Anti-Counterfeiting

Both globalization and digitalization yield high potential for an efficient exchange and use of information on the one hand, but on the other hand also require new levels of data management and security. In order to be able to exploit the full return on innovation, original producers need to secure their knowledge and competitive advantage, not ignoring the rising risk of being imitated any longer. Nowadays it is not sufficient to simply reduce the length of innovation cycles. Instead, companies have to actively invest into anti-counterfeiting measures in order to secure their local and global competitive advantage. Requirements relating to the security and effectivity of technical anti-counterfeiting concepts, and the development of such a security measure, are the subject of this article.

It is not possible to eliminate counterfeiting sustainably only by single and short-term measures. Particularly isolated legal measures fail because they have only late and short-term effects. An effective and sustainable anti-counterfeiting requires a process-oriented approach as well as an integrated protection system that combines legal, organizational, technological and political processes. To manage such an integrated system, a company has to implement a process oriented organization as well as a monitoring system.

Globally increasing imitation of products increases pressure on introducing protective concepts. Analyzing constraints such as the product and the distribution process and examining protective measures are the conditions for protecting effectively. A balance between technically achievable solutions and economically justifiable efforts is to be found. Therefore, a research project of the Institute of Integrated Production Hannover focuses on RFID based authenticity certificates in folded boxes for pharmaceutical products.