Refund processing system, refund processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide a refund processing system for preventing refund according to return when a malicious purchaser replaces a purchased article with a counterfeit article and then returns the article.SOLUTION: In the EC platform 10, the refund processing system 100 includes the registration unit 102 that registers the shipment data including the product information for identifying the product to be shipped and the shipment destination information of the product in the storage unit 104, the acquisition unit 106 that acquires the return data including the result of the authenticity determination of the product performed after the product is returned, the product information for identifying the returned product, and the return source information of the product, and the determination unit 108 that determines whether to permit the refund process for the returned product based on the shipment data and the return data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refund processing system, a refund processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a sales data management system that verifies whether an item brought into a store or the like for return or the like was actually sold at that store or the like. Patent Document 2 describes a technology for collectively obtaining multiple pieces of information necessary for return processing from receipt information. Patent Document 3 describes marking the aforementioned anti-counterfeit serial code on a product. Patent Document 4 describes an anti-counterfeit laminate that is difficult to counterfeit. [Prior art document] [Patent documents] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-178987 [Patent Document 2] JP 2023-153242 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2004-342066 A [Patent Document 4] JP 2024-010517 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] On platforms where goods are traded, such as e-commerce platforms, if a malicious purchaser replaces a purchased product with a counterfeit and then returns it, the malicious purchaser may be refunded for the return, which could have a negative impact on processing on the platform. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] A first aspect of the present invention provides a refund processing system, comprising: a registration unit that registers shipping data, including product information identifying a product to be shipped and shipping destination information for the product, in a storage unit; an acquisition unit that acquires return data, including a result of authenticity assessment of the product performed after the product is returned, product information identifying the returned product, and return source information for the product; and a determination unit that determines whether to permit a refund for the returned product based on the shipping data and the return data.

[0005] In the refund processing system, the judgment unit may allow the refund process for the returned product if, based on the shipping data and the return data, the returned product meets predetermined conditions for products transported from the shipper to the destination, and the result of an authenticity judgment of the product conducted after the product was returned indicates that the product is genuine.

[0006] In any of the refund processing systems, the determination unit may allow the refund process for the returned product if, based on the shipping data and the return data, the predetermined condition is met that the type of the returned product is the same as the type of product transported from the shipper to the destination, and the result of the product authenticity determination conducted after the product was returned indicates that the product is genuine.

[0007] In any of the refund processing systems, the refund information may include identification information that uniquely identifies the product. The determination unit may permit the refund process for the returned product when, based on the shipping data and the return data, the returned product satisfies the predetermined condition that the returned product is identical to the product delivered from the shipper to the shipping destination, and when a result of authenticity determination of the returned product indicates that the product is genuine.

[0008] In any of the refund processing systems, the information may include identification information that uniquely identifies the product. The registration unit may register the shipping data in the storage unit, the shipping data including the product information, the shipping destination information, and authentication information that certifies that the product, which has been determined to be authentic by a product authenticity assessment performed before the product is shipped, has been delivered to the shipping destination. The determination unit may permit the refund process for the returned product when, based on the shipping data and the return data, the predetermined conditions are met: the returned product is identical to the product delivered to the shipping destination from the shipper, and the authentication information indicates that the result of the product authenticity assessment proves that the product, which is an authentic product, has been delivered to the shipping destination, and the result of the product authenticity assessment performed after the product is returned, indicates that the product is authentic.

[0009] In any of the refund processing systems, the registration unit may register in the memory unit the shipping data, which includes as the authentication information the authentication result provided by the authentication device in response to a request to the authentication device to certify that the product determined to be genuine by a product authenticity assessment has been delivered to the shipping destination before the product is shipped.

[0010] In any of the refund processing systems, the authenticity of the product may be determined by reading a label attached to the product and including authenticity determination information using a reading device.

[0011] In any of the refund processing systems, the label may be formed on a transparent substrate with a pattern that can be optically read by the reading device as the authenticity determination information.

[0012] In any of the refund processing systems, the authenticity determination information may include the product information.

[0013] In any of the refund processing systems, the registration unit may register the shipping data in the storage unit, the shipping data including the product information obtained by reading the label with the reading device, the shipping destination information, and authentication information proving that the product determined to be genuine by a product authenticity assessment performed before the product is shipped will be delivered to the shipping destination.The determination unit may permit the refund process for the returned product if, based on the shipping data and the return data, the returned product satisfies predetermined conditions for products delivered from a shipper to a shipping destination and the result of a product authenticity assessment performed after the product is returned indicates that the product is genuine.

[0014] In any of the refund processing systems, the registration unit may register, in the storage unit, the shipping data including, as the authentication information, an authentication result provided by the authentication device in response to a request to the authentication device to certify that the product determined to be genuine by a product authenticity assessment has been delivered to a shipping destination before the product is shipped. The authentication device may perform authentication processing based on history information indicating that the label has been read by the reading device in a predetermined process before the product is shipped.

[0015] In any of the refund processing systems, the history information indicating that the label was read by the reading device in the predetermined process may be managed by a blockchain.

[0016] A second aspect of the present invention provides a refund processing method, comprising the steps of: a registration unit registering, in a storage unit, shipping data including product information identifying a product to be shipped and shipping destination information for the product; an acquisition unit acquiring return data including a result of product authenticity assessment performed after the product is returned, product information identifying the returned product, and return source information for the product; and a determination unit determining, based on the shipping data and the return data, whether to permit the refund process for the returned product.

[0017] In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program that causes a computer to function as a "unit." When executed by the computer, the program causes the computer to function as a registration unit that registers product information identifying a product to be shipped and shipping data including shipping destination information for the product in a storage unit, an acquisition unit that acquires return data including the result of a product authenticity assessment performed after the product is returned, product information identifying the returned product, and information about the return source of the product, and a determination unit that determines whether to allow a refund process for the returned product based on the shipping data and the return data.

[0018] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the features of the present invention, and subcombinations of these features may also be inventions. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 shows an example of the configuration of an EC platform 10 according to a comparative example. [Figure 2] 1 shows an example of the configuration of an EC platform 10 including a refund processing system 100 according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 shows an example of a label 200 for preventing counterfeiting of a product according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is an example of shipping data including product information and shipping destination information. [Figure 5] 10 is an example of returned goods data including product information of the returned goods and information on the sender of the returned goods. [Figure 6] This is an example of a conceptual diagram using blockchain from manufacturers to retail warehouses. [Figure 7] 1 shows another comparative example of the configuration of the EC platform. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of an EC platform according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is another example of the configuration of an EC platform according to the embodiment. [Figure 10]10 is an example of shipping data in the embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9. [Figure 11] 10 is an example of return data in the embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9. [Figure 12] 12 illustrates an example computer 1200 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0021] FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an EC platform 10 according to a comparative example. The EC platform 10 (Electronic Commerce Platform) is a platform through which a purchaser 20 purchases a target product. The purchaser 20 purchases the target product from the EC platform 10 by making a payment equivalent to the price of the target product, a delivery fee, etc., via a payment service company 30. The EC platform 10 includes an order processing device 12, an EC warehouse 14, and a return warehouse 16.

[0022] The EC platform 10 may be an EC platform targeting a primary distribution market where target products are sold directly by manufacturers or distributed by retailers or the like of the target products. Products targeted for distribution on the EC platform 10 may be various products such as shoes, clothes, leather goods, electrical appliances, watches, medical devices, cosmetics, toys, or jewelry. As another example, the market targeted by the EC platform 10 may be a secondary distribution market for brand-name or luxury goods. In this case, the seller of the target product may be a secondary distribution retailer or an individual such as a collector of luxury goods. The seller of the target product may register on the EC platform 10 and conduct transactions with buyers 20 via the EC platform 10.

[0023] Regardless of whether the EC platform 10 is a primary market or a secondary market, there is a high risk of counterfeit goods being distributed, especially if the goods are branded or luxury items. If counterfeit goods are distributed, this could damage the credibility of the parties involved in the transaction on the EC platform 10 or the EC platform 10 itself.

[0024] The EC platform 10 is a platform for a purchaser 20 to select and purchase products, such as a website or an application for a mobile device such as a smartphone. For example, the EC platform 10 is provided via the Internet, but the form in which the EC platform 10 is provided is not limited to this. The seller of the products on the EC platform 10 may be different from the operating company of the EC platform 10, and supplies the products to the EC platform 10 in advance.

[0025] The order processing device 12 is a device for processing orders from purchasers 20. When the order processing device 12 receives an order from the purchaser 20 and confirms that the purchaser 20 has made a payment processing request to the payment service company 30, it prompts the EC warehouse 14 to ship the product in accordance with the order of the purchaser 20. On the other hand, if the target product is to be returned, the order processing device 12 processes the order of the purchaser 20 by comparing it with the order at the time of purchasing the target product, and contacts the EC warehouse 14 and the return warehouse 16 to process the return.

[0026] The EC warehouse 14 is a warehouse for storing the target product until an order is received from the purchaser 20. The EC warehouse 14 ships the target product in response to the order processing device 12 processing the order of the purchaser 20 and the payment service company 30 processing the payment for the purchase amount of the target product. The payment processing may be performed between the payment service company 30 and the seller of the product via the EC platform 10.

[0027] The return warehouse 16 is a warehouse that temporarily stores the returned product when it is returned by the purchaser 20. Once the product stored in the return warehouse 16 is inspected, it is returned to the EC warehouse 14 and stored in the EC warehouse 14 until another order is received.

[0028] The purchaser 20 is a user of the EC platform 10 and a purchaser of the target product. The purchaser 20 may be a natural person or a corporation. The purchaser 20 may have registered their name and / or address or residence as a member in order to use the EC platform 10.

[0029] The payment service company 30 provides a service for processing the payment of money according to the product price and delivery fee when the purchaser 20 purchases the target product. As an example, the payment service company 30 is a payment agency such as a credit card payment agency, a barcode payment agency, a two-dimensional code (e.g., QR Code (registered trademark)) payment agency, a mobile phone carrier payment agency, an online payment agency using electronic money, a deferred payment agency, or an agency that handles electronic payment transactions via a bank account.

[0030] The following describes the process that is performed when an order for purchasing a target product is placed by a purchaser 20 and the purchaser 20 returns the target product, and the problems that may arise in that case, when using the EC platform 10 according to the comparative example. The process includes steps S102 to S120.

[0031] The purchaser 20 places an order to purchase the target product with the order processing device 12 (S102). The order processing device 12 processes the order from the purchaser 20 and notifies the EC warehouse 14 that an order to purchase the target product has been placed (S104).

[0032] Next, the purchaser 20 performs payment processing for the fee together with or following the order for the target product (S106). The payment processing for the fee is carried out by the payment service company 30, which is a payment agent for electronic commerce, and the fee is paid to the seller via the EC platform 10.

[0033] Once the purchaser 20 has paid the fee, the product is shipped from the EC warehouse 14 to the purchaser 20 (S108). If the purchaser 20 is satisfied with the delivered product, the transaction is completed and the problems described below do not occur.

[0034] If the purchaser 20 is not satisfied with the delivered product, he or she will carry out a return procedure with the EC platform 10. In this case, problems may arise.

[0035] In many EC platforms 10, in order to increase customer satisfaction of the purchaser 20, if the purchaser 20 is not satisfied with the product, the purchaser 20 can return the product to the EC platform 10. In this case, if the purchaser 20 acts with malicious intent, the following problems may arise.

[0036] A malicious purchaser 20 may intentionally switch the target product from the genuine product to a counterfeit product. The purchaser 20 may return the counterfeit target product to the EC platform 10, falsely representing it as the genuine product. In the event of such a malicious person, the target product, including the counterfeit product, will be returned to the EC platform 10.

[0037] The following describes the process performed in the return processing. First, the purchaser 20 contacts the order processing device 12 to inform them that they will be returning the target product (S110). Upon receiving the contact from the purchaser 20, the order processing device 12 informs the EC warehouse 14 and the return warehouse 16 that the target product will be returned (S112).

[0038] After notifying the order processing device 12 of the return, the purchaser 20 returns the target product to the return warehouse 16 of the EC platform 10 (S114), where the returned product is stored in the return warehouse 16 and inspected to determine whether it is genuine. The purchaser 20 returns the target product, or after returning the target product, requests a refund of the price of the target product from the payment service company 30 (S116). Once the product has been returned to the return warehouse 16 and inspection has been carried out, the payment service company 30 executes a refund process for the purchaser 20 in response to the refund request from the purchaser 20 (S118).

[0039] After inspecting the returned products at the EC platform 10, the returned products are returned from the return warehouse 16 to the EC warehouse 14 (S120). If the reading device 40 and the refund processing system 100 as in the embodiment described below are not implemented, the inspection to determine whether the product is genuine may not be sufficient. Although the EC platform 10 inspects the returned products, if the inspection is insufficient, counterfeit products that have been mixed in through malicious substitution may be returned from the return warehouse 16 to the EC warehouse 14.

[0040] The payment service company 30 often provides user-friendly service to the purchaser 20, and will proactively try to process a refund for the purchaser 20 when the purchaser 20 returns the product to the return warehouse 16. Therefore, if the product is not inspected properly when it is returned from the return warehouse 16 to the EC warehouse 14, the malicious purchaser 20 will end up with a new product that has been replaced with a counterfeit product, and the refunded price for the product.

[0041] On the other hand, the seller of the target product will not be able to make any profit from the target product, and the counterfeit product will be returned to the EC warehouse. In some EC platforms 10, sellers who distribute counterfeit products may be excluded from the EC platform 10 as problematic sellers. Therefore, sellers of the target product may be at risk of being excluded from the EC platform 10 as distributors of counterfeit products, without being able to make any profit from the target product.

[0042] In such a case, the seller of the target product cannot safely list the product on the EC platform 10. Furthermore, the purchaser 20 cannot safely use the EC platform 10, and the operating company of the EC platform 10 cannot increase the reliability of the EC platform 10 as a market.

[0043] Furthermore, the goods stored in the EC warehouse 14 of the EC platform 10 may be managed in a database of the EC platform 10. If counterfeit products are mixed in, a discrepancy may occur between the product model numbers managed in the database and the model numbers of the products actually stored in the warehouse, which may cause problems with the completeness of the database, and may lead to system management problems such as an increase in the load on the order processing device 12 due to an increase in returns from customers dissatisfied with the counterfeit products.

[0044] Furthermore, if a purchaser 20 distributes counterfeit goods, but the seller is mistakenly identified as the distributor of the counterfeit goods and the seller is removed from the EC platform 10, additional processing such as removal processing, correction of the misidentification, re-registration of the seller, etc. may be required. This may result in the implementation of exception processing in the system, an increase in processing, etc., and may cause system trouble.

[0045] Such problems can be resolved by introducing the refund processing system 100 according to the embodiment. An example of the configuration of the EC platform 10 including the refund processing system 100 according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0046] Unlike the comparative example of FIG. 1 , the EC platform 10 according to the embodiment includes a reading device 40 and a refund processing system 100. In the description of this embodiment, components different from the EC platform 10 of FIG. 1 will be described in detail, and some components common to the EC platform 10 of FIG. 1 may be omitted. A seller of a target product delivers a product to an EC warehouse 14, affixing a label associated with product information identifying the product to be shipped, such as the manufacturer and product model number of the target product. The label may be affixed to a location that is not visible from the outside when the purchaser 20 uses the target product, and where the presence of the label is difficult to notice during normal use of the target product. The label affixed to the product is configured in a manner that makes it difficult to counterfeit. An example of such a label will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

[0047] The reader 40 is a device for reading the label. The refund processing system 100 includes a registration unit 102, a storage unit 104, an acquisition unit 106, and a determination unit 108.

[0048] The registration unit 102 registers shipping data, including product information identifying the product to be shipped and product shipping destination information, in the storage unit 104. The acquisition unit 106 acquires return data, including the result of product authenticity assessment performed after the product is returned, product information identifying the returned product, and product return source information. The product return source information may include the name, address, or residence of the purchaser 20 who returned the target product, and the purchaser 20's membership ID on the EC platform 10. The determination unit 108 determines whether to allow a refund for the returned product based on the shipping data and return data.

[0049] The process performed by the EC platform in the embodiment of Fig. 2 includes steps S202 to S228. A refund processing method based on the process including steps S202 to S228 may be implemented.

[0050] The purchaser 20 places an order for the target product with the order processing device 12 (S202). The order processing device 12 sends to the registration unit 102 the fact that an order has been placed, data such as the shipping destination, etc.

[0051] The order processing device 12 notifies the EC warehouse 14 that an order for purchasing the target product has been placed (S204). The purchaser 20 places an order for the target product, or after placing an order for the target product, makes payment for the purchase of the target product to the payment service company 30 (S206).

[0052] After the order to purchase the target product and the payment are confirmed, the target product is prepared for shipment at the EC warehouse 14. At the EC warehouse 14, the label is read by the reading device 40, and the registration unit 102 registers product information identifying the product to be shipped and shipping data including product shipping destination information in association with the label in the storage unit 104 (S208). Here, the product information may include information on the product's appearance, such as color scheme, shape, pattern, etc., as well as its function and structure.

[0053] The target product is shipped from the EC warehouse 14 to the purchaser 20 (S210). If the purchaser 20 is satisfied with the target product, the transaction is completed. If the purchaser 20 is not satisfied with the target product, the purchaser 20 may return the target product to the EC platform 10. In this case, as in the example of FIG. 1, a malicious purchaser 20 may intentionally replace a new product with a counterfeit product and then return the product. Unlike the example of FIG. 1, the embodiment shown in the figure prevents the counterfeit product from being returned from the return warehouse 16 to the EC warehouse 14, and prevents the payment service company 30 from refunding the purchaser 20 who returned the counterfeit product. This process is described below.

[0054] The purchaser 20 notifies the order processing device 12 that the purchaser 20 will return the target product (S212). Upon receiving the notification from the purchaser 20, the order processing device 12 notifies the EC warehouse 14 and the return warehouse 16 that the target product will be returned (S214).

[0055] After notifying the order processing device 12 of the return, the purchaser 20 returns the target product to the return warehouse 16 of the EC platform 10 (S216), and the returned product is stored in the return warehouse 16. The purchaser 20 returns the target product, or after returning the target product, requests a refund for the price of the target product from the payment service company 30 (S218). Here, in this embodiment, the label is read by the reading device 40 before the product is returned from the return warehouse 16 to the EC warehouse 14 (S220). In this case, if a label is not attached to the product, the product is determined to be an inauthentic product. Even if a label is attached, the authenticity is determined by reading the label attached to the product with the reading device 40.

[0056] The acquisition unit 106 acquires the result of the authenticity determination, the product information, and the return source information, and transmits the acquired return data to the determination unit 108. The determination unit 108 determines whether the payment service company 30 may issue a refund to the purchaser 20 based on the shipping data and the return data (S222). Here, based on the shipping data and the return data, the determination unit 108 allows the refund process for the returned product if the returned product meets predetermined conditions for products transported from the shipper to the shipping destination, and the result of the product authenticity determination performed after the product was returned indicates that the product is genuine.

[0057] The predetermined condition may be that the type of returned product is the same as the type of product delivered from the sender to the destination. That is, the determination unit 108 may authorize a refund for the returned product if, based on the shipping data and return data, the type of returned product meets the predetermined condition of being the same as the type of product delivered from the sender to the destination, and if the result of the product authenticity assessment conducted after the product is returned indicates that the product is genuine. This is effective, for example, when the label is not linked to information that uniquely identifies the product itself, i.e., when the label is created for each type of product, such as the manufacturer and model number, rather than for each individual product. In this case, the label can be used for each type, reducing label production costs. This condition is also effective when the product's value is determined by its type and quantity, and substitutes of the same type exist, making it a so-called unspecified product.

[0058] As another example, the predetermined condition may be that the purchaser's ID matches the shipping data and the return data, or that the product's appearance features, structure, and / or functions match. In particular, the reading device 40 may acquire images of the target product both before shipping and after return, and the determination unit 108 may determine whether the images match based on machine learning. Furthermore, if a product has a set expiration date, the predetermined condition may be that the product's expiration date remains longer than the predetermined period. As another example, a predetermined returnable period may be set for the product, and the predetermined condition may include determining whether the product is returned within the returnable period.

[0059] On the other hand, if the result of the authenticity determination indicates that the product is not genuine or if the returned product does not satisfy the predetermined conditions for the product delivered from the shipper to the destination, the determination unit 108 determines not to permit the refund process. The determination unit 108 outputs the determination result that the refund process is permitted or that the refund process is not permitted to the system owned by the payment service company 30 (S224).

[0060] The payment service company 30 performs the refund process to the purchaser 20 in response to the determination result that the refund process is permitted (S226). On the other hand, in this embodiment, if the determination result is that the refund process is not permitted, the payment service company 30 does not perform the refund process to the purchaser 20. The EC platform 10 makes an inquiry to the purchaser 20, and if there is suspicion of intentional mixing of counterfeit goods, takes measures such as consulting the police.

[0061] Thereafter, or before or after S222 to S226, the products that are determined to be genuine through the authenticity determination are returned from the returned goods warehouse 16 to the EC warehouse 14 (S228). As a result, only the products that are determined to be genuine are returned to distribution from the EC warehouse 14.

[0062] This prevents counterfeit goods from being mixed into the EC platform 10 by malicious purchasers 20, and prevents refunds from being made to malicious purchasers 20. This also improves the completeness of the database managing the inventory of the warehouse on the EC platform 10, and reduces the load on the order processing device 12 due to a decrease in the number of returned goods. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the processing performed on the EC platform 10 from being adversely affected by counterfeit goods being mixed into the EC platform 10 by malicious purchasers 20. Furthermore, the credibility of the EC platform 10 and sellers selling products on the EC platform 10 is improved, and the risk of purchasers 20 using the EC platform 10 purchasing counterfeit goods is reduced. Therefore, users of the EC platform 10 can conduct transactions with peace of mind.

[0063] 3 shows an example of a label 200 for preventing counterfeiting of merchandise according to an embodiment. The label 200 includes a substrate 202, a thin line 204, a pattern 210, and a visible code 206.

[0064] The label 200 is a laminate in which a pattern 210 of thin metallic wires 204 is attached to a substrate 202. The laminate is not limited to a label, and a tag, for example, may be used. The label 200 is formed by forming the pattern 210, which can be optically read by the reader 40, as authentication information on the transparent substrate 202.

[0065] The substrate 202 is made of, for example, a transparent substrate. The thin wires 204 are thin metal wires provided on the substrate so that when electromagnetic waves (for example, visible light) are irradiated, light reflected by the pattern 210 produces a specific diffraction pattern. For example, the thin wires 204 are made of metal wires with a width of 5 μm or less, and the pitch between the thin wires 204 is approximately several hundred μm. For example, the thin wires 204 are made of gold, silver, copper, or aluminum.

[0066] The pattern 210 is an invisible pattern composed of thin lines 204. When the thin lines 204 are configured to have a width of 5 μm or less and an interval of several hundred μm, the pattern 210 becomes a pattern that is invisible or difficult to recognize with the naked eye. This invisibility or difficulty to recognize makes the pattern 210 difficult to replicate, and therefore the label 200 difficult to replicate. The pattern 210 may be a grid pattern (mesh pattern) of polygons (in this embodiment, a grid-like pattern is shown, and a quadrangular pattern is shown). Alternatively, a diffraction image formed by a reflection image of the pattern 210 may include a two-dimensional image such as a diffraction spot image, a diffraction stripe pattern, numbers, symbols, marks, and / or figures. The pattern 210 may also form a periodic pattern.

[0067] The pattern 210 may be protected by a protective film made of a resin or the like that transmits electromagnetic waves (e.g., visible light). The visible code 206 may be a code that is printed on the protective layer. As another example, the visible code 206 may be attached to the substrate 202.

[0068] The visible code 206 is a character, a flat figure, or a collection of these, which represents a two-dimensional code, a barcode, text, or a mark. If the substrate 202 and the protective layer are transparent, even if the visible code 206 is attached, it is possible to obtain both a diffraction image from reflected light by the pattern 210 and a read image of the visible code 206. By providing the visible code 206 and the pattern 210 as an inseparable integral part, the label 200 can be made even more difficult to counterfeit.

[0069] 4 shows an example of shipping data including product information and shipping destination information. The product information in this embodiment includes the manufacturer and product model number. Meanwhile, the shipping destination information includes the member ID, address, and name of the shipping destination of the target product on the EC platform 10.

[0070] FIG. 5 shows an example of return data including product information and return source information for the returned product. The product model number in the second line differs between the shipping data in FIG. 4 and the return data in FIG. 5. In such a case, the discrepancy in the product model number may lead to a determination that the returned product is not genuine. Furthermore, the determination unit 108 transmits a message indicating that the payment service company 30 does not permit the refund process to the purchaser 20.

[0071] 6 is an example of a conceptual diagram using blockchain from a manufacturer to a retail warehouse. As an example, the retailer in this embodiment may be the EC platform 10, and a similar blockchain may be applied to the process from a seller to the EC warehouse 14 of the EC platform 10.

[0072] A blockchain has a distributed ledger that distributes and stores data to be stored across multiple nodes on the network. The distributed ledger stores historical information indicating that the label 200 was read by a reader 40 during a predetermined process that the product goes through before it is shipped. Data stored in the blockchain's distributed ledger cannot be altered later. In the process shown in the figure, each time a reading is performed, information indicating that the reading has been performed is added to the historical information in addition to the data already stored as historical information.

[0073] Server 50 is one of the servers that make up the node that maintains the distributed ledger. It is a server that accesses blocks of the group of servers that make up the node that has the distributed ledger via hash values.

[0074] In the figure, as a product circulates through a supply chain, from the manufacturer to the retailer's warehouse and then shipped, a label 200 is read by a reader 40 at predetermined processes. Readers 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, and 40e are installed at each process to read the label 200. In the example shown in the figure, a reader 40 for reading the label 200 is installed at each process, including the manufacturer's manufacturing completion process, the manufacturer's storage warehouse, the wholesaler's warehouse, the retailer's storage warehouse, and the distribution route. History information at each process may be generated by reading the label 200 with a reader 40 (collectively referring to 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, and 40e) at such predetermined processes and cumulatively adding the information to a distributed ledger in a blockchain. In this way, history information indicating that the label 200 was read by a reader 40 at a predetermined process in the supply chain may be managed by a blockchain.

[0075] While the diagram shows a typical process leading up to the retailer's storage warehouse, the process by which the label 200 is read by the reader 40 before reaching the retailer's storage warehouse is not limited to those shown in the diagram. For example, reading may be performed more or fewer times than the process shown in the diagram. Furthermore, while the diagram shows an example in which reading is performed once after reaching the distribution channel, reading along the distribution channel may be performed more times, for example, each time the distribution means changes.

[0076] Fig. 7 shows another comparative example of the configuration of an e-commerce platform, different from that shown in Fig. 1. In the example shown in the figure, the platform operating company 60 does not provide the e-commerce warehouse 14 and the return warehouse 16, unlike the example shown in Fig. 1.

[0077] The platform operating company 60 provides an order processing device 62. The seller 70 may be a retailer of the target product, a second-hand sales dealer, or the like.

[0078] Again, when using the EC platform according to the comparative example, the process to be performed when an order for purchasing a target product is placed from the purchaser 20 and the purchaser 20 returns the target product, and problems that may arise in that case, will be described. The process includes steps S302 to S320.

[0079] When the order processing device 62 receives a purchase order for the target product from the buyer 20 (S302), the order processing device 62 sends a notification to the seller 70 that the purchase order has been received (S304). Next, the buyer 20 performs payment processing for the purchase fee for the target product via the payment service company 30 and the EC platform (S306). The seller 70 ships the target product to the buyer 20 (S308). In other words, in this example, it is the seller 70 that stores the target product before shipping it.

[0080] If the purchaser 20 is satisfied with the delivered product, the transaction is complete and the problems described below do not occur. However, even in this example, if the purchaser 20 is not satisfied with the product, the purchaser 20 can return the product to the EC platform. Even in this example, a malicious purchaser 20 may intentionally switch the genuine product with a counterfeit product and return the counterfeit product in order to obtain a new copy of the product and receive a refund from the payment service company 30.

[0081] The following describes the process performed in the return processing. First, the purchaser 20 contacts the order processing device 62 to inform them that they will be returning the product (S310). Upon receiving the contact from the purchaser 20, the order processing device 62 informs the seller 70 that the product will be returned (S312).

[0082] After contacting the order processing device 62 to inform the purchaser 20 of the return, the purchaser 20 returns the target product to the seller 70 (S314), and the seller 70 inspects the returned product to determine whether it is genuine or not. The sellers 70 are retailers of the target product, second-hand dealers, etc., and their business scales vary widely. Even when the seller 70 inspects the returned product, there are cases where the inspection is insufficient and counterfeit products cannot be completely eliminated.

[0083] The purchaser 20 returns the product, or after returning the product, requests a refund of the price of the product from the payment service company 30 (S316). After the product has been returned to the seller 70 and inspected, the payment service company 30 executes a refund process for the purchaser 20 in response to the refund request from the purchaser 20 (S318).

[0084] After processing the refund to the purchaser 20, the payment service company 30 notifies the platform operating company 60 that the refund process has been completed (S320). If the reading device 40 and the refund processing system 100 as in the embodiment described below are not implemented, the seller 70 may not thoroughly inspect the product to determine whether it is genuine. If the inspection is insufficient, a malicious purchaser 20 may intentionally switch the target product from the genuine product to a counterfeit product, return the counterfeit product, and obtain a new copy of the target product and receive a refund from the payment service company 30.

[0085] The seller 70 of the target product will not receive any profit from the target product, and the counterfeit product will be returned to the seller 70. If the seller 70 distributes the target product again without realizing that it is a counterfeit, counterfeit products will be distributed on the EC platform.

[0086] 8 shows an example of the configuration of an EC platform according to the embodiment. In this embodiment, the problem in the comparative example in FIG. 7 can be solved.

[0087] In this embodiment, the seller 70 has a reader 40 for the label 200. In this embodiment, the label 200 is associated with identification information including identification information that uniquely identifies the product. In addition, the payment service company 30 has an authentication device 32 for authenticating shipping data before shipping the target product.

[0088] The process performed by the EC platform in the embodiment of Fig. 8 includes steps S402 to S430. A refund processing method based on the process including steps S402 to S430 may be implemented.

[0089] The purchaser 20 of the target product places an order to purchase the target product with the order processing device 62 (S402). The order processing device 62 notifies the seller 70 that an order to purchase the target product has been placed (S404). The purchaser 20 performs payment processing for the fee related to the purchase of the target product via the payment service company 30 and the EC platform (S406).

[0090] The seller 70 determines the authenticity of the target product by reading the label 200 attached to the target product before shipping using the reading device 40 (S408). The seller 70 determines the authenticity based on the authenticity determination information obtained in association with the label 200 read by the reading device 40. The authenticity determination information may include product information. The authenticity determination performed by the seller 70 may be based solely on the authenticity determination information including product information obtained by reading the label 200 of the target product, but may also be based on appraisal, etc., performed based on the appearance, shape, structural features, etc. of the product.

[0091] After the authenticity determination, the registration unit 102 registers product information identifying the target product and shipping data including shipping destination information for the product in the storage unit 104 (S410). Next, the registration unit 102 requests the authentication device 32 of the payment service company 30 to certify that the product determined to be authentic by the product authenticity determination performed before the product is shipped will be delivered to the shipping destination. In this case, the registration unit 102 may transmit the shipping data to the payment service company 30, or the payment service company 30 may read out the shipping data registered in the storage unit 104 by the registration unit 102.

[0092] The payment service company 30 authenticates shipping data, including product information, shipping destination information, and authentication information verifying that a product determined to be authentic by a product authentication performed before shipping will be delivered to the shipping destination, via the authentication device 32 (S412). This configuration allows the payment service company 30 to confirm the authenticity of the shipping data for the target product before shipping. Next, the authentication device 32 transmits the authentication result to the registration unit 102. The registration unit 102 registers shipping data, including product information, shipping destination information, and authentication information verifying that a product determined to be authentic by a product authentication performed before shipping will be delivered to the shipping destination, in the storage unit 104. Since the payment service company 30 authenticates the shipping data, the payment service company 30 also guarantees that the product was authentic before shipping. Therefore, when a product is returned, the payment service company 30 can easily process the refund with a satisfactory understanding of whether or not the refund processing system 100 should approve the refund process.

[0093] Here, authentication by the authentication device 32 may be performed by reading from the server 50 the history information managed by the blockchain described in Fig. 6. In other words, the authentication device 32 may perform authentication processing based on history information indicating that the label 200 has been read by the reading device 32 in a predetermined process that the product goes through before being shipped.

[0094] In the refund processing system 100 of this embodiment, shipping data including authentication information is registered via the registration unit 102. However, for example, if the authentication device 32 is directly connected to the storage unit 104 and the authentication device 32 reads out the pre-authentication shipping data from the storage unit 104, the authentication device 32 may record the post-authentication shipping data in the storage unit 104 without going through the registration unit 102.

[0095] Next, the seller 70 ships the target product with the label 200 attached to the purchaser 20 (S414). In this embodiment, before shipping, authentication information is created to certify that the product will be delivered to the shipping destination if it is determined to be genuine by a product authenticity assessment performed before shipping.

[0096] Here, after the seller 70 ships the target product to the purchaser 20, the fact of the shipment may be stored in the order processing device 62, the memory unit 104, or the like. Thereafter, the authentication device 32 may acquire the fact of the shipment and perform authentication to prove that the product, determined to be an authentic product by the product authenticity assessment performed before the product was shipped, has been delivered to the shipping destination. Furthermore, the registration unit 102 may register in the memory unit 104 shipping data including the product information, the shipping destination information, and authentication information to prove that the product, determined to be an authentic product by the product authenticity assessment performed before the product was shipped, has been delivered to the shipping destination.

[0097] In addition, authentication by the authentication device 32 may be performed at the request of the registration unit 102, and the registration unit 102 may register shipping data in the memory unit 104 as authentication information, the shipping data including the authentication result provided by the authentication device 32 in response to a request to the authentication device 32 to certify that a product determined to be genuine by a product authenticity assessment has been delivered to the shipping destination before the product is shipped.

[0098] If the purchaser 20 is satisfied with the product, the transaction is completed. If the purchaser 20 is not satisfied with the product, the following return process is carried out. In the return process, a malicious purchaser 20 may intentionally switch the genuine product with a counterfeit product and return the counterfeit product.

[0099] The purchaser 20 notifies the order processing device 62 that the purchaser 20 will return the target product (S416). Upon receiving the notification from the purchaser 20, the order processing device 62 notifies the seller 70 that the target product will be returned (S418).

[0100] After contacting the order processing device 62 to inform the purchaser 20 of the return, the purchaser 20 returns the target product to the seller 70 (S420), and while returning the target product, or after returning the target product, the purchaser 20 requests a refund of the price of the target product from the payment service company 30 (S422).

[0101] The seller 70 who receives the returned product reads the label 200 of the product and determines its authenticity (S424). The seller 70 determines its authenticity based on the authenticity determination information obtained in association with the label 200 read by the reading device 40. The authenticity determination may be performed based on a comparison between the authenticity determination information before shipping and the authenticity determination information at the time of return. The acquisition unit 106 acquires return data including the result of the authenticity determination of the product performed after the product is returned, product information identifying the returned product, and information on the return source of the product.

[0102] The determination unit 108 determines whether to permit the refund process for the returned product based on the shipping data and return data (S426). Here, in this embodiment, the product information includes identification information that uniquely identifies the product, so the determination unit 108 may permit the refund process for the returned product based on the shipping data and return data if the returned product satisfies a predetermined condition that it is the same as the product delivered from the shipper to the shipping destination, and if the result of the product authenticity determination performed after the product was returned indicates that it is a genuine product.

[0103] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the authentication device 32 can authenticate that an authentic product has been shipped when the product is shipped. Therefore, the determination unit 108 may authorize the refund process for the returned product if, based on the shipping data and return data, the returned product is identical to the product delivered from the shipper to the shipping destination, the authentication information satisfies predetermined conditions indicating that an authentic product will be delivered to the shipping destination or has been delivered, and the result of the authentication process performed after the product is returned indicates that the product is authentic. This allows the determination to authorize the refund process to be made based on the authentication information, making it easier for the payment service company 30 to accept the determination result of the determination unit 108 and process the refund.

[0104] The payment service company 30 performs the refund process for the purchaser 20 in accordance with the determination result that the refund process is permitted (S430). On the other hand, in this embodiment, if the determination result is that the refund process is not permitted, the payment service company 30 does not perform the refund process for the purchaser 20. Therefore, if a counterfeit product is returned, no refund will be made to the purchaser 20. After processing the refund for the purchaser 20, the payment service company 30 notifies the platform operating company 60 that the refund process has been completed (S432).

[0105] In this embodiment, counterfeit goods are prevented from being mixed into the EC platform 10 by malicious purchasers 20, and refunds are prevented from being made to malicious purchasers 20. This improves the completeness of the database that manages product inventory stored by sellers on the EC platform 10, and reduces the number of returned goods, thereby reducing the load on the order processing device 12. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the processing performed on the EC platform 10 from being adversely affected by counterfeit goods being mixed into the EC platform 10 by malicious purchasers 20.

[0106] Furthermore, the credibility of the EC platform 10 and sellers selling products on the EC platform 10 is improved, and the risk of purchases of counterfeit products by buyers 20 using the EC platform 10 is reduced. Therefore, users of the EC platform 10 can conduct transactions with peace of mind. Furthermore, by providing a mechanism for the payment service company 30 to authenticate shipping data before shipping, the reliability of the determination of whether to permit refund processing made by the determination unit 108 is improved, making it easier for refund processing to be carried out in a manner that satisfies both parties, and facilitating smoother commercial transactions.

[0107] 9 shows another example of the configuration of an e-commerce platform according to the embodiment. In this embodiment, unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the seller 70 does not need to have the reading device 40, and the appraiser 80 has the reading device 40.

[0108] As explained with reference to Figure 7, the seller 70 may be a retailer of the target product, a second-hand dealer, etc. In such cases, depending on the scale of the business, the seller 70 may request an external appraiser 80 to determine the authenticity of the product rather than doing so themselves. The appraiser 80 is a third party or third-party organization with respect to the buyer 20 and seller 70 who are the main parties in the transaction, and the platform operating company 60 which acts as an intermediary.

[0109] In the embodiment of Fig. 8, it was stated that the authentication determination before shipment and upon return may be performed solely based on the authentication information associated with the label 200, but may also be performed based on an appraisal based on the product's appearance, shape, structural features, etc. In cases where the seller 70 has a small business scale, for example, the seller may not have sufficient appraisal capabilities such as the latter. The embodiment of Fig. 9 is an example of a form in which a third-party appraiser 80 performs the appraisal on behalf of the seller in such cases.

[0110] For example, if the e-commerce platform targets the primary distribution market and the target products are luxury goods such as shoes, clothing, leather goods, and jewelry, the appraiser 80 may be an appraiser providing appraisal services for such luxury goods. As another example, if the e-commerce platform targets the secondary distribution market, such as the secondary distribution market for luxury watches, the manufacturer that supplied the product to the primary distribution market may take over and appraise the products distributed in the secondary distribution market. In this way, if the appraiser 80 has greater appraisal capabilities for individual products than the seller 70 and takes over and appraises the products, it is possible for the third-party appraiser 80 to appraise the products. Furthermore, the manufacturer may manage IDs, such as serial codes, which are individual product codes for the products. If the manufacturer is the appraiser 80, the manufacturer may compare the individual product code read from the label 200 with the ID to perform the appraisal.

[0111] The process performed by the EC platform in the embodiment of Fig. 9 includes steps S502 to S530. A refund processing method based on the process including steps S502 to S530 may be implemented.

[0112] In the embodiment of Fig. 9, the same processing as in the embodiment of Fig. 7 is performed, except that instead of the authentication determination performed in S408 and S424 in the embodiment of Fig. 8, a request for authentication is made from the seller 70 to the appraiser 80 in S508 and S524, and the authentication is performed by the appraiser 80. Therefore, the processing performed in Fig. 9 will not be described in detail again.

[0113] 10 shows an example of shipping data in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In this embodiment, the product information includes a serial code that identifies each product, in addition to the manufacturer and product model number. Meanwhile, the shipping destination information includes the member ID, address, and name of the shipping destination of the target product on the EC platform 10.

[0114] FIG. 11 shows an example of return data in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The product model number in the second line differs between the shipping data shown in FIG. 10 and the return data shown in FIG. 11. In such a case, the discrepancy in the product model number may lead to a determination that the returned product is not genuine. The determination unit 108 also transmits a message indicating that the payment service company 30 does not permit the refund process to the purchaser 20.

[0115] 12 illustrates an example of a computer 1200 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied, in whole or in part. A program installed on the computer 1200 may cause the computer 1200 to perform operations associated with an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention or to function as one or more “parts” of the apparatus. Alternatively, the program may cause the computer 1200 to perform the operations or one or more “parts” of the apparatus. The program may cause the computer 1200 to perform a process or steps of a process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Such a program may be executed by the CPU 1212 to cause the computer 1200 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0116] The computer 1200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 1212 and a RAM 1214, which are interconnected by a host controller 1210. The computer 1200 also includes a communication interface 1222 and an input / output unit, which are connected to the host controller 1210 via an input / output controller 1220. The computer 1200 also includes a ROM 1230. The CPU 1212 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 1230 and RAM 1214, thereby controlling each unit.

[0117] The communication interface 1222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. A hard disk drive may store programs and data used by the CPU 1212 in the computer 1200. The ROM 1230 stores a boot program executed by the computer 1200 upon activation and / or programs dependent on the computer's hardware. The programs may be provided via a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a USB memory, or an IC card, or via a network. The programs may be installed in the RAM 1214 or the ROM 1230, which are also examples of computer-readable storage media, and executed by the CPU 1212. The information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 1200, resulting in cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be configured by implementing operations or processing of information in accordance with the use of the computer 1200.

[0118] For example, when communication is performed between computer 1200 and an external device, CPU 1212 may execute a communication program loaded in RAM 1214 and instruct communication interface 1222 to perform communication processing based on the processing described in the communication program. Under the control of CPU 1212, communication interface 1222 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer area provided in RAM 1214 or a storage medium such as a USB memory, and transmits the read transmission data to a network, or writes reception data received from the network to a reception buffer area or the like provided on the storage medium.

[0119] The CPU 1212 may also cause all or a necessary portion of a file or database stored in an external storage medium such as a USB memory to be read into the RAM 1214, and perform various types of processing on the data in the RAM 1214. The CPU 1212 may then write the processed data back to the external storage medium.

[0120] Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored in the storage medium and subjected to information processing. The CPU 1212 may perform various types of processing on data read from the RAM 1214, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information search / replacement, etc., as described throughout this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequences of the programs, and write the results back to the RAM 1214. The CPU 1212 may also search for information in a file, database, etc. in the storage medium. For example, if multiple entries, each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute, are stored in the storage medium, the CPU 1212 may search for an entry that matches a condition specified by the attribute value of the first attribute from among the multiple entries, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0121] The above-described programs or software modules may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium on or near the computer 1200. Also, a storage medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as a computer-readable storage medium, thereby providing the programs to the computer 1200 via the network.

[0122] A computer-readable medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by an appropriate device. As a result, the computer-readable medium with instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture, including instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowchart or block diagram. Examples of computer-readable media may include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, etc. More specific examples of computer-readable media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray (RTM) disc, memory stick, integrated circuit card, etc.

[0123] The computer-readable instructions may include either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The source code or object code includes conventional procedural programming languages. The conventional procedural programming languages ​​may be assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, JAVA®, C++, etc., and the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer-readable instructions may be provided to a processor or programmable circuitry of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus locally or over a wide-area network (WAN) such as a local area network (LAN), the Internet, etc. The processor or programmable circuitry may execute the computer-readable instructions to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, etc.

[0124] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It is clear from the claims that such modifications and improvements can also be included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0125] It should be noted that the execution order of each process, such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages, in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not specifically stated as "before," "prior to," etc., and that the processes can be performed in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a subsequent process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, this does not mean that the processes must be performed in this order. [Explanation of symbols]

[0126] 10. E-commerce Platform 12 Order processing device 14 EC warehouse 16. Return Warehouse 20 buyers 30 Payment service companies 32 Authentication Device 40 Reading device 50 servers 60 Platform operating companies 62 Order processing device 70 sellers 80 Appraiser 100 Refund Processing System 102 Registration Department 104 Storage section 106 Acquisition Department 108 Judgment section 200 labels 202 Base material 204 Thin line 210 patterns 206 Visible Code 1200 Computer 1210 host controller 1212 CPU 1214 RAM 1220 Input / Output Controller 1222 communication interface 1230 ROM

Claims

1. a registration unit that registers, in a storage unit, shipping data including product information that identifies a product to be shipped and shipping destination information of the product; an acquisition unit that acquires return data including a result of authenticity determination of the product performed after the product is returned, product information that identifies the returned product, and information on the return source of the product; a determination unit that determines whether to permit a refund process for the returned product based on the shipping data and the return data; A refund processing system comprising:

2. 2. The refund processing system of claim 1, wherein the determination unit allows a refund process for the returned product if, based on the shipping data and the return data, the returned product meets predetermined conditions for products transported from the shipper to the shipping destination, and the result of an authenticity determination of the product conducted after the product was returned indicates that the product is genuine.

3. 3. The refund processing system of claim 2, wherein the determination unit allows the refund process for the returned product if, based on the shipping data and the return data, the type of the returned product satisfies the predetermined condition that the type of the returned product is the same as the type of the product transported from the shipper to the shipping destination, and the result of the product authenticity determination performed after the product is returned indicates that the product is genuine.

4. the product information includes identification information that uniquely identifies the product; The refund processing system of claim 2, wherein the determination unit allows a refund process for the returned product if, based on the shipping data and the return data, the returned product satisfies the predetermined condition that the returned product is identical to the product transported from the shipper to the shipping destination, and if the result of a product authenticity determination performed after the product is returned indicates that the product is genuine.

5. the product information includes identification information that uniquely identifies the product; the registration unit registers the shipping data in the storage unit, the shipping data including the product information, the shipping destination information, and authentication information that certifies that the product, which has been determined to be an authentic product by a product authenticity determination performed before the product is shipped, has been delivered to the shipping destination; 3. The refund processing system of claim 2, wherein the determination unit permits a refund process for the returned product if, based on the shipping data and the return data, the returned product is identical to the product transported from the shipper to the shipping destination, and the authentication information satisfies the predetermined conditions that the result of the product authenticity determination indicates that the product transported to the shipping destination is genuine, and the result of the product authenticity determination performed after the product is returned indicates that the product is genuine.

6. 6. The refund processing system of claim 5, wherein the registration unit registers the shipping data in the memory unit as the authentication information, the shipping data including the authentication result provided by the authentication device in response to a request to the authentication device to certify that the product determined to be genuine by a product authenticity assessment has been delivered to the shipping destination before the product is shipped.

7. 7. The refund processing system according to claim 1, wherein the authenticity of the product is determined by reading a label attached to the product and including information for determining authenticity with a reading device.

8. 8. The refund processing system according to claim 7, wherein the label has a transparent substrate on which a pattern that can be optically read by the reading device is formed as the authenticity determination information.

9. The refund processing system according to claim 7 , wherein the authenticity determination information includes the product information.

10. the registration unit registers in the storage unit the shipping data, which includes the product information obtained by reading the label with the reading device, the shipping destination information, and authentication information that certifies that the product determined to be authentic by a product authenticity determination performed before the product is shipped will be delivered to the shipping destination; The refund processing system of claim 9, wherein the determination unit allows the refund process for the returned product if, based on the shipping data and the return data, the returned product meets predetermined conditions for products transported from the shipper to the shipping destination, and the result of a product authenticity determination conducted after the product was returned indicates that the product is genuine.

11. the registration unit registers, in the storage unit, the shipping data including, as the authentication information, an authentication result provided by the authentication device in response to a request to the authentication device to certify that the product determined to be an authentic product by a product authenticity determination has been delivered to a shipping destination before the product is shipped; 11. The refund processing system according to claim 10, wherein the authentication device performs authentication processing based on history information indicating that the label has been read by the reading device at a predetermined process that the product goes through before being shipped.

12. The refund processing system according to claim 11 , wherein the history information indicating that the label was read by the reading device in the predetermined process is managed by a blockchain.

13. a step in which a registration unit registers shipping data including product information identifying a product to be shipped and shipping destination information of the product in a storage unit; an acquiring unit acquiring return data including a result of authenticity assessment of the product conducted after the product is returned, product information identifying the returned product, and information on the return source of the product; a determination unit determining whether to permit a refund process for the returned product based on the shipping data and the return data; A refund processing method comprising:

14. When executed by a computer, a registration unit that registers, in a storage unit, shipping data including product information that identifies a product to be shipped and shipping destination information of the product; an acquisition unit that acquires return data including a result of authenticity determination of the product performed after the product is returned, product information that identifies the returned product, and information on the return source of the product; a determination unit that determines whether to permit a refund process for the returned product based on the shipping data and the return data; and a program that causes the computer to function.

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