In September this year, Reconnaissance International will release a new publication – ‘Smartphones for Authentication’ – the only publication of its kind.

The Brandr Group (TBG) – a group licensing agency that helps US college athletes capitalise on name, image, and likeness (NIL) licensing opportunities on branded apparel – has launched a security and identity programme called Licensed Player Product.

Professor of Polymer Chemistry Markus Gallei and his doctoral student Lukas Siegwardt, from Saarland University, Germany, have created ‘perfect polymer particles’ (ie. particles of an identical size and shape) with a hard centre and soft shell, for building 3D-printed structurally coloured objects – something that has not up to now been possible.

Through a partnership with HP Indigo, the copy-protected, direct-print ValiGate® QR code from SCRIBOS (a KURZ company), can now be used as a plug-in for HP digital presses worldwide.

The Austrian security label producer Securikett has, for the first time, succeeded in creating a fully transparent label with an impressive opening effect.

Paris is widely regarded as one of the global centres of the branded beauty, luxury, premium drinks, and personal care markets. So, it makes sense that secure packaging producers Toppan, and its Düsseldorf-based subsidiary Toppan Europe, chose Paris Packaging Week (25-26 January) to showcase its range of brand authentication packaging products.

AGMA, the Alliance for Grey Market and Counterfeit Abatement, is an alliance of intellectual property (IP) rights holders, with combined annual revenues in excess of $425 billion, who recognise that IP protection is a fundamental element of innovation and economic growth.

The UAE has officially launched its national drug tracking system under the name of ‘Tatmeen’.

A research group in China has come up with a novel approach to product authentication, with a label that can be internally heated to reveal a changing image.

Metal packaging is used around the world to transport and display everything from coconut milk to alcoholic beverages. One US rigid packaging company is winning accolades for protecting brands from counterfeiting while at the same time reducing the resources it uses.

The counterfeiting of money has been going on ever since the invention of physical money around the 6th century BC. The main deterrent for counterfeiting in historical times was punishment – generally capital punishment, as it was considered a crime against the state. In our more enlightened times, technology is providing the deterrent. In this article, we take a look at four new developments to protect gold bars and commemorative coins from counterfeiting.

Most books that I have written about in Authentication & Brand News™ (ABN) are of interest because they examine the problem of counterfeit products or consider how brand owners can fight against these counterfeits.

The EU is currently reviewing its circular economy rules, with the intention of making green products the norm in the bloc’s single market.

US supply chain security company Overhaul has acquired SensiGuard, which offers a system that monitors cargo in real time, while shipments are in transit from origin to destination, using tracker devices embedded in pallets.

Luminescence Sun Chemical Security (LSCS) is part of the Sun Chemical global security solutions business unit, specialising in inks, pigments and coatings-based authentication solutions. In January 2023, LSCS acquired InData System’s (InData) patented invisible barcode reading technology, which consists of a variety of dedicated readers that can verify and decode ‘invisible’ fluorescent codes.

In recognition of the fact that while transactions may be conducted digitally most products are still physical, online resale platform StockX has opened a new authentication centre in Mexico City.

The programme for the second Optical and Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) Conference is now available, demonstrating the importance of this event in uniting people involved in developing digital systems for authentication and brand protection with the more traditional security document community. The conference will be on 17-19 April 2023 in Prague, Czech Republic.

In 2020, Crane Currency – banknote papermaker, printer and developer of security features – launched a new business, Crane Authentication, to offer brand protection solutions based on its micro-optics technology. In this opinion article from Richard Einhorn, the case is made that customers should expect authenticity to be factored in to their buying experience and that Crane Authentication’s PROFOUND™ technology is helping brands deliver on this.

Nanotechnology has been a fertile breeding ground for authentication and brand protection devices – given that structures that can be controlled at the nanoscale (roughly the size of a few atoms or molecules) exhibit responses to light that are distinctive and near impossible to replicate. Now, a team of researchers and entrepreneurs is set to launch a new optical ink feature into the market.

In this publication last month an article covered the resources available for the testing of the cameras in smartphones. Building on that, the purpose of this article is to examine some of the technologies that are now appearing in leading edge smartphone cameras.