XMP standardizes a data model, a serialization format and core properties for the definition and processing of extensible metadata.

XMP allows each software program or device along the workflow to add its own information to a digital resource, which carries its metadata along.

[2] The abstract XMP data model needs a concrete representation when it is stored or embedded into a file.

The standard is designed to be extensible, allowing users to add their own custom types of metadata into the XMP data.

This means that any binary data one wants to carry in XMP, such as thumbnail images, must be encoded in some XML-friendly format, such as Base64.

This architecture makes it possible to retain authorship and rights information about, for example, images included in a published document.

[8]As of November 2016,[update] Adobe continues to distribute these documents under the XMP Specification Public Patent License.

In July 2004, a working group led by Adobe Systems' Gunar Penikis and IPTC's Michael Steidl was set up, and volunteers were recruited from AFP (Agence France-Presse), Associated Press, ControlledVocabulary.com, IDEAlliance, Mainichi Shimbun, Reuters, and others, to develop the new schema.

[citation needed] The "IPTC Core Schema for XMP" version 1.0 specification was released publicly on March 21, 2005.

[citation needed] The "User's Guide to the IPTC Core" goes into detail about how each of the fields should be used and is also available directly as a PDF.

[11] The next version of the Adobe Creative Suite (CS2) included these custom panels as part of its default set.