Printable, writeable article for tracking counterfeit and diverted products
An article includes a writeable memory printed on a substrate, a characteristic of the article usable to derive a seed value, and a value stored in the memory, wherein the value is generated by a hashing process using the seed value. The writeable memory may also be a readable memory, and may store more than one value.
1. An article, comprising:
a writeable memory printed on a substrate attached to an object;
a characteristic of the object outside the memory, usable to derive a seed value;
a value stored in the memory, wherein the value is generated by a hashing process using the seed value, the value being an authentication value; and
a step number stored in the memory, wherein the step number corresponds to the value stored in the memory.
2. The article of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises at least one of paper, a sticker, a bottle, a box, and a document.
3. The article of claim 1 , wherein the writeable memory is also readable memory.
4. The article of claim 1 , wherein the characteristic of the object is an explicit characteristic.
5. The article of claim 4 , wherein the explicit characteristic is one of a bar code or a QR code.
6. The article of claim 1 , wherein the characteristic of the object is an implicit characteristic.
7. The article of claim 6 , wherein the implicit characteristic is one of at least one dimension of the article or a pattern on the article.
8. The article of claim 1 , further comprising at least one conductive contact electrically connected to the memory.
9. The article of claim 1 , further comprising a secondary value stored in the memory.