Authentication of source, plus, for goods and services system, method, and components
A unique identifier is created for each article (clothing, accessories, jewels, fragrances, manufactures, etc.) for which the provider of the article desires to authenticate its Brand source to the party acquiring the article to substantiate to that acquiring party that they are receiving a genuine article. The unique identifier is so provided from a secure third party that also stores the unique identifier, possibly with other historical information, in a secure data base accessable only by authorized parties. The unique identifier may be provided on tags to be carried by the respective article or it may be applied directly to the article as by direct part marking from the material of the article and when so provided it includes a brand source identifier of the party providing the unique identifier as an additional protective measure. The unique identifier furthermore may be provided as an encoded, imageable symbology such as a “Data Matrix”.
1. A Brand “source” authenticator; comprising,
a). a carrier with at least a first human observable surface;
b). authenticator indicia carried by said first human observable surface;
c). said authenticator indicia indicating the “source” of the Brand “source” authenticator;
d). authentication indicia also carried by said carrier;
e). a selected portion of said carrier being usable to attach said carrier to an article to facilitate authentication of the Brand “source” of the article; and
f). said authentication indicia including at least encoded symbology which,
when decoded, indicates the Brand “source” of the article to which said carrier is to be attached.
2. The Brand “source” authenticator of claim 1 wherein said authentication indicia further includes an identifier unique to each individual article to which said carrier is to be attached.
3. The Brand “source” authenticator of claim 1 wherein said authentication indicia is of the 2D Data Matrix type.
4. The Brand “source” authenticator of claim 3 wherein said authentication indicia is applied to said carrier by the use of a laser.
5. The Brand “source” authenticator of claim 1 wherein said authentication indicia is direct part marked onto said carrier.
6. The Brand “source” authenticator of claim 2 wherein said authentication indicia also includes encoded symbology with additional characterizations of the article to which said carrier is to be attached.
7. The Brand “source” authenticator of claim 1 wherein said authenticator indicia includes a Brand of the authenticator.
8. The Brand “source” authenticator of claim 7 wherein said authenticator indicia also includes a Brand of the “source” of the article to which the carrier is to be attached.
9. A Brand “source” authentication system for multiple articles; comprising
a). a Brand “source” authenticator to be attached to each such article;
b). encoded Brand “source” authentication symbology carried by each of said Brand “source” authenticators;
c). each said authentication symbology including an indicia unique to the article to which it is to be attached such that each of said Brand “source” authenticators is unique and differs from all other Brand “source” authenticators;
d). said Brand “source” authentication symbology including said unique indicia being applied to each said authenticator by a party other then the Brand “source” and
e). authenticator indicia also carried by each said Brand “source” authenticator indicating the “source” of the Brand “source” authenticator.
10. The Brand “source” authentication system of claim 9 wherein the party other then the Brand “source” also maintains a data storage file of the respective authentication symbology including said unique indicia.
11. The Brand “source” authentication system of claim 10 wherein the respective authentication symbology with each said unique identifier is entered into said data storage after its carrier is attached to an article preferably by the party attaching the carrier to the article.
12. The Brand “source” authentication system of claim 11 including an imager/reader to image and decode said authentication symbology carried by said carrier and to effect a comparison thereof with the data stored in said data storage.
13. The Brand “source” authentication system of claim 12 including a printer for printing an authentication certificate upon a positive comparison of said encoded symbology carried by said carrier and said data stored in said data storage.
14. The Brand “source” authenticator of claim 9 wherein said authenticator indicia includes a Brand of the authenticator.
15. The Brand “source” authenticator of claim 14 wherein said authenticator indicia also includes a Brand of the “source” of the article to which the carrier is to be attached.