Clothing Identifier Segmentation for Reliable Counterfeit Authentication

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Counterfeit products, particularly in the retail industry, erode brand value and profitability, and compromise the perceived exclusivity of high-quality items, necessitating effective anti-counterfeiting techniques.

Innovation Solution

Implementing machine-readable identifiers, such as unique logos or barcodes, embedded within articles of clothing or footwear, which are registered on a blockchain, allowing for authentication through comparison with stored ciphers and utilizing decentralized computing systems for verification.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If machine-readable identifiers with multiple identifying ciphers are embedded in articles of clothing, then authentication reliability is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveauthentication reliabilityVSAvoiddevice complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The machine-readable identifier is divided into multiple discrete areas, each containing identifying ciphers. This segmentation allows the authentication system to verify multiple independent cipher elements, thereby improving authentication reliability while maintaining manageable complexity through modular verification

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent transitions from traditional single-code authentication to a multi-dimensional verification system where identifying ciphers are distributed across multiple discrete areas. This dimensional expansion enhances authentication robustness by providing multiple verification points without requiring a single complex authentication mechanism

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Loss of information

If blockchain registration is used for unique identifiers, then product authenticity tracking is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduct authenticity trackingVSAvoidmanufacturing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The machine-readable identifier with embedded identifying ciphers is integrated into the article of clothing during the manufacturing process. This preliminary action ensures that the authentication data is prepared and embedded before the product enters the market, simplifying subsequent authentication processes while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through pre-integration

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a digital copy of the article's identifying ciphers and registers it on the blockchain. This copying approach allows the physical article to serve as the primary authenticator while the blockchain stores a verifiable digital representation, thereby enabling authenticity tracking without requiring complex physical modifications to the manufacturing process

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP4073686B1Digital fingerprinting
Publication Date: 2026.02.25 NIKE INNOVATE CV
  • EP4073686B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4073686B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP4073686B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

A method includes providing a machine-readable identifier attached to an article of clothing, each of the plurality of identifying ciphers is disposed in a predetermined discrete area; receiving a scanned image of the machine-readable identifier to detect the identifying ciphers of each of the predetermined discrete areas; retrieving a predetermined stored cipher for each of the predetermined discrete areas; comparing the identifying ciphers of each of the predetermined discrete areas with the predetermined stored ciphers for each of the predetermined discrete areas to determine if each identifying cipher in each predetermined discrete area matches a corresponding stored cipher for each of the respective predetermined discrete areas; and determining that the article of clothing is authentic in response to determining that each identifying cipher in each of the predetermined discrete areas matches the corresponding stored cipher for each of the respective predetermined discrete areas.