ES2383801B1 - ANTI-FRAUD AND ANTI-PIRACY SYSTEM FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS. - Google Patents

Abstract

Anti-fraud and anti-piracy device for commercial products. # The present invention relates to a device and a set of procedures for the electronic verification of original commercial products to prevent fraud, copying or plagiarism along the distribution chain, giving the Ability to the consumer to autonomously audit the genuineness of the product and the good behavior of the channel. # The device comprises at least one reader of multiple types of coding symbologies or methodologies that uniquely identify a product, a communications device and a point terminal of sale characterized in that the device simultaneously receives information from multiple types of combinations of symbols that encode identification codes; records and / or verifies the existence of codes in a database; and displays messages about the authenticity of the code and the product traceability by code.

Description

quot; ANTI-FRAUD AND ANTI-PIRACY SYSTEM FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTSquot;

Technical sector of the invention

The present invention is part of the information technology sector. Specifically, it refers to a system comprising a device and a set of procedures for the electronic verification of original commercial products to prevent fraud, copying or plagiarism along the distribution chain.

Background of the invention

Most of the consumer products are distributed through different sales channels where different fiscally dependent independent parties come into existence: brand, manufacturer, distributor, seller and the consumer; which makes it difficult to check if the products are distributed outside their channel and to be able to prosecute fraud, copying or forgery.

Especially when these products have a certain economic value and are brands of recognized prestige, it is common for piracy actions to be harmed by the end customer, since it receives less value than expected, and it is the brand that loses sales of its duly registered products. and protected by copyright.

To solve the fake problems the best known way is the use of the barcode or holograms. The manufacturer controls and produces the labels, which will then be placed on the items. Unfortunately, fraud professionals are able to reproduce labels and products in a way that makes their distinction and persecution difficult.

Linear barcodes are very common in the market, the most typical is the EAN13 standard that contains the country, the company, the product number and a check digit; and EAN128 comprising various information, such as the date of manufacture, lot number and information related to transport.

Being less common but known in the state of the art are two-dimensional symbols, which include shapes, bars, dots, squares ... and need sophisticated software for coding and decoding. An example

of this type is the PDF417 standard, being a continuum of length marks going

reliable, which has high data storage capacity. The symbol consists

in a brand pattern and has detection and correction mechanisms for

Errors: 9 levels of security allowing for successful reading and decoding

even when the code damage reaches up to 40%.

Another example of a two-dimensional symbol is the Datamatrix, which comprises

square modules organized within a perimeter discoverer model

tro. Each symbol has data regions, with a set of square modules. It was

developed in 1989 by International Data Matrix Inc and patented in 1995 in

W09605571A1 "Method and apparatus for locating and extracting data fmm a two

dimensional codequot ;. The public domain version is ECC 200, developed also

also by International Data Matrix in 1995.

It is also known the QR (Quick Response) symbol was developed in Japan and has a matrix designed for fast information scanning. It is efficient to encode Kanji characters. It is square in shape and can easily be identified by its pattern of dark and light squares in three of the corners of the symbol. It was developed and patented by Denso Wave Inc. JP2009259192 eA 2009.

Another identification technology is RFID, radio frequency identification, it is a data storage and retrieval system that uses tags containing antennas to receive and respond to requests from an RFID transmitter or receiver. There are different types, read only, read and write. But given its short range of transmission and its high manufacturing cost with the impact on the final price, it presents certain drawbacks for its large-scale implementation in the distribution chain.

The coding systems by means of magnetic bands, or bar codes described above, identify the market to which a certain type of article is directed. To control fraud, the brand has controllers that pose as customers (consumers) and purchase products and then check if the point of sale of the item corresponds to the expected. This controls whether the products have been served in authorized areas or not. It is a system that does not identify the distributor and very easily manipulated since many distributors proceed to change the packaging of the items and then divert them to other geographical areas where the value of the product is much higher. As for manufacturers, the quantity of raw material supplied to them is controlled so that they cannot manufacture more units than those strictly authorized. The effectiveness of this system is relative, since although irregularities are detected it can hardly be demonstrated that it has been a certain distributor or seller that has violated the rules and therefore it will be very difficult to initiate legal actions. In addition, it should be taken into account that many suppliers and vendors have a very strong strength and weight in certain geographical areas for commercial purposes. Scenario that often derives in certain tolerances by the brand itself.

Description of the invention

To this end, the object of the present invention refers to a system that

It comprises a device and a set of procedures for verification ~

electronic citation of original commercial products to prevent fraud, copying or

plagiarism along the distribution chain, giving the consumer the ability to

autonomously audit the genuineness of the product and the good behavior of the channel.

The procedure is based on a single license plate that is linked to each unit, article or product. This license plate is symbolized by a two-dimensional code symbol that overlaps, or faults to align, to the barcode that is traditionally used to identify the type of item (EAN13). In total there are two overlapping symbols, or alternatively aligned. This condition facilitates the reading of both codes in a single operation. The registration is automatically sent by the anti-fraud and anti-piracy device to the corresponding server.

The installation of the device is flexible and of immediate implantation. It practically does not alter existing processes, and requires minimal involvement of. internal resources when connecting with symbol reading devices already known.,. two, the local network, and to the computer of the point of sale of the commerce.

Since the combination between the two-dimensional symbol RGCode (preferably Datamatrix type) and the linear symbol EAN13 is totally unique, it guarantees independence between the operators of the supply chain allowing to obtain a complete traceability tree that covers the entire chain.

Manufacturers only have to register, in the database, the initial and final unit code corresponding to a particular production lot. Units in a lot can also be uniquely identified by random alphanumeric codes, which do not necessarily have to be sequential. It will depend on the procedures and the degree of protection that

seen adopting brands. The record consists of a simple reading of the symbols

which represent the unique and item codes. Registration in the database, of

unique codes, requires a connection to the internet network of the captu device

rador of these codes, uniquequot;

Distributors must register the registration (or unique code) of the unit

dad / s logistics / s greater than! receive from the manufacturer in the database. This

links to the registration (or unique codes) of the immediate logistics units

lower mind it contains, and so on.

The points of sale must register, in the database, the registration of

The logistics unit (s) they receive from the distributor is linked to the

license plates (or unique codes) of the immediately lower logistics units

It contains, and the unique code of the sales unit that they sell to the consumer.

Finally, the consumer can check the originality of the sales unit simply by sending the unique code that identifies said unit to the system. This will answer if the unit is genuine or not. It is also possible to check the validity of the point of sale by sending the establishment code to the system, together with the unique code of the sales unit in question. The brand may reward consumers who collaborate by verifying the genuineness of the products they wish to purchase or acquired, through added value-added services or prizes. The system itself represents a means of collecting qualified information about consumers and market consumption habits.

Brief description of the drawings

The attached drawings illustrate, by way of non-limiting example, some embodiments of the system comprising a device and an anti-fraud and anti-piracy procedure object of the invention. In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the complete system containing the antifraudel device and the other means of communication and devices. Fig. 2 is a flow chart describing the procedure performed by the

anti-fraud device

Description of a preferred embodiment

The system comprising a device and a procedure provide verification of authenticity of goods through the use of combination codes, comprising a linear and two-dimensional code generated by an order

nador and subsequently produced in badges, labels or directly on the

products and finally placed within the commercial value chain.

This system allows a low cost verification of authenticity

of goods and provides an important deterrent for those who want

counterfeit items produced, especially high-end brands.

Fig. 1, comprises a retail distribution point of sale 84,

such as a retail store or, alternatively, at any point

inside the distribution chain, codes 81 are read by 82 and processed

by the device object of the invention 83. To register the security codes

the device 83 communicates with a database 86 by means of a device

Communications 85, which can be a router. 83 communicates with the terminal

point of sale 84, which can be a computer, to transfer the code that

Identify the type of article.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart describing the procedure it performs.

the 83 anti-fraud device that processes the codes following the following steps

country:

•

C1 check that the number of codes received corresponds to the number of codes that have been configured, if they are completed C3 the device displays a message C4 "completed"; If not, ask again for new C2 codes, displaying a message "not completed".

•

C5 analyze the correct composition of the codes and with a decision element C6, which goes to C7 if they are not correct, a visible error signal C8 is emitted to start again at C1, and if it is correct a visible signal C9 is emitted that indicates which continues with the next stage C10 which the device emits a green light and a sound.

•

C11 is a decisive element which determines the type of code, if it is generic (type EAN13) C12 or if it is RGCode C14. In the next step C15 the RGCode is sent to servers 86 where it is registered.

•

C13 the generic code is sent to the point of sale equipment, which can be a computer or similar equipment C16

The buyer of the article can verify the authenticity of the article and the officiality of the establishment of where it has been acquired through the brand's website, or by sending a mobile telephone message (SMS-MMS), it would be sufficient to enter the unique code and the merchant's license number to check if the item is authentic and the store is authorized for sale.

In this way the sale cycle is closed, from its manufacture, through the distribution to its sale to the consumer. It is noteworthy, as another feature and possibility of exploitation of the invention, that the consumer is registered in a database as a possible beneficiary of any prize or value-added service offered by the brand, in the event that the purchase is made, moment in which the unique code will be activated as it has been sold.

According to another feature of the invention, the structure of the RGCode, preferably symbolized by a Datamatrix type, recognized by the device is RGxxxxyyyyyyyz when:

-

RG is a code review identifier. -xxxx identifies the manufacturer. It consists of 4 alphanumeric characters. Between upper and lower case. -yyyyyyy identifies the logistics unit (pallet, box or sales unit). It consists of 7 characters. Between upper and lower case.

-

z is the checksum of the code. It consists of a character.

It does not necessarily have to be a Datamatrix, it can also be a QR, RFID, etc., even a barcode attached to the EAN13, in the event that finally the operators of the chain still do not have 2D symbol readers.

This is an example in which the described invention may be useful. It will be appreciated that the invention may be used with many other merchandise, articles, etc. such as physical goods such as valuable products, tax stamps, documents, etc. The present invention is contemplated to be used throughout the commercial value chain, from the manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer and consumer as mentioned in the description.

Describing sufficiently the nature of the present invention, as well as the way of putting it into practice, it is stated that everything that does not alter changes

or modify its fundamental principle, it may be subject to variations in detail.

Claims (6)

1.-Anti-fraud and anti-viral system for commercial products, comprising at least one reader of multiple types of coding symbologies or methodologies

(82)

that uniquely identify a product, a communications device

(85)

and a point of sale terminal (84) characterized in that the device (83)

such that: it simultaneously receives information from multiple types and combinations of symbols that encode identification codes; records and verifies the existence of codes in a database (86); and displays messages about the authenticity of the code and the product traceability for each code. 2. Anti-fraud and anti-piracy system according to claim 1 characterized in that the device has to be configured according to the number and types of codes to be processed and the code, or license number, of the establishment where it is installed. 3. Anti-fraud and anti-piracy system according to claim 2, characterized in that the device (83) processes the codes according to the following steps: a) check that the number of codes received corresponds to the number of codes that have been configured b) analyze the correct composition of the codes, if they are not correct the device emits a visible error signal to start over, if it is correct a visible signal is emitted indicating that the next step is continued c) the resulting codes are sent to the point of sale terminal (84) and to the database (86) using some communications device (85) d) if the result is correct or not the device reports via a vi signal sible 4. Anti-fraud and anti-piracy system according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the bar codes are of the EAN13 type and RGCode is the Datamatrix type code. 5. Anti-fraud and anti-piracy system according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the reader of coding symbologies or methodologies (B2) is connected to (B3) through a US port (Universal Serial Bus) 5. Anti-fraud and anti-piracy system according to the preceding claims characterized in that the communications device (85) that gives controlled and secure access to the Intemet network to which it is connected to (83) via a (network) port Ethernet 10. Anti-fraud and anti-piracy system according to the preceding claims characterized in that the c: omunications device (85) allows communication with the database (86). 8. Anti-fraud and anti-piracy system according to the preceding claims. 15 curled because the point of sale terminal (84) is a computer, connected to the device (83) via USB and Ethernet connection.