# Q-Tag: Watermarking Quantum Circuit Generative Models

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.23085 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.23085/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 35 of its 69 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 26 Feb 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 35)

- [Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.11239/) (2020)
- [High-Resolution Image Synthesis with Latent Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.10752/) (2021)
- [Denoising Diffusion Implicit Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.02502/) (2020)
- [Classifier-Free Diffusion Guidance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.12598/) (2022)
- [SDXL: Improving Latent Diffusion Models for High-Resolution Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.01952/) (2023)
- [DPM-Solver: A Fast ODE Solver for Diffusion Probabilistic Model Sampling in Around 10 Steps](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.00927/) (2022)
- [DiffWave: A Versatile Diffusion Model for Audio Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.09761/) (2020)
- [Quantum Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.09347/) (2016)
- [The Stable Signature: Rooting Watermarks in Latent Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.15435/) (2023)
- [Challenges and Opportunities in Quantum Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.09491/) (2023)
- [Artificial Fingerprinting for Generative Models: Rooting Deepfake Attribution in Training Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.08457/) (2020)
- [Tree-Ring Watermarks: Fingerprints for Diffusion Images that are Invisible and Robust](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.20030/) (2023)
- [Gaussian Shading: Provable Performance-Lossless Image Watermarking for Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.04956/) (2024)
- [A Recipe for Watermarking Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.10137/) (2023)
- [EditGuard: Versatile Image Watermarking for Tamper Localization and Copyright Protection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.08883/) (2023)
- [Deep Model Intellectual Property Protection via Deep Watermarking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.04980/) (2021)
- [WOUAF: Weight Modulation for User Attribution and Fingerprinting in Text-to-Image Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.04744/) (2023)
- [Quantum Self-Attention Neural Networks for Text Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.05625/) (2022)
- [DiffusionShield: A Watermark for Copyright Protection against Generative Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.04642/) (2023)
- [Mirror Diffusion Models for Constrained and Watermarked Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.01236/) (2023)
- [Recent Advances for Quantum Neural Networks in Generative Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.03066/) (2022)
- [Quantum Circuit Optimization with AlphaTensor](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.14396/) (2024)
- [Quantum circuit synthesis with diffusion models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.02041/) (2023)
- [QKSAN: A Quantum Kernel Self-Attention Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.13422/) (2023)
- [Watermark-embedded Adversarial Examples for Copyright Protection against Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.09401/) (2024)
- [FT-Shield: A Watermark Against Unauthorized Fine-tuning in Text-to-Image Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.02401/) (2023)
- [Latent Watermark: Inject and Detect Watermarks in Latent Diffusion Space](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.00230/) (2024)
- [IBM Quantum Computers: Evolution, Performance, and Future Directions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.00916/) (2024)
- [Transferring Knowledge from Text to Video: Zero-Shot Anticipation for Procedural Actions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.03158/) (2021)
- [Is Your AI Truly Yours? Leveraging Blockchain for Copyrights, Provenance, and Lineage](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.06077/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Quantum cloud platforms have become the most widely adopted and mainstream approach for accessing quantum computing resources, due to the scarcity and operational complexity of quantum hardware. In this service-oriented paradigm, quantum circuits, which constitute high-value intellectual property, are exposed to risks of unauthorized access, reuse, and misuse. Digital watermarking has been explored as a promising mechanism for protecting quantum circuits by embedding ownership information for tracing and verification. However, driven by recent advances in generative artificial intelligence, the paradigm of quantum circuit design is shifting from individually and manually constructed circuits to automated synthesis based on quantum circuit generative models (QCGMs). In such generative settings, protecting only individual output circuits is insufficient, and existing post hoc, circuit-centric watermarking methods are not designed to integrate with the generative process, often failing to simultaneously ensure stealthiness, functional correctness, and robustness at scale. These limitations highlight the need for a new watermarking paradigm that is natively integrated with quantum circuit generative models. In this work, we present the first watermarking framework for QCGMs, which embeds ownership signals into the generation process while preserving circuit fidelity. We introduce a symmetric sampling strategy that aligns watermark encoding with the model's Gaussian prior, and a synchronization mechanism that counteracts adversarial watermark attack through latent drift correction. Empirical results confirm that our method achieves high-fidelity circuit generation and robust watermark detection across a range of perturbations, paving the way for scalable, secure copyright protection in AI-powered quantum design.