News in Brief

Digimarc Signs Multi-Year, $30 Million-Plus Contract

Digimarc Corporation has signed a significant new contract to safeguard the integrity of a nationwide deposit-return recycling system and the authenticity of precious metals and construction materials.

The five-year contract with an international solutions provider is worth more than $32 million, with the potential to grow significantly based on other optional programmes in 2024 and beyond. Under the agreement, the Digimarc Illuminate platform will guard the veracity of precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum, and other metals, along with important building components utilised in commercial construction.

The contract also broadens Digimarc’s entry into a new market adjacency by guarding the integrity of a national deposit-return system, combining Digimarc’s expertise in both anti-counterfeiting and recycling to support increased circularity of food and beverage containers.

For decades, as a leading provider of product digitisation solutions, Digimarc has delivered technologies deterring currency counterfeiting for a global group of central banks. In addition, Digimarc provides covert digital watermarks for various recycling initiatives in Canada, France, and Europe (see ABN, February 2023 and March 2022 – ‘France to be the European Pilot Market for Digimarc Recycle & Watermark for Less Waste’).

Implementing deposit return schemes has become a global trend, with many countries and regions introducing these schemes as a popular tool for promoting sustainability, reducing waste, and protecting the environment. The schemes provide an excellent opportunity for authentication solution providers, and various companies are announcing solutions combining physical and digital technologies (see also ABN April 2022 – ‘Digital Identities for Reusable Packaging’).

Decentryk LaserMinter to Mint Codes

Florida-based Decentryk Corporation has released the LaserMinter range of anti-counterfeiting platforms for minting QR codes (called Phygital Passports by Decentryk), connecting laser-printed codes with a blockchain-based traceability platform.

The Phygital Passport is based on Decentryk’s patent-pending technology combining ultra-high-resolution laser engraving hardware with 3-factor authentication non-fungible token (NFT) software. The technology integrates three different QR codes with an NFT and the ultra-high-resolution laser mark to add a permanent digital fingerprint to all physical products. In this way, it enables a new range of possible digital enhancement features that can be applied to any physical product post-production via the LaserMinter.

The LaserMinter platform comes in three laser wavelengths or colours (IR, blue and UV) for permanently marking physical objects. It can engrave codes up to a size of 3mm x 3mm on metals, leather, wood, plastic and glass.

The delivery of pre-ordered LaserMinters will commence in September 2023 to coincide with the launch of the Phygital user app, the Phygital Club NFT marketplace, and white-label marketplace software tools.

This combination of software and hardware components will enable LaserMinter owners to mint phygital passports, validate product authenticity, and list sales on either the Decentryk NFT marketplace or their own NFT store.

(Readers may also like ‘Linking Laser ID Marks with Tax Stamp Codes’, ABN June 2022).

Arianee and Edgyn Partner for Integrated Authentication Solutions

Arianee, the digital product passport solution provider for sustainable goods, and Edgyn (formerly Arjo Solutions), with its patented ADFIRMIA™ digital fingerprinting technology, have announced a partnership to create authentication and proof of ownership solutions that link physical products to their digital ‘twins’.

The digital product passport solution is based on NFT standards and web3 technologies (open source, interconnected, decentralised applications powered by blockchain computing architecture). It carries all information relating to the product (sourcing, manufacturing, label), as well as dynamic, time-stamped events such as product repairs, maintenance, and resale.

Users can verify the authenticity of their goods through a simple smartphone scan using an app. The scan will unlock access to a digital passport intrinsically linked to the product. To make this link possible, for each product manufactured, brand owners will need to: 

• Record a digital fingerprint with the Edgyn solution

• Issue a digital passport with the Arianee solution

• Embed the fingerprint within the digital passport metadata to create an unbreakable connection between the physical product, the digital fingerprint and the digital passport.

eBay Continues Authentication Acquisitions, Acquires Certilogo

eBay has purchased Certilogo, an AI-powered digital ID and authentication startup, as part of its ongoing effort to improve its authentication and fraud detection capabilities.

The agreement will improve eBay’s capacity to verify the authenticity of designer clothing for secondhand buyers and expand its secondhand retail business. Depending on regulatory approval, the transaction is anticipated to complete in the third quarter.

eBay acquired the AI fraud detection company 3PM Shield in February to help identify dubious sellers on its marketplace. In 2021, the business also acquired Sneaker Con Digital’s shoe authentication division.

Additionally, eBay has recently introduced a number of authentication programmes.

Its Authenticity Guarantee programme was expanded to streetwear in May. Each verified item is given a special authenticity tag with a QR code. Customers can access the item’s credentials by scanning the code on the tag, which is attached to the item. Together with streetwear shoes, watches, jewellery, purses, and trading cards, streetwear is the sixth category of items that eBay currently authenticates. The brand owners themselves are not involved in this programme.

However, they are involved in another new programme, called ‘Certified by Brand’. This is a luxury resale programme launched by eBay in April, which allows brands to validate the sale of their pre-owned products. Products are categorised as ‘direct from the brand’ or from a brand-authorised seller. This denotes that they are either new or used inventory from the producer of the brand, have already been authenticated by the brand, or come from an authorised reseller. Alberto Milani, Ernst Benz, Konstantin Chaykin, and Zodiac Watches are some of the participating brands in this programme.