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Digimarc Corporation, a leading AIPIA member which created Digimarc watermarks, next-generation digital identification and detection-based solutions, recently announced the launch of its Digimarc® Brand Integrity digital solution, which gives brands and their customers more sophisticated and flexible ways to verify the authenticity of products, it says.

Digimarc’s data-driven approach involves assigning each product unit a serialized digital identity that can be tracked in the cloud and accessed through a variety of on-package digital triggers, including the Digimarc digital watermark.

The powerful combination of digitized products and cloud-based data makes the process of authenticating items more accurate and scalable than traditional physical authentication measures, according to the company. It recently acquired EVRYTHNG, the creators of the Product Cloud® platform, which is a feature of the new solution.

“As counterfeiters have become more sophisticated and supply chains more diffuse, companies are recognizing that traditional brand protection approaches that are largely reactive and reliant on trained inspectors and specialized equipment, are both ineffective and inefficient,” said Ken Sickles, chief product officer at Digimarc.

“The company has created a uniquely digital solution that leverages the ubiquity of smartphones and other digital devices to make product authentication much more streamlined and less prone to human error.”

It believes the support of dual-factor authentication, such as scanning both QR codes and digital watermarks on a single package, provides a strong defence against bad actors accustomed to easily circumventing lesser brand protection measures.

“Digitizing products with QR codes is a great starting point,” continued Sickles. “But, when coupled with a robust product cloud and covert digital watermarks, brands can gain even greater visibility into their products and offer consumers the chance to do the same.”

Without a singular source for product data, companies lack actionable intelligence about several product attributes, it asserts. The Digimarc Brand Integrity solution helps brands to protect their reputations by giving every product a digital presence connected to a cloud-based record of its journey and interactions.

This can prove a product’s authenticity, uncovering counterfeits and their origin, and provide insight into a product’s supply chain so that brands can anticipate issues and act fast, it says.

This article was created in collaboration with AIPIA (the Active and Intelligent Packaging Industry Association). Packaging Europe and AIPIA are joining forces to bring news and commentary about the active and intelligent packaging landscape to a larger audience. To learn more about this partnership, click here.