencies.” If information available prior to the issuance of the financial statements indicates that it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability has been incurred at the date of the financial statements, and the amount of the loss, or the range of probable loss can be reasonably estimated, then the loss is accrued and charged to operations. If no accrual is made for a loss contingency because one or both of the conditions pursuant to ASC 450 are not met, but the probability of an adverse outcome is at least reasonably possible, the Company will disclose the nature of the contingency and provide an estimate of the possible loss or range of loss, or state that such an estimate cannot be made.
Accounting Pronouncements	Accounting Pronouncements Adopted In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606).” ASU No. 2014-09 provides specific guidance to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The ASU replaces most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14 to defer the effective date of the new revenue standard for public entities by one-year to annual reporting periods beginning after December 31, 2017, and interim periods beginning in the first interim period within the year of adoption. The guidance permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. The Company elected to use the cumulative effect transition method. The Company adopted the new standard on January 1, 2018. Upon adoption, the Company recorded a $139 increase to opening retained earnings to reflect the impact of adopting the new standard using the cumulative effect transition method. The adoption of the standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, “Statement of Cash Flows – Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (Topic 230).” ASU No. 2016-15 adds or clarifies guidance on specific cash flow issues to reduce diversity in practice in how certain transactions are classified in the statement of cash flows. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2017, and interim periods beginning in the first interim period within the year of adoption. Any adjustments should be reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period. The amendments in this update are to be applied retrospectively to all periods presented but may be applied prospectively from the earliest date practicable if retrospective application would be impracticable. The adoption of this standard did not to have a material impact on the Company’s cash flows and disclosures. Accounting Pronouncements Issued But Not Yet Adopted In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” which supersedes Topic 840, Leases. ASU No. 2016-02 increases the transparency and comparability of organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. This guidance requires that operating leases recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability measured at the present value of the lease payments in the statement of financial position, recognize a single lease cost allocated over the lease term on a straight-line basis, and classify all cash payments within operating activities in the statement of cash flows. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2018, and interim periods beginning in the first interim period within the year of adoption. Early adoption is permitted. In transition, lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach, which includes a number of optional practical expedients that entities may elect to apply. Although the Company is currently assessing the potential future impact of adopting this standard, the Company expects the primary impact will be the recognition, on a discounted basis, of its minimum commitments under non-cancelable operating leases on its consolidated balance sheets, resulting in the recording of right of use assets and lease obligations. The Company’s minimum commitments under non-cancelable operating leases are disclosed in Note 7 in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.
Earnings Per Share	The Company calculates basic and diluted earnings per common share in accordance with ASC 260 “Earnings Per Share,” using the two-class method because the Company’s unvested restricted stock is a participating security since these awards contain non-forfeitable rights to receive dividends. Under the two-class method, earnings are allocated to each class of common stock and participating security as if all of the earnings for the period had been distributed.