Authentication method for pharmaceutical products having symmetrically coded packaging

• US 7,980,467 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2008
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia, Lapstun, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): ST CYR, DANIEL
• Application Number:
  US12/056,260
• Publication Number:
  US 20080209512A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,210 Days
• Field of Search: 235/385, 235/380, 235/382, 235/462.01, 235/462.25, 235/494
• US Class Current: 235/385
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0185 Product, service or business identity fraud
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/004 using digital security elements, e.g. information coded on a magnetic thread or strip
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/20 Manipulating the length of blocks of bits, e.g. padding or block truncation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A method for authenticating a pharmaceutical product, the pharmaceutical product being associated with packaging having disposed thereon or therein coded data including a number of coded data portions, each coded data portion being indicative of an identity of the pharmaceutical product and at least part of a digital signature of at least part of the identity. The method includes, using a sensing device to sense at least one coded data portion. A processor then determines the identity at least one determined signature part, and uses these to authenticate the pharmaceutical product. The coded data is arranged in accordance with a n-fold rotationally symmetric layout. The layout encodes data comprising a sequence of an integer multiple m of n-symbols. Each encoded symbol is distributed at n-locations about a center of rotational symmetry such that decoding the symbols produces n-representations of the data each comprising a different cyclic shift of the data.

Claims

1. A method for authenticating a pharmaceutical product, the pharmaceutical product being associated with packaging having disposed thereon or therein coded data including a number of coded data portions, each coded data portion being indicative of an identity of the pharmaceutical product and at least part of a signature, the signature being a digital signature of at least part of the identity and being encoded within a plurality of coded data portions, wherein the method includes:

in a sensing device;

sensing at least one coded data portion; and

,

generating, using the sensed coded data portion, indicating data indicative of;

the identity; and

,

the at least one signature part;

in a processor;

determining, from the indicating data;

a determined identity; and

,

at least one determined signature part;

authenticating the pharmaceutical product using the determined identity and the at least one determined signature part,

wherein the coded data is arranged in accordance with at least one layout having n-fold rotational symmetry, where n is at least two, the layout encoding orientation-indicating data comprising a sequence of an integer multiple m of n symbols, where m is one or more, each encoded symbol being distributed at n locations about a centre of rotational symmetry of the layout such that decoding the symbols at each of the n orientations of the layout produces n representations of the orientation-indicating data, each representation comprising a different cyclic shift of the orientation-indicating data and being indicative of the degree of rotation of the layout.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method includes, in the processor:

obtaining, using the identity, a key from a secure data store, the secure data store storing at least one secret key;

generating, using the determined identity and the key, a generated signature; and

,

comparing the at least one determined signature part and the generated signature to thereby authenticate the pharmaceutical product.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the secure data store forms an internal memory of the processor.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method includes, in the processor:

in the sensing device;

sensing a plurality of coded data portions; and

,

generating, using the sensed coded data portions, indicating data indicative of the signature;

in a processor;

determining, from the indicating data, a determined signature;

determining, using the identity, a key;

generating, using the determined signature and the key, a generated identity; and

,

comparing the determined identity and the generated identity to thereby authenticate the pharmaceutical product.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the method includes, in the processor:

obtaining the key from a local data store using the identity; and

,

obtaining the key from a remote data store using the identity, if the key cannot be obtained from the local data store.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method includes in the at least one of the sensing device and the processor:

determining when sufficient

in a sensing device;

sensing at least one coded data portion; and

,

generating, using the sensed coded data portion, indicating data indicative of;

the identity; and

,

the at least one signature part;

in a processor;

determining, from the indicating data;

a determined identity; and

,

at least one determined signature part;

authenticating the pharmaceutical product using the determined identity and the at least one determined signature part.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the identity is formed at least in part from at least one of:

a coded data portion identity;

an identity of the pharmaceutical product;

an EPC;

an identity of the packaging; and

,

an identity of a region of the packaging.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method includes displaying at least one of:

results of authentication;

tracking information; and

,

product information.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein packaging includes at least one of:

a blister pack;

a bottle;

a bottle lid;

a label;

a box; and

,

a leaflet.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is substantially invisible to an unaided human.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is printed on the surface using at least one of:

an invisible ink; and

,

an infrared-absorptive ink.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is provided substantially coincident with visible human-readable information.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the coded includes a number of coded data portions, and wherein at least some of the coded data portions encode at least one of:

a location of the respective coded data portion;

a position of the respective coded data portion on the surface;

a size of the coded data portions;

a signature part;

a size of a signature;

an identity of a signature part;

units of indicated locations; and

,

at least part of a data object, the entire data object being encoded at least once by a plurality of coded data portions.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the data object includes at least one of:

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) data;

text data;

image data;

audio data;

video data;

application data;

contact data;

information;

business card data; and

,

directory data.

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein the coded data includes at least one of:

redundant data;

data allowing error correction;

Reed-Solomon data; and

,

Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) data.

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein the digital signature includes at least one of:

a random number associated with the identity;

a keyed hash of at least the identity;

a keyed hash of at least the identity produced using a private key, and verifiable using a corresponding public key;

cipher-text produced by encrypting at least the identity;

cipher-text produced by encrypting at least the identity and a random number; and

,

cipher-text produced using a private key, and verifiable using a corresponding public key.