Anti-counterfeit technology news in brief

Updates from Thinfilm Electronics, MultiDimension Technology, YPB Group, Taaneh LTD and Origicheck.

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Norway's Thinfilm Electronics' near-field communications (NFC) tags have joined the security features interfaced with the World Customs Organisation's IPM online anti-counterfeiting tool, which is used by customs officers to help distinguish between authentic and counterfeit shipments in the field.  The NFC labels - which have just been deployed by drinks manufacturer Diageo to protect Johnnie Walker Blue Label bottles - were first introduced in March. The NFC OpenSense and NFC Barcode products are the first technologies based on NFC to be included in the IPM Connected system, which links vendor technologies to the IPM database, according to TFE.

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MultiDimension Technology (MDT) has launched a new range of tunneling magnetoresistance sensors - under the MIS63xx brand - that it claims are the world's first TMR magnetic sensors for magnetic image scanning with high-resolution in 50DPI. The range is designed for use in financial anti-counterfeit appliances such as banknote sorters, ATMs and vending machines. The company's chief executive Song Xue said the new products "will enable higher level of security for the next-generation [of] financial anti-counterfeit technology."

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A new memorabilia and collectibles online marketplace called LegacyXChange due to be launched later this year says it intends to use a covert marker system to guard against the infiltration of counterfeits. The technology will be supplied by YPB Group, an Australia-listed company that focuses on the use of tracers based on rare earth minerals, according to a letter of intent signed by YPB and LegacyXChange parent company True2Beauty. Memorabilia sold directly by the site owners will be marked with the tracers to help assure authenticity, although it will also allow third-party sales of unmarked items.

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US company Taaneh Ltd has filed for a patent in the US (No. 20150060699-A1) on its diamond nanoparticle-based authentication platform, which is being targeted for use in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics textiles, food and other industries.  The system is based on varying the populations of diamond particles in products to be labelled, which can create markers with fluorescence emissions of different "wavelengths, intensities and durations" when exposed to light sources. As the particles are inert they could be used to mark not only packaging but also ingestible items such pills and other medicinal formulations.

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A start-up company in Kenya called Origicheck has launched a mobile phone-based verification system that will allow consumers to check whether a product is authentic by checking a code via either an SMS message or a smartphone app. The company says its labels are already in use by a number of manufacturers selling goods in Kenya, including Top Score Brands' Longer motorcycle batteries. Companies register on the Origicheck platform and order batches of stickers with pre-generated unique codes that can be attached to their products.