The popularity of “The Walking Dead” and other original AMC Networks programs — including their popularity among Internet pirates — has prompted the company to adopt new technology in an effort to prevent the shows from being leaked before their TV airing.

“The cable programmer is embedding digital watermarks into episodes of original shows like ‘Walking Dead,’ ‘Better Call Saul’ and ‘Humans’ at its New York production and distribution facilities, using a system from Civolution’s NexGuard, Variety reports. “Now, if AMC content turns up on piracy sites, those watermarks will let the company trace the source of the copies.”

While the strategy is designed to deter piracy, the report notes that it doesn’t prevent the content from being copied and shared online. “Instead, AMC is betting the watermarks will reduce the chance that shows will be leaked from international distributors and their subcontractors, who perform post-production services like in-language dubbing on episodes — by being able to pinpoint which partner was responsible,” Variety reports.