In this work,a vector quantization-based(VQ-based) watermark embedding method for binary calligraphy images is proposed in order to achieve copy-right protection.Our method does notallow watermark bitsto be embedded in the smooth regions of the image, so the visual effect of the imageis maintained. Rather, com-plex regions are used to embed watermark bits.In the watermark embedding phase, the complex regions are modified according to similar codewordsand the embed-ded watermark bits. The modification rule indicatedthat our method did not distort the images significantly. Moreover, the experimental results indicated that our method canresistsomeimage processing attacks, e.g.,salt and pepper noise, image cropping,and image blurring.