The Pharmacy Service Program of the Ministry of Health of Malaysia is extending its contract with Techno Secure Print for the supply of holographic safety labels on all of the country’s registered pharmaceutical products.

T-shirts, stamps and gold – the new world of authentication; stand- out developments in 2022 and beyond; authenticating everything from fuel to banknotes.

An online recruitment ad in China recently garnered a lot of attention by announcing that couriers were needed to smuggle semiconductor chips, 5kg at a time, into China, with the chips having been illegally rerouted from the US.

Science and technology group Merck and micro-transponder producer p-Chip Corp have formed an alliance to use p-Chip’s technology as a crypto-anchor (unique identifier) for creating digital twins of physical products, allowing them to be tracked and authenticated through the supply chain.

The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) Excellence in Holography awards recognises those at the forefront of developing innovative or commercially viable holography products or techniques.

During a recent webinar hosted by De La Rue on the subject of what motivates the adoption of a brand protection solution, Bea Morrison, Director of Marketing of the distinguished British beauty brand Mason Pearson spoke about her company’s decision to implement a comprehensive solution against parallel trade.

In the February issue of Authentication & Brand News™, we asked whether EU digital product passports (DPPs) could double as anti-counterfeiting devices, in addition to their primary role of gathering information about a product and its supply chain in order to support the transition to a circular economy.

Ferrari has launched a public reward scheme to crack down on counterfeit products carrying its iconic branding. The scheme involves offering Ferrari gifts to individuals who report products that may be counterfeit or in violation of Ferrari trademarks.

Founded in 1971, Perum Peruri (trade name Peruri) was originally known as the ‘money-printing public corporation of the Republic of Indonesia’. Its main task was to print rupiah banknotes as well as other state-owned security documents, including excise stamps, passports, and land documents.

Digital watermarking specialist Digimarc Corporation has announced that France will be the first country to implement Digimarc Recycle on a nationwide basis, for the sorting and recycling of plastic waste.

At the recent Anti-Counterfeiting World Law Summit, in London, Vincent Helluy, Head of Illicit Trade Risk Management – Content & Brand Protection at Forward Global spoke about brand protection field operations in Africa.

De La Rue has announced a partnership with C3i Europe Ltd, the intelligence-driven company engaged in combating global grey market activities.

OpSec Group has completed the acquisition of Global Trim Sales, Inc, a provider of premium trim to the fashion and apparel industry, based in California. This acquisition will extend the OpSec brand enhancement offering in the consumer goods and sports industries.

Reconnaissance has issued a call for papers for the High Security Printing™ EMEA, which takes place 4-6 March 2023, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

In August, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a one-year delay in enforcing the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) electronic tracking rules until November 2024, in order to provide a 12-month stabilisation period to aid compliance.

Manoj Kochar, Director of Holoflex, has been elected as the new president of the India-based Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA).

As the world’s largest sporting goods retailer – in addition to manufacturing its own sports products – Decathlon has revolutionised its operations over the past 10 years by implementing radio frequency identification (RFID) technology on every piece of merchandise in its vast inventory.

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have developed a rubber-like colour-changing system called Morphable Concavity Array (MoCA), with the potential to bestow robots with compound vision, similar to an insect.

In one of the largest seizures of counterfeit goods in US history, Homeland Security and New York City police recently took possession of fake bags, clothes, shoes, and other luxury products, worth $1.03 billion.

Royal Joh Enschedé, an Authentix company, has unveiled its first crypto stamp produced for Deutsche Post, the postal organisation of Germany.

Authentication and anti-counterfeit technologies rely heavily on inks and surfaces that produce colour, sending visual signals to the viewer to help differentiate between real and fake products. But in a world where toxin additives in manufacturing processes are becoming increasingly unacceptable, we take a look at two companies that are developing a new generation of sustainable colour.

The NFC Forum, the leading standards body for near field communication (NFC) technology, has organised a 50-minute webinar titled ‘The Circular Economy Redefined – NFC & the Digital Product Passport’ , scheduled for 5 December 2023.

New York-based Token, the provider of wearable authentication solutions, has begun production of its smart ring in the United States.

Anti-counterfeiting efforts have become a cost of doing business; brands are outsourcing their anti-counterfeiting activities to professional advisors, law firms, investigators, and technology companies; and only 40% of brands are actually using authentication features.

The organiser of the High Security Printing™ (HSP) conferences, Reconnaissance International, has announced the programme for the upcoming HSP Asia event, which takes place in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 4-6 December 2023.

A number of key themes emerged from the presentations, panel discussion, and workshops at the recent Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™ (TSTF) held in October, in Tbilisi, Georgia.

German multinational engineering and technology company Bosch has entered the brand protection arena with Origify, a solution that optically captures a product’s unique ‘fingerprint’ in order to authenticate and trace it through the supply chain.

The war in Ukraine has brought to the fore how difficult it is to differentiate between genuine photos and fakes these days, now that we can use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to create make-believe images.

In the September 2023 issue of Authentication & Brand News™, we examined how Parmigiano Reggiano, the iconic Italian cheese, has embraced modern technology by embedding edible microchips into its 40kg cheese wheels to combat counterfeiting.

During the recent Luxe Pack Monaco trade show for creative packaging, TOPPAN showcased a range of NFC solutions, including its new NFC tag for contactless detection of the volume of liquid inside a container, targeting the cosmetics, medical, pharmaceutical, and liquor industries.

The Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference, which takes place in Lisbon, Portugal from 8-10 April 2024, has released a call for papers.

The Australian government has announced another AUD 11 million ($7 million) in funding via grants to boost Australia's agricultural traceability systems.

In May, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) invited feedback from stakeholders on current and future strategies to prevent counterfeiting and piracy.

With the launch of the iPhone 15 series, Apple has introduced new measures to thwart scammers. These features can be quickly verified by buyers and sellers to ensure they have authentic iPhone packaging.

Smart packaging is a term that means different things to different communities, and this article aims to take a wider look at trends in smart packaging and consider some of the potential implications for authentication and brand protection.

Now that the Indian government has introduced mandatory QR codes on drugs, the country’s pharmaceutical companies are moving forward with implementing these codes.

Koenig & Bauer Banknotes Solutions (KBBS) is forging ahead with its agenda to create physical-digital technology bridges with the announcement of two new partnerships linked to digital authentication.

Reconnaissance International is pleased to announce the release of its new publication – ‘Smartphones for Authentication’ – the only publication of its kind.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have introduced a pilot traceability programme to track the origin and carbon footprint of each dragon fruit planted in the southern province of Bình Thuận, Vietnam.

Meta Materials, under its former name of Nanotech Security Corporation, has been a pioneer in banknote OVD technology for the past decade with innovations in micro-, nano- and now plasmonic structures.

In a move that blends ancient culinary tradition with 21st-century innovation, Italian cheesemakers have turned to technology for a solution to their counterfeiting woes, by embedding edible microchips into their 40kg cheese wheels.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has designated blockchain start-up FPT Software Europe as the lead organisation for a project known as VIRTUA.

In an open letter, 130 global fashion and sportswear-related organisations, including the Apparel and Footwear Association and the International Apparel Federation, have called for digital labelling to reduce waste and increase consumer access to information.

Nanobrick, the South Korean company founded in 2007 by its current CEO, Jae-Hyun Joo, is building a presence in the security and authentication field with what it calls its ‘active nano platform’ (ANP).

Solution providers, experts, and revenue authorities from around the world have confirmed their speaking slot at Reconnaissance International’s Tax Stamp & Traceability Forum™, taking place in Tbilisi, Georgia from 2-4 October 2023.

While all counterfeit goods potentially pose a risk for consumers and companies, that risk becomes amplified when we talk about products made by Cisco, one of the largest technology companies in the world, best known for its networking products.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has unveiled EBSI-ELSA, its new brand name for the European Logistics Services Authentication (ELSA) initiative for products within the global supply chain (using the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure), EBSI.

Exploiting the uniqueness derived from the inherent randomness of industrial processes is not a new approach for anti-counterfeiting technologies, but a new breed of physically unclonable functions (PUFs) might just be a step too far for counterfeiters to spoof.

In the ABN March 2023 issue, we looked at four developments to protect gold bars and commemorative coins from counterfeiting. As companies continue their anti-counterfeiting advancement, we look at a few more developments in this area, covering overt and covert features and digital traceability.

The WCO (World Customs Organisation) has released its 2022 Illicit Trade Report (ITR), showing an increasing trend in illicit trade.

A new report by Watchfinder & Co, a luxury pre-owned watch specialist, revealed that 14% of British collectors have counterfeit timepieces in their rotations. Specifically, the research identified a staggering total of 1,010,572 watches.

Nike is conducting a pilot programme with AntChain for a new sneaker featuring an NFC chip. The programme enables consumers to access product origin information by tapping their smartphone against an NFC chip on the sneaker.

Scottish leather supplier Muirhead is urging airlines to ensure the traceability of leather during procurement. The advice follows the emergence of leather suppliers whose products – despite being marketed as sustainable, ethical and European – come from a complex and blurred supply chain, with hides imported from as far as South America.

De La Rue has announced a 3-year extension to its partnership with Mason Pearson, the distinguished British beauty brand.

With their sights firmly set on a future with no counterfeiting in it, more than 150 delegates came together for the 5th edition of the Traceability and Authentication Forum (TAF), held on 6-7 July, in New Delhi, India.

While, as individuals, we all use fingerprint biometrics in our routine life to unlock a phone or the door to the office, verify identities, and gain access to restricted areas, the tech giants have a different agenda. Various cases have been reported globally using palm vein technology for payments in the last few months.

De La Rue has announced that its Authentication division is on track to exceed £100 million in revenue for fiscal year 2024, demonstrating good growth versus 2023 results, and making it the fastest growing division in the company.

High security printing is based on features made available exclusively for that market. In the case of special inks, for example, this includes pigments with several modes of fluorescence, rare earth pigments, or different types of color shifting.

Established in 1952, the WCO (World Customs Organisation) is the global centre of customs experience, representing 185 customs administrations that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade.

A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPICI), in Germany, has developed a method that could make it more difficult to counterfeit products. The new and patented method makes it possible to produce unique, non-copyable, environment-friendly fluorescent patterns, quickly and at low cost.

A strange feature of the molecular building blocks of human (and other species) biology is that at a molecular level they exhibit a behaviour called ‘chirality’ – from the Greek word for handedness. Just like your right hand mirrors your left but will never fit comfortably into a left-handed glove, amino acids and sugars come in both right- and left-handed versions.

Leonardo Abdias, Director of Innovation and Markets at the Brazilian Mint (Casa da Moeda do Brasil – CMB) has announced measures to combat the illegal gold trade in the country, during an event held in May titled ‘Ways of Gold: the importance of traceability to prevent illegality and irregular extraction’.

It has been 10 years since a UK parliamentary committee reported on the meat contamination scandal that hit media headlines in 2013.

The Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference – the technical event for physical, digital and virtual document security – is now calling for papers.

Leibinger, the third generation family-owned German coding and marking systems company, used the interpack trade show in Düsseldorf to launch IQJET, which it describes as the ‘world’s first intelligent coding and marking system for products and packaging’.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is inviting feedback from stakeholders on ways to prevent counterfeiting and piracy.

Digimarc Corporation has signed a significant new contract to safeguard the integrity of a nationwide deposit-return recycling system and the authenticity of precious metals and construction materials.

Structural colours (surfaces structured to control the interference of light), featured strongly in the ‘New Optical Techniques for Security’ section of the Optical & Digital Document Security™ conference (ODDS), which took place in Prague, Czech Republic, in April 2023.

According to the Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, the imaging consumables industry is threatened by a €1.6 billion market in counterfeit supplies. Unfortunately, the problem of counterfeiting in this industry is nothing new.

Fedrigoni Group, a leader in the production of value-added speciality papers for luxury packaging and other applications, along-with self-adhesive materials for premium labels, has introduced a range of paper products and self-adhesive materials for brand protection in the commercial sector.

International security technology group Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) has acquired MECOMO AG, a specialist in tracking and tracing solutions, with the contract signed in May.

The authentication and brand protection industries are not known, for obvious reasons, for their willingness to share information. But a chance meeting at a Reconnaissance conference between a client and supplier is beginning to bear fruit.

Meta Materials Inc (previously Nanotech Security Corp) has been a pioneer in optically variable device technology for the past decade, with innovations in micro, nano, and now plasmonic structures. The company has also developed in-house secure foil production so that it can offer banknote stripes direct to customers.

IN Groupe, global specialist in identities and digital services, has signed an agreement with UK-based Portals, supplier of security features and paper, for the sale of Portals’ security components business in Bollate, Italy.

A collaborative research team from three universities has fabricated a 3D printed nano optical security label that provides 33 to the power of 100 possible combinations for security in optical anti-counterfeiting. (Author’s note: this figure, though unconfirmed, is significantly higher than the number of combinations in the MIT article.)

A variety of new security features for banknotes have been launched this year, some of which may well find their way into or be adapted for use in other documents requiring protection against counterfeiting.

India’s pharmaceutical industry is vital to global healthcare as it is the largest supplier of low-cost generics, vaccines, and affordable HIV medicines, as well as the third largest supplier in terms of volume, and 14th in terms of value.

With regulatory frameworks on critical raw materials (CRMs) high on the European economic and political agenda, the European Union has launched the project ‘MaDiTraCe’ (material and digital traceability for the certification of critical raw materials).

In the mid-2010s, a series of large agriscience companies introduced a range of technologies to help tackle counterfeit agricultural products. Among them was Supply Chain Track and Trace (SCTT) and Innovative Product Label Technology, both from BASF, together with DuPont’s Izon® holographic label and Bayer CropScience’s mobile app.

Reconnaissance International, publisher of Authentication & Brand News™ (ABN), is delighted to announce that Chander S Jeena has recently joined the company as Regional Director and co-editor of ABN.

CSM Tech, an Indian IT consulting company, has signed a multi-million-dollar contract with the Ministry of Economy and Recovery in Gabon to implement a forest e-governance system, along with log timber traceability and an electronic timber trade platform.

Eluceda has developed a rapid and portable solution to identify counterfeit human growth hormones (hgH), also known as Somatropin.

The Optical & Digital Document Security™ conference and tabletop exhibition, held in Prague, Czech Republic from 17-19 April 2023, attracted 172 delegates from 94 global organisations, along with 24 representatives from government and research academia.

While the traditional linear 1D barcode celebrates its 50th birthday, its days could be numbered as GS1 – the global body responsible for barcode standards – prepares for the worldwide acceptance of younger, 2D codes in retail outlets by the end of 2027.

In April, Amazon released its third annual brand protection report, with an update of activities to ensure authenticity of goods sold in its store, and to fight bad actors.

Hong Kong-based NanoMatriX has introduced a new high-security ink – called MatriX-Intaglio – aimed at protecting documents and currency from counterfeiting.

Brand protection specialist OpSec Security has acquired Zacco, an intellectual property management and protection company headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark and has announced that it is going for a public listing later this year.

The E4S OriginAll Luxury Transparency and Traceability Index, aka THE INDEX, is the world's first platform for measuring how effectively luxury brands are using technology to increase transparency and traceability, with a particular focus on technologies that enhance product security and product data.

Authentix has announced that it has acquired Netherlands-based Royal Joh Enschedé, a leading specialty printing and security solutions provider, from investment firm Nimbus.

Continuing its fight against counterfeiting in India, the Authentication Solution Providers' Association, in partnership with Messe Frankfurt India, has announced the next chapter of its flagship event, the Traceability & Authentication Forum.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. In this article, we take a look at four new developments to protect gold bars and commemorative coins from counterfeiting.

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.

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

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.

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.

In March 2022’s edition of Authentication & Brand News™, a technical feature looked at how digital watermark specialist Digimarc was working on invisible watermarks that could increase plastic recycling. The technology from Digimarc is amongst a basket of innovations that sit at the overlap between authentication and sustainability – in this case giving plastic packaging a ‘voice’.

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.

With headquarters in Rochester (NY), VerifyMe provides comprehensive brand protection and customer engagement solutions that combine secure product authentication, intelligent track and trace, and tailored communication strategies with industry-leading online retail monitoring capabilities.

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.

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.

The business of authentication is changing. Whilst the physical objects that we used to hold as important on account of their scarcity or beauty have not lost their value, the digital and virtual worlds that are being created around us bring their own cherished icons.

Many in our communities will be familiar with the benefits of international standards. These have figured in debates on mobile driving licences (mDL), tax stamps and now in establishing sustainability.

There are very few books to guide brand owners on their brand protection (BP) programmes, so ‘Brand Protection and the Global Risk of Product Counterfeits’ is a useful addition to that small library.

Looking back over the year that was, a number of key developments, covered in this newsletter during 2022, stand out in terms of their innovation and potential opportunities (or threats, as the case may be).

Readers of Authentication & Brand News™ will most likely be aware of Texas-based Authentix’s work with national governments providing fuel marking services, but perhaps you’re not so familiar with their other activities in protecting brands and securing documents.

Smartphone connectivity is something many industries take for granted. The enticing prospect of the smartphone for authentication is that the platform connects to the wider data world.

Korean company RMG, which specialises in hologram security, is taking its e-authentication technology to the US market.

A review of this year's headlines.

Japan’s Toshiba Corporation has unveiled what it terms a technology breakthrough in photoluminescence, namely a novel phosphor that delivers excellent solubility in polymers or organic solvents.

In the August edition of Authentication & Brand News™ we looked at how revisions to China’s trademark laws are offering greater protection to foreign brands.

Brand protection and supply chain security specialist VerifyMe has announced the renewal of its exclusive ink taggant partnership with HP Indigo for a further five years.

December’s Excellence in Holography awards, organised by industry trade body International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA), were presented at the annual Holography Conference Online earlier this month, and five out of the six winners were security-related.

Texas A&M University researchers have developed a method of imprinting a hidden magnetic tag, encoded with authentication information, within hardware during the parts fabrication process through additive manufacturing.

Panellists at a recent Consumer Goods Council of South Africa webinar said that the country has reached a tipping point with the alarming growth of illicit trade, and is now calling on civil society to assist in mitigating this scourge by reporting instances of illicit activity.

A research team at Hong Kong University is working on the development of an extremely precise 3D printing process that can be used to produce polarisation-encoded anti-counterfeiting labels.

Online marketplace eBay is trying to shake off its association with counterfeit products with a new advertising campaign that points to its recent efforts to guarantee authenticity of some product categories sold on its platform.

IQ Structures, a research and production organisation focused on nanotechnology engineering, part of the IQS Group, has introduced holograms that can be authenticated automatically. All it takes is a normal light and a mobile phone app.