Heidelberg seeks partners for European anti-counterfeiting pilots

German print specialist Heidelberg is looking for partners to help pilot a new anti-counterfeiting technology which encourages consumers to verify and authenticate products using a smartphone.

The two-part 1-TAG combines a coding element, such as a 2D datamatrix or QR code, with a unique authentication feature based on an individually-unique pattern of randomly positioned copper filaments.

Labels are made by Heidelberg and shipped to the brand owner for application to products. During the final stages of production, an image of the random pattern is generated, encrypted and coded into the 2D barcode, along with any other information the brand owner wants to include, according to Alan Wymer, senior product manager for the 1-TAG project at Heidelberg.

"The tag does not rely on a network connection, nor does it use a database, so the consumer can test a product on the spot," Wymer told SecuringPharma.com.

The 1-TAG system "puts a viable solution into the hands of consumers who are the ultimate stakeholder," said Wymer.

And as the consumer is empowered to identify counterfeit product at point of sale, pressure is applied backward through the distribution chain to ensure counterfeit product does not enter the supply chain in the first place, he added.

"We're focusing on product areas where counterfeiting presents risks to consumer health and safety, as well as items with high personal value," said Wymer, adding that interest in the 1-TAG technology is already being received from companies in the premium apparel, premium beverage and cosmetics sectors.

Pharmaceuticals is the "pinnacle" of anti-counterfeiting objectives given the enormous impact on health, according to Wymer, but he believes efforts to implement anti-counterfeiting technologies are somewhat hampered by high levels of regulation and the evolving legislative landscape.

Heidelberg is still in the development phase for the 1-TAG technology and - along with distribution partner Leo Burnett - is trying to identify partners in major world markets in order to "gain learning and guide refinement of the technology."

To date the company has focused its efforts in China, given the high volume of counterfeit products in circulation, but wants to launch pilots quickly in Europe and the USA where smartphone usage is considerably higher (at 23 per cent and 50 per cent of the population, respectively).

The most recent BASCAP report estimates the value of counterfeit products in 2008 at $650bn, while brand owner spend on counterfeit protection in 2008 was $4.8bn, or a mere 0.73 per cent.

"There is a disconnect between the sales and marketing arms of brands promoting themselves and the legal or operations that deal in the shadows trying to protect themselves by trying to catch counterfeiters," according to Heidelberg.

"To stop counterfeiting, we need to put the best technology into the hands of the people who care the most: Consumers."