Product authentication system and method
First Claim
1. A product label comprising a code applied thereon, wherein the code is invisible under visible light and includes a UV ink to render the code visible and decipherable under UV light and an IR ink to render a part of the code to be visible under concentrated IR light said IR ink made visible by up-converting phosphor contained therein.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A product authentication system and method employs a unique mark that is simple and cost-effective to apply, but provides several layers of protection, including anti-counterfeit and anti-diversion, against counterfeiters. The unique mark contains a product control code that is printed in invisible ink comprising a UV ink and an IR ink. The first layer of protection is invisibility. The second layer of protection is the code itself. The third layer of protection is the presence of the IR ink in the invisible code. The fourth layer of protection is the IR emitting characteristics of the invisible code.
-
Citations
20 Claims
- 1. A product label comprising a code applied thereon, wherein the code is invisible under visible light and includes a UV ink to render the code visible and decipherable under UV light and an IR ink to render a part of the code to be visible under concentrated IR light said IR ink made visible by up-converting phosphor contained therein.
- 6. An authentication mark placed on a substrate comprising a code that is invisible under visible light, said code including a UV portion that is visible and decipherable when illuminated with UV light and an IR portion that is visible when illuminated with concentrated IR light said IR portion produced by IR ink containing up-converting phosphor, wherein positions of the UV and IR portions have been predefined relative to each other, and said substrate comprises a product label.
-
11. A method of verifying an authenticity of a product, comprising the steps of:
-
exposing the product under a UV light source;
locating at least a portion of a code that is visible and decipherable under the UV light source said code having an IR portion, said IR portion produced by IR ink containing up-converting phosphor;
exposing IR portion of the code to a concentrated IR light; and
confirming a light emission in response to the concentrated IR light. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
- 18. A product label comprising a mark applied thereon using ink containing a down-converting phosphor and an up-converting phosphor, wherein the mark is not visible when illuminated under visible light, and at least a portion of the mark is visible when exposed to a diffuse UV light source and wherein an amount of the up-converting phosphor is controlled so that another portion of the mark is visible when illuminated under a concentrated IR light source but is not visible under a diffuse IR light source.
Specification