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All Advanced Materials Associations Authentication Brand Protection Case Studies Companies Consumer & Industrial Products Countries Covert & Forensic Security Document Protection Editorials Enforcement & Surveillance Events Excise Products Free Government Illicit Trade Interviews News Overt Security Regulations Reports & Studies Standards Strategies Sustainability Tax & Revenue Tax Stamps Technology & Systems Tenders Track and Trace

Chander S Jeena

17 July 2025

3 min read

Generative AI Watermarking Named One of Top 10 Emerging Technologies

A new World Economic Forum report1 has identified generative AI watermarking as one of the top 10 emerging technologies of 2025.

Free Free

Chander S Jeena

17 July 2025

4 min read

Why Postage Stamps are Still Relevant... and Still a Target for Fraud

In June, police officials in India exposed a counterfeit postage stamp scam worth INR 25 million ($290,000), while last year, in the US, a California resident pleaded guilty to defrauding the United States Postal Service out of more than $150 million through fake stamps. Similarly, in the UK, Royal Mail investigated the mass counterfeiting of its new barcoded stamps after customers reported being forced to pay a £5 penalty to collect mail due to counterfeit stamps.

Document Protection

Chander S Jeena

17 July 2025

3 min read

IPZS – Safeguarding Italy’s Identity in a Digital Age

In the last edition of Authentication and Brand News™, we described Italy’s new state seal adorned with the national flag for wine authenticity. Produced by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS), the new seal symbolises Italian patriotism as well as designation of origin. In this article, we look at how IPZS is working as a quiet but formidable guardian for Italian trust and authenticity.

Companies

Chander S Jeena

13 July 2025

3 min read

EUIPO Advances 2025 Strategic Vision for IP Protection

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is actively advancing its Strategic Plan 2030, which aims to build a strong, inclusive, and sustainable intellectual property (IP) system across Europe. A recent milestone in this effort was a high-level conference held on 1-2 July 2025, co-hosted with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) at EUIPO’s headquarters in Alicante, Spain.

Technology & Systems

Chander S Jeena

13 July 2025

3 min read

Photonic Crystals in Anticounterfeiting

Photonic crystals (PCs) are optical nanostructures that affect the propagation of light by the periodic variation in their refractive index. As counterfeiting techniques become ever more sophisticated, PCs offer physically unclonable functions (PUFs) due to their defect-sensitive optical behaviour and structural colours that cannot be reproduced accurately by traditional printing or scanning techniques.

Technology & Systems

Chander S Jeena

13 July 2025

2 min read

Lumenco and XRD Nano Partner to Scale Microlenses for Brand Security

US-based Lumenco, together with its subsidiary in brand protection (Nanopixel®), has announced a strategic alliance with UK-based XRD Nano to co-develop new-generation solutions for manufacturing microlens arrays and high-performance UV chemistry for brand security.

Companies

Linstrom K Marangu

29 June 2025

6 min read

Excise in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities, Solutions

Africa is a continent with a serious financing gap. According to the African Union, ‘Africa’s sustainable financing gap until 2030 is about $1.6 trillion,’ and ‘the continent needs additional financing of about $194 billion annually to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This financing gap is equivalent to 7% of Africa’s GDP’.

Free Free

Chander S Jeena

29 June 2025

2 min read

Crane Authentication Expands Portfolio with Phygital Innovations

Crane Authentication has launched two distinct solutions: InsightPulse™ and Digital Asset Watermarking. Each aims to address different challenges in today's complex phygital threat landscape.

Companies

Chander S Jeena

29 June 2025

2 min read

Authentic Italian Wine Displays the Tricolour of Patriotism

From April 2025, every bottle of Italy’s finest DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) and DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) wine features a new state seal adorned with the national flag. The tricolour flag is displayed next to the emblem of the Italian Republic, transforming the seal into a symbol of patriotism as well as a designation of origin.

Brand Protection

Chander S Jeena

29 June 2025

4 min read

News in Brief

Crane Authentication has launched two distinct solutions: InsightPulse™ and Digital Asset Watermarking. Each aims to address different challenges in today’s complex phygital-threat landscape.

Authentication

Chander S Jeena

29 June 2025

6 min read

South Korean Startup Expands into Global Anticounterfeiting with Layered QR Code

South Korean startup NexpotSolution is emerging as a key player in the anticounterfeiting industry with its proprietary authentication solution, AllmyTAG. Central to this solution is a technology known as the Layer QR Code, designed to address the vulnerabilities of traditional QR codes.

Companies

Aftab Baloch

29 June 2025

4 min read

Tackling Illicit Trade and Counterfeiting in Pakistan

Pakistan faces a significant challenge from illicit trade and counterfeiting, a reality starkly reflected in the ‘2025 Illicit Trade Index’, published by the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT), where Pakistan ranked 101 out of 158 countries.

Illicit Trade

Chander S Jeena

29 June 2025

3 min read

Global Counterfeit Trade Continues Steady Climb, OECD Claims

A new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the EU Intellectual Property Office, have revealed that, in 2021, global trade in counterfeit goods was valued at approximately $467 billion, or 2.3% of total global imports. This absolute value represents an increase from 2019, when counterfeit trade was at $464 billion, although its relative share decreased compared to 2019 when it accounted for 2.5% of world trade. For imports into the EU, the value of counterfeits was estimated at $117 billion, or 4.7% of total EU imports.

Reports & Studies

Chander S Jeena

29 June 2025

2 min read

DPP Could Double the Life Value of Products

Upcoming EU regulations are expected to transform the fashion resale market by potentially doubling the lifetime value of products. Research from Bain & Company and eBay suggests that consumers could reap up to 65% of these benefits. This shift offers a unique opportunity for brands to enhance their value chains through increased transparency, trust, and circularity, moving beyond mere regulatory compliance.

Regulations

Nicola Sudan

29 June 2025

3 min read

EU Illicit Cigarettes Surge to Highest Level Since 2015 – Huge Tax Variations not Helping

KPMG has released its latest annual study on illicit cigarettes in Europe, commissioned by Philip Morris Products SA, and covering 38 European markets (including 27 EU member states). The study shows that while overall illicit consumption in Europe grew marginally in 2024 (by 0.2%), consumption in the EU27 soared by 10.8% to reach 9.2% of the total market – the highest level in nearly a decade.

Excise Products Illicit Trade Reports & Studies

Francisco Mandiola

29 June 2025

5 min read

It Takes Two to Tango – Argentine Tax Authority Juggles Producers and Resellers

Amid sweeping efforts by President Milei’s government to reform Argentina’s tax administration, the country’s tobacco tax stamp programme is an important step towards such reform. While the programme has helped Argentina’s tax authority reconcile production volumes with the number of products actually sold and taxes paid, there is an ongoing price disparity in the market, between manufacturers and resellers, that is ultimately resulting in less tax going to the government.

Case Studies Countries Tax & Revenue

Nicola Sudan

29 June 2025

2 min read

Togo Launches Fuel Marking

Togo has launched a fuel marking system, initially for subsidised industrial diesel, but rapidly extending, in a second phase, to unleaded gasoline and road diesel.

Excise Products

Nicola Sudan

29 June 2025

2 min read

Optical Upgrade: Uttarakhand Introduces New Tax Stamps

The Uttarakhand State Excise Department, located in northern India, has enhanced its tax stamps by incorporating optical security features.

Tax Stamps Technology & Systems

Nicola Sudan

29 June 2025

7 min read

Expanding Tobacco and Alcohol Programmes into New Sectors

In recent years, governments have been expanding the range of goods and services they apply excise tax and regulatory controls to – not only for generating additional revenue, but also to influence consumer behaviour, address public health concerns, and support environmental and regulatory objectives.

Case Studies Track and Trace

Chander S Jeena

29 June 2025

1 min read

TOPPAN Launches Illumigram in Colour

TOPPAN Digital has expanded its Illumigram™ offering with a new colour version. Originally available only in white, the enhanced hologram now delivers multi-colour 3D text and images that appear when illuminated by strong light – such as a smartphone torch.

Overt Security

Latest News

Generative AI Watermarking Named One of Top 10 Emerging Technologies

Why Postage Stamps are Still Relevant... and Still a Target for Fraud

IPZS – Safeguarding Italy’s Identity in a Digital Age

EUIPO Advances 2025 Strategic Vision for IP Protection

Photonic Crystals in Anticounterfeiting

Lumenco and XRD Nano Partner to Scale Microlenses for Brand Security

Excise in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities, Solutions

Crane Authentication Expands Portfolio with Phygital Innovations

Authentic Italian Wine Displays the Tricolour of Patriotism

News in Brief

South Korean Startup Expands into Global Anticounterfeiting with Layered QR Code

Tackling Illicit Trade and Counterfeiting in Pakistan

Global Counterfeit Trade Continues Steady Climb, OECD Claims

DPP Could Double the Life Value of Products

EU Illicit Cigarettes Surge to Highest Level Since 2015 – Huge Tax Variations not Helping

It Takes Two to Tango – Argentine Tax Authority Juggles Producers and Resellers

Togo Launches Fuel Marking

Optical Upgrade: Uttarakhand Introduces New Tax Stamps

Expanding Tobacco and Alcohol Programmes into New Sectors

TOPPAN Launches Illumigram in Colour

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