ISO publishes standard for anti-counterfeit tools

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published a new standard - called ISO 12931:2012 - for anti-counterfeiting tools and technologies.

The standard covers the use of authentication solutions such as holograms, taggants, marks and other technologies that companies can use to make sure that their products can be distinguished from fakes.

It will "make it easier to provide reliable evidence to identify genuine products throughout the entire material good life cycle" by specifying performance requirements for authentication tools, said ISO.

ISO 12931 specifies performance criteria and evaluation methodology for authentication solutions used to establish material good authenticity throughout the entire material good life cycle, and importantly does not specify how technical solutions achieve these performance criteria.

It can be used by organisations of all types and sizes, and applies to both products and/or their packaging, it added.

ISO first started working on the standard in 2009 after a request from French standards and third-party certification group AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation), which was looking for a way to compare the hundreds of different devices and systems that can be used to authenticate products.

At the time, ISO noted that a standard would "increase market transparency regarding the reliability and robustness of authentication tools [and] help businesses to make an informed choice when selecting the best tools for establishing the authenticity of a product."

The standard would also help vendors of anti-counterfeiting systems, whether simple or complex, to improve the solutions they offer, the organisation said.

"Counterfeiting has become one of the major activities of organised crime," commented Jean-Michel Loubry, chair of the ISO project committee that developed the standard.

"Consumers do not always have the time or expertise to spot fakes, and are easily tricked into thinking a product is something else. With most global brands targeted by knock-offs, industry will welcome ISO 12931," he added.

Among the issues to addressed by the standard are criteria for data processing, interoperability of anti-counterfeiting systems, capacity to facilitate controls, authorisation of data access, reliability and efficiency to detect counterfeited products, as well as security including tracking.

The standard is available for purchase at a cost of 122 Swiss francs (around $130) from ISO's website.