PRODUCT TRACEABILITY AND AUTHENTICATION PROCEDURES

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of marking systems for the traceability and authentication of products.

[0002] More particularly, the invention relates to a method for traceability and authentication of a product. TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

[0003] Numerous technical solutions are available to identify and authenticate an original product and differentiate it from another original product of the same type or from a counterfeit. Many of these solutions involve individually marking products with security features that are difficult for a counterfeiter to reproduce.

[0004] For example, some official documents such as identity cards, passports and banknotes integrate holographic, magnetic, infrared and UV elements into a paper support with well-defined characteristics. The presence of multiple security elements makes it very difficult to reproduce these objects identically, because the production of the object and its marking are complex in themselves and require very specific technological tools. However, if in these solutions the defined nature of the support facilitates their manufacture and reading on a large scale, the complexity is no longer really an obstacle for counterfeiters who do not hesitate to equip themselves with modern and efficient technical means.

[0005] Other product marking solutions are less restrictive because they do not require a specific product design and the marking is carried out on the product packaging. For example, international patent application No. WO 03 / 038767 A1 proposes a method for the traceability and authentication of luxury products such as wine bottles. This document proposes assigning a bottle of wine to a cork and a capsule comprising a combination of two randomly generated codes, or two combinations of two codes, said code combinations being matched in a register of authentic products that the consumer can consult remotely. This solution requires the individual marking of each cork and capsule during bottling operations, as well as the tracking and recording of the combination of identification codes assigned to each product.The implementation of this solution therefore requires the modification of bottling and / or packaging processes, as well as the simultaneous creation of a database of authentic products, which is quite complex and requires infrastructure, which is justified when the marked product has sufficient value.

[0006] Patent application US2009 / 0283583-A1 discloses an article authentication system in which an identifier is printed on an article and a signature of said article is recorded in a database.

[0007] It is therefore now interesting to have a traceability and authentication solution that can economically satisfy an application to products of moderate value, whose selling price does not allow the use of complex implementation processes that would result in a noticeable increase in the price of the product.

[0008] For example, book publishing houses are particularly affected by this problem. Book publishing houses select works for which they accept the risk of financing the necessary steps before a book is put on sale, for example, they take care of the revision and correction of the text, the layout, the printing, the promotion, the diffusion, as well as the distribution of the books directly or through a network of resellers.

[0009] However, book publishing houses are currently facing a significant challenge in overcoming the economic losses generated each year by the sale of counterfeit books, which are easily found on the market at a lower price. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that it is currently very difficult to distinguish an original book from a pirated or counterfeit one, and by the presence of these counterfeit books in popular commercial networks, particularly on online sales websites.

[0010] Indeed, scanning and printing technologies now make it possible to clone a book cheaply in a short time, without design effort, and with a quality close to that of the printing used by the publishing house. Book publishers, and even more so buyers, therefore have difficulty identifying a book from an original edition.

[0011] In practice, this situation concerns all manufacturers of products that have a modest selling price that does not allow the use of expensive protection methods, and that reproduction methods allow them to produce their products without design investment at lower manufacturing costs.

[0012] There is therefore a need for an effective method of product traceability and authentication that can be applied at low cost. STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0013] To this end, the invention provides a method for traceability and authentication of products, in which a product is marked with an authenticating element and a tracking element. Said method further comprises the following steps: a step of provisioning a set of authenticating elements, a digital representation of each authenticating element being recorded in a database BD-EA “Authenticating Elements Database”; a step of generating a set of tracking elements, said tracking elements being recorded in a database BD-ESP “Product Tracking Elements Database”, said database BD-ESP being independent of the database BD-EA ; a product marking step, in which said product is physically associated with a combination formed by a unique tracking element, said set of tracking elements, and by a unique authenticating element of said set of authenticating elements, said combination of the tracking element and the authenticating element not being recorded during said marking step in the respective databases or in another database.

[0014] The method proposed by the invention is very advantageous due to the use of two independently created databases, which require minimal infrastructure and management. In addition, the creation of the databases can be completely separated from the product marking step.

[0015] In another embodiment, the step of generating a set of tracking elements is performed in conjunction with the step of marking products, the tracking element for marking said product being generated and saved in the database. BD-ESP when marking said product.

[0016] In one embodiment of the invention, the tracking element comprises a unique code comprising an alphanumeric string produced by a random or pseudo-random alphanumeric string generation algorithm. On the other hand, the authenticating element comprises a visual resulting from a chaotic process of integrating physical elements into a substrate.

[0017] The method of the invention allows the tracking and authentication of a product by means of a step of verifying the authenticity of a marked product in which: an authenticating element and a tracking element of said product are acquired and sent, by means of a terminal, to a remote control unit, and the control unit performs a search for said authenticating element in the database BD-EA, and a search for said tracking element in the database BD-ESP.

[0018] The authenticity verification is positive when the control unit notes on the one hand the existence of the authenticating element in the database BD-EA and the tracking element in the database BD-ESP, and on the other hand that said authenticating element is declared available in the database BD-EA and that said tracking element is declared available in the database BD-ESP.

[0019] The method of the invention may also include a step of updating the databases. BD-EA et BD-ESP in which following an initial positive verification of the authenticity of a marked product, the control unit declares the authenticating element and the tracking element of said product unavailable for a subsequent positive verification of the authenticity of another product.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the invention, the method comprises a step of creating a register of combinations of the authenticating elements with tracking elements, in which the authenticating element and the tracking element of the marked product are coupled in said register of combinations during a first use of said elements in the verification of authenticity of said product and when the verification concludes with authenticity.

[0021] According to one embodiment of the invention, the marking of products is carried out by means of at least one marking support comprising the tracking element and / or the authenticating element assigned to each product, said support not forming part of the product. Said support can be affixed to an element separate from the product but accompanying it such as its packaging, its instructions, or warranty card.

[0022] According to one embodiment of the invention, the tracking element is only readable when: the product is unpacked or ready for use, or when an external covering layer of said tracking element is visually altered in a non-reversible manner.

[0023] Similarly, the authenticating element is only visible when: the product is unpacked or ready for use, or when an external covering layer of said authenticating element is visually altered in a non-reversible manner. PRESENTATION OF FIGURES

[0024] Other advantages, aims and particular characteristics of the present invention will emerge from the description which follows, given for explanatory and in no way limiting purposes, with reference to the appended drawings. Figure 1 . A block diagram of an example of implementation of product marking and construction of databases according to the method of the invention. Figure 2 . An enlarged view of an example authenticator element in the form of a bubble code authenticator element. Figure 3 . An example of a tracking element in the form of an identification code. Figure 4 . A block diagram of an example of an authenticity verification according to the method of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0025] The invention proposes a method for traceability and authentication of a product, in which the product is marked with at least two different elements: a tracking element and an authenticating element. In practice, the method of the invention is used to maintain the traceability of products from a group of products of known origin, as well as to be able to identify and authenticate these products once they are put into service.

[0026] There fig. 1 schematically illustrates an embodiment of the traceability and authentication method of the invention. The method comprises the following steps, taken in any technically operable order: a step 200 of provisioning a set of authenticating elements 20, a digital representation of each authenticating element 20 being saved in a database BD-EA “Authenticating Elements Database”; a step 300 of generating a set of tracking elements 30, said tracking elements 30 being saved in a database BD-ESP “Product Tracking Elements Database”, said database BD-ESP being independent of the database BD-EA ; a product marking step 400, in which said product is physically associated with a combination formed by a unique authenticating element 20 of said set of authenticating elements, with a unique tracking element 30 of said set of tracking elements, and in which said combination is not recorded.

[0027] The invention thus proposes a method in which the operations necessary for the creation of databases are simplified. BD-EA et BD-ESP enabling product tracking and authentication. In fact, the creation of each database is done independently and can be completely detached from product tagging, which also minimizes the infrastructure requirements for their creation and maintenance.

[0028] On the other hand, a producer wishing to implement the method of the invention can maintain total confidentiality regarding the use he attributes to a set of authenticating elements. For example, when a producer wishes to implement the method of the invention, he will initially obtain a set of authenticating elements that have no predefined relationship with the products for which they will be used, but for which there is a prior register in a database of authenticating elements. BD-EA.

[0029] When the producer designates said set of authenticating elements for the marking of a group of products, it independently generates a set of tracking elements saved in a product tracking database. BD-ESP. The information enabling the identification of the said product group can thus be included in the product tracking database, or at least linked to the said database. The database BD-ESP can be managed, if necessary, only by the producer.

[0030] The method of the invention is also distinguished by the ease of implementation of the product marking step. Indeed, each product is randomly associated with an authenticating element 20 and a tracking element 30 without tracking and / or registering the combination of the tracking element with the authenticating element assigned to each of the products. It is thus possible to minimize the operations required when marking the products, without needing equipment to reread one or other of the elements as well as to maintain minimal infrastructure requirements for the databases. BD-EA et BD-ESP, because these databases are not configured to make an initial record of tracking element and authenticating element combinations for each product.

[0031] The authentication method of the invention nevertheless maintains a high degree of security due to the use of a unique authenticating element 20 ( Figure 2 ) and a tracking element 30 comprising a unique code for each marked product ( Figure 3 ).

[0032] The authenticating element 20 may correspond to a visual element 210 of complex or non-reproducible reproduction, making it possible to authenticate a product with a high degree of security.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the authenticating element is non-reproducible and comprises a visual 210 and / or a pattern resulting from a chaotic process of generation and integration of physical elements on a support. By non-reproducible is meant here that identical reproduction is impossible in practice, or at least very complex and expensive so that its reproduction is not technically or economically feasible for a counterfeiter.

[0034] For example, an authenticating element can be produced by the random dispersion on a support of sequins or filaments of different undetermined colors, textures and shapes. The authenticating element 30 can also be produced by the chaotic dispersion of bubbles in a polymer ( Fig. 2 ). A pattern thus formed has unique visual characteristics, as well as specific proportion and distribution relationships between the different graphic elements. The labels or authenticating elements marketed by Prooftag (registered trademark) are examples of authenticating elements according to the invention.

[0035] The “Authenticating Elements Database” BD-EA comprises a digital representation of each of the authenticating elements 20 assigned to a producer, which producer will decide to assign all or part of said authenticating elements to a group of products whose authenticity he wishes to be able to be verified by a subsequent holder of a product of said group of products. The representation of an authenticating element 20 in the database BD-EA may include one or more images of said authenticating element and / or one or more keys obtained by reading the authenticating element by a defined algorithm.

[0036] The verification of the authenticating element in the database is therefore carried out by means of a reading tool adapted to the acquisition of at least one image, where appropriate local processing of the image by an application implemented in the reading tool making it possible to determine the key(s) of the authenticating element, and the transmission of the at least one image, where appropriate and / or the key(s) determined locally, to a server of the Database. BD-EA via a communications network.

[0037] The tracking element 30 includes a unique code 310 assigned to each product to be marked ( Fig. 3 ). This unique code is preferably readable for reproduction. It consists, for example, of a sequence of alphanumeric characters or cryptographic symbols.

[0038] The unique codes 310 of the tracking elements 30 are generated randomly or pseudo-randomly by implementing an algorithm so that each identification code has an infinitesimal generation probability, in practice marginal with respect to the requirements of the method. The possible composition of the codes, that is to say the length and the characters and / or symbols with which the codes will be generated, will therefore allow the formation of a number of different codes much greater than the number of products to be marked so that a fraudulently generated code will have only a low probability of reproducing a lawfully generated code.

[0039] For example, if one wishes to mark 1000 products, the choice of a code composition from ten million possible combinations gives for each code that would be fraudulently generated a probability of only one in ten thousand that said fraudulent code corresponds to one of the thousand legitimate codes. Thus, a malicious person cannot by any logic find previously recorded tracking elements and his "chances" of finding such an element turn out to be low, the previous numerical example not being limiting.

[0040] In one embodiment, the unique codes 310 share part of their composition so as to enable the identification of the group of products to which said code has been assigned. For example, for an edition of books, the unique codes 310 assigned to a group of products comprise a randomly generated part that is unique for each code, and a part comprising the book's so-called ISBN number (standardized identification number for publications in the publishing field). In another embodiment, the tracking element 30 comprises a barcode or an optically readable matrix code comprising information on the identity of the product and / or access to a control unit.

[0041] There figure 4 schematically illustrates the process of an authenticity verification 500 and the tracking of a product marked P according to the invention. In this step of the method of the invention, a person holding a product marked P interrogates a control unit 50 to verify the existence of the authenticating element 20 and the tracking element 30 in the databases BD-EA et BD-ESP respectively. The control unit is for example a remote server having access to the databases BD-EA et BD-ESP.

[0042] In an embodiment in which the two databases are completely independent, each is queried separately by the servers providing access to them. In this configuration, the double query is transparent to a user of the reading tool implemented.

[0043] The authenticity verification step is carried out by means of a terminal T allowing acquisition and sending of the authenticating element 20, image(s) or key(s), and of the tracking element 30 of the marked product to the control unit 50. The terminal T corresponds for example to a mobile phone, a tablet, a computer, or another specific terminal comprising an optical reader and connected to a communication network. Preferably, the tracking element also comprises a matrix code (QR code) comprising an internet address to which the terminal must connect to interrogate the control unit 50.

[0044] In this verification step, the control unit is queried to independently determine whether each of the tracking element 30 and the authenticating element 20 is identified and available in the respective databases. BD-EA et BD-ESP. In one embodiment of the invention, the unique code 310 of the tracking element 30 is first entered or acquired with the terminal T, then said code is transmitted to the control unit 50 configured to perform a search in the database BD-ESP to check if the tracking element is identified and available. The control unit requires the transmission of the data of the authenticating element, image(s) and / or key(s), to continue the verification and search in the database BD-EA if the authenticating element is identified and available. Of course, the order of sending the elements to the control unit and their search in the databases BD-EA et BD-ESP can be reversed or done in parallel.

[0045] The control unit 50 is configured to authenticate a product following a positive verification Δ of a presence and availability of the authenticating element 20 in the database BD-EA and tracking item 30 in the database BD-ESP. On the contrary, the result of the verification is negative X when the presence and / or availability of at least one of said elements is not confirmed. In both cases, the control unit informs the terminal T of the result of the authenticity verification.

[0046] This detects whether or not the product carries a tracking element and a legitimate authenticating element determining its authenticity status.

[0047] If either or both tracking and authenticating elements are not available, an attempt to reuse said tracking and authenticating elements is detected, which is associated with a fraudulent attempt, for example for an inauthentic product.

[0048] By presence of an element is meant that said element is known in a database because a value or a characteristic of said element has been saved in said database. By available is meant that an authenticating element 20 or tracking element 30 is present in a database, and that said element has not been used during a previous authenticity verification step in which authenticity verification was recognized.

[0049] For this, during the first positive verification of a P-marked product, it is recorded in the databases BD-EA et BD-ESP that the authenticating element 20 and the tracking element 30 used for the authentication of a product are unavailable, each in their respective databases for subsequent positive verification. This embodiment makes it possible to prevent the copying of the elements marked on an original product, or their removal, to use them without authorization and mark a counterfeit product.

[0050] In one implementation, it is possible to increase the speed of searching in the database when the control unit is configured to check only the tracking elements and authenticating elements declared available. The speed thus improved progressively because the number of tracking elements and authenticating elements available to check in the databases, reduces in size as the products of the product group are identified, authenticated, and their authenticating and tracking elements are declared unavailable.

[0051] In one implementation, a registry of combinations of authenticating elements with tracking elements is created, in which an available authenticating element from the database BD-EA is coupled with an available tracking element from the database BD-ESP, and said combination of elements is recorded when the verification step has concluded that the product is authentic. It is thus possible to maintain traceability of the combinations of the tracking elements with the authenticating elements which have been assigned to the products for which traceability is desired, while retaining the ease of implementation of the marking and the construction of the databases proposed by the invention.

[0052] The authentication method of the invention is therefore advantageous in the after-sales monitoring of the products of a group or batch of products, because it not only allows the marking of the products allowing its authentication, but also allows traceability of the number of products that have been authenticated and the number of products not yet authenticated to be maintained. The method also makes it possible to easily detect counterfeits of a product by the simple absence of marking on the product or by the absence of elements authenticating and / or tracking a marked product in the databases. BD-EA et BD-ESP.

[0053] For marking a product, the authenticating element 20 and the tracking element 30 may be affixed to the product, for example by printing or affixing, or to ancillary documentation or packaging of the product. Preferably, both elements are only accessible or readable when the product is unpacked or ready for use. The tracking element may also have an outer covering layer requiring a non-reversible act of tampering to expose the tracking element, and thus alert a verifier that the tracking element has already been disclosed. For example, the tracking element may be under a scratch-off ink, a peelable or destructible label.

[0054] In one embodiment of the invention, a product is marked by means of a marking medium comprising an authenticating element and / or a tracking element. This embodiment is particularly advantageous when the transfer of the marking medium can be carried out by a low-cost method, and does not modify or only slightly affects the existing methods of manufacturing the product and its packaging. The marking medium may correspond to a paper medium comprising the authenticating element in the form of a label and the printing of a tracking element in the form of an identification code. Alternatively, the authenticating element and the tracking element may be produced in different marking media.

[0055] The marking support or supports are thus manufactured separately and added to the product subsequently, for example during the step of packaging the product in its packaging. This embodiment can be used to mark an edition of books of known origin, so as to insert said marking support into a book, before the plastic film packaging operations which are often carried out to protect the books before their sale. Advantageously, in one embodiment the authenticating element 20 is visible from the outside and the tracking element 30 is only accessible when the packaging has been opened / destroyed.

[0056] It is thus possible to implement a product traceability and authentication process in which the marking of the products and the construction of the database are simplified and do not require substantial modification of the production processes of the product or its packaging. In addition, the characteristics of construction and updating of the database make it possible to track and authenticate a group of products comprising a large number of products, while maintaining ease of construction and management of the databases.

[0057] The traceability and authentication process can advantageously be implemented at a low cost, and offers a high degree of security in the authentication of a product.

[0058] The traceability and authentication method of the invention applies to all kinds of products, such as, but not limited to, cosmetic, hygiene, food, clothing, electronic, decorative products, perfumes, books, jewelry and any other mass-market product. The method is particularly suitable for products comprising packaging or over-packaging to limit accessibility, in particular to the tracking element. For example, the product may correspond to a tube of toothpaste in its case, a bottle of perfume or cosmetic product in its box, a book in its over-packaging, a food product in a can or box, etc.

Claims

1. Method for traceability and authentication of products, wherein a product is marked with an authenticating element (20) and a monitoring element (30), said method being characterised in that it includes: - a step (200) of providing a set of authenticating elements (20), a digital representation of each authenticating element (20) being recorded in a BD-EA "Database of Authenticating Elements" database; - a step (300) of generating a set of monitoring elements (30), said monitoring elements being recorded in a BD-ESP "Database of Product Monitoring Elements" database, said BD-ESP database being independent of the BD-EA database; - a step (400) of marking products, in which said product is physically associated with a combination formed by a unique monitoring element (30), from said set of monitoring elements, and by a unique authenticating element (20) from said set of the authenticating elements, said combination of the monitoring element and of the authenticating element not being recorded during said marking step in the respective databases or in another database.

2. Method for traceability and authentication according to claim 1, wherein the step (300) of generating a set of monitoring elements is carried out conjointly with the step (400) of marking products, the monitoring element (30) for marking said product being generated and saved in the BD-ESP database during the marking of said product.

3. Method for traceability and authentication according to one of the previous claims, wherein the monitoring element (30) includes a unique code (310) including an alphanumerical string produced by an algorithm for random or pseudo-random generation of an alphanumerical string.

4. Method for traceability and authentication according to one of the previous claims, wherein the authenticating element (20) includes a visual (210) coming from a chaotic process of integrations of physical elements into a substrate.

5. Method for traceability and authentication according to one of the previous claims, including a step (500) of verifying the authenticity of a marked product (P) in which: - an authenticating element (20) and a monitoring element (30) of said product are acquired and sent, via a terminal (T), to a remote verification unit (50), and - the verification unit (50) carries out a search for said authenticating element (20) in the BD-EA database, and a search for said monitoring element (30) in the BD-ESP database.

6. Method for traceability and authentication according to claim 5, wherein the verification of authenticity is positive when the verification unit (50) notes on the one hand the existence of the authenticating element (20) in the BD-EA database and of the monitoring element (30) in the BD-ESP database, and on the other hand said authenticating element is declared available in the BD-EA database and said monitoring element is declared available in the BD-ESP database.

7. Method for traceability and authentication according to one of claims 5 or 6, including a step of updating the BD-EA and BD-ESP databases in which after a first positive verification of the authenticity of a marked product, the verification unit (50) declares the authenticating element (20) and the monitoring element (30) of said product unavailable for a later positive verification of the authenticity of another product.

8. Method for traceability and authentication according to one of the previous claims, including a step of creating a register of the combinations of the authenticating elements with monitoring elements, in which the authenticating element (20) and the monitoring element (30) of the marked product are coupled in said register of the combinations during a first use of said elements in the verification of the authenticity of said product and when the verification concludes the authenticity.

9. Method for traceability and authentication according to one of the previous claims, wherein the marking of products is carried out via at least one marking support including the monitoring element and / or the authenticating element assigned to each product, said support not forming part of the product.

10. Method for traceability and authentication according to one of the previous claims, wherein the monitoring element (30) is only readable when: - the product is unpackaged or ready to be used, and / or - when an outer covering layer of said monitoring element (30) is visually altered in a non-reversible manner.

11. Method for traceability and authentication according to claim 10, wherein the authenticating element (20) is further only visible when: - the product is unpackaged or ready to be used, and / or - when an outer covering layer of said authenticating element (20) is visually altered in a non-reversible manner.