Fakes can be made relatively cheaply. In many countries, especially in the developing world there is a lack of adequate regulation and enforcement. Even in the developed countries, the risk of prosecution and penalties for counterfeiting are inadequate
Combating counterfeiting
Recognising there is a problem is the first step to addressing the problem. Because there is not a visible dent on the cash flow and P&L of a company, such as reject products being written off, the problem is often not tackled until it is too late. Companies and trademark owners need to recognise that if their product makes money, and can be copied, it will be copied. With that in mind companies also need to be aware that there isn't an anti-counterfeiting solution in existence that can't be copied. The objective of solution providers is to make it as difficult as possible and manufacturers should look to the supplier to prove this point.
In addition to anti counterfeiting solutions on a product, large pharmaceutical companies either have their own team of specialists, or use consultants who specialise in the identification of counterfeits and then trace them back up the distribution chain to the manufacturers and subsequently to the financiers.
Some believe that protecting a product costs money and decreases its margin. This fact often puts brand protection at the bottom of the list of priorities for smaller companies. The larger companies, aware of the benefits, already have long established anti-counterfeiting policies in place. This is because in the long run, if a brand is not protected its market share and profitability will fall in line with the public's confidence in the brand.
GlaxoWellcome implemented a Group Quality Policy in 1992 entitled "Protection Against Counterfeiting". This requires all group companies worldwide to:
o Establish formal written procedures for the handling, investigation and reporting of suspect packs
o Incorporate at least one covert anti-counterfeiting feature on all marketed packs to enable authentication
o To apply rigorous controls on the security of supply, use and disposal of components, tooling and print origination materials
o To continuously review the level of counterfeiting in the marketplace, and the effectiveness of the countermeasures used
So, what are the steps to combat counterfeiting?
Security-high barriers to entry
The best anti-counterfeiting strategies embrace a selection of different technologies. A standard banknote carries many different security features, so any security feature should be capable of working in parallel with existing security features. This also protects any existing investment in anti-counterfeiting.
Covert and difficult to corrupt and/or reproduce
If counterfeiters can't see anti-counterfeiting features it makes the feature both more difficult to replicate and more difficult to damage. When reviewing brand protection technologies it is important to consider what technology is available on the market that could reproduce the security feature, such as printers or scanners. Embedded features make reproduction more difficult and expensive for the counterfeiter and require significant obvious damage to the packaging to disable, making a solution tamper evident.
Limited IDs for authentication, unique IDs for track & trace
Assigning just one identity to a product has proved not to be secure enough. A brand owner needs the ability to vary the ID assigned to its products, this will add significantly to the level of security by offering a lower level of tracking at a batch, brand or factory level. Assigning a unique identity to each individual packet or medicine offers manufacturers the ability to track product from 'cradle to grave'. This means protection from sales and warranty fraud and protection against identity reuse.
Remote & machine readable
Making a security feature remote, and machine readable, offers the manufacturer two key benefits. A machine readable solution removes the requirement to employ trained specialists to verify the security feature. The ability to read security features remotely, without line of sight, provides manufacturers with the ability to authenticate products without removing the outer packaging.
In the pharmaceutical sector the most popular form of packing for tablets is blister packs. As each tablet is sealed in its own pocket and to gain access the foil cover has to be broken. It has excellent tamper evident qualities. The simplistic printing on the foil is usually easy to copy and so where authentication is required, either the lidding foil or the PVC underside can incorporate a hologram for greater security.
Incorporating the hologram into the PVC underside enables one to use the same hologram PVC across the range of products, thus assisting in lowering inventories, a very cost effective way to authenticate your brand.
Tamper evident caps: Plastic tamper evident caps are used to ensure the product inside a bottle has not been tampered with. These are not anti-counterfeiting solutions, but do provide a level of security where there is a danger that legitimate bottles could be re-filled with counterfeit product.
Examples include: a tear strip band, push down and twist to open, line up 2 arrows, etc.
Induction seals: Induction seals made of aluminium poly laminate have been very successful due to low price and the effectiveness of the induction seal from tampering. These seals can be further enhanced by having holograms on the top of the foil.
Shrink sleeves: A band made from heat shrinkable PVC is placed over the container cap and neck. The sleeve is shrunk to fit the container. This band must be broken to open the container. The sleeves can be further enhanced by multiple colour printing, incorporation of a hologram or other features.
Covert tagging solutions
Covert tagging solutions offer hidden, and therefore highly difficult to replicate means of assigning an identity to a product. They are designed to be read very quickly from a short distance with a hand-held scanner and impart an indisputable means of authenticating a product and spotting a fake, meaning that inspectors and agents can work effectively in less than ideal situations.
When using covert technologies, it is important that the company safely guards information regarding covert features. The information should only be available to a limited number of people, so that any information leaks can be traced back.
RFID is a type of dynamic labeling that many organisations are turning to as an alternative to traditional barcodes. The use of RFID has the potential to revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry, ensure product integrity, and improve patient safety. RFID tags - which can be tiny adhesive stickers - emit radio signals via an antenna built into the tag. An RFID reader picks up all of the information stored on a microchip built into the tag.
RFID has several advantages over traditional barcodes. Because RFID tags contain microchips, they are able to store large amounts of data, and they have significant read-write capability. In addition, while barcodes require that a laser line pass directly over the barcode, RFID tags do not require direct line-of-site scanning and RFID readers can obtain information from ultra high frequency tags at a range of up to 3 meters. One of the downside of RFID is not an anti counterfeiting device it is a tracking device helps to keep control of your supply chain. Like any new technology as the demand grows, its availability in the market place increases making it possible of a counterfeiter to scan and copy the chip.
RFID is a relatively expensive solution, suitable perhaps for the high-value or high-security end of the market but arguably not cost-efficient for tagging fast moving consumer goods that don't have a huge individual unit value. There is also concern that the lowest cost RFID devices will not withstand gamma ray sterilisation processes commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry.
Pfizer Inc. announced last month that it would employ radiofrequency identification (RFID) in an effort to thwart recent counterfeiting problems with one of the best-selling pharmaceutical products on the market - Viagra. RFID technology can help forward-thinking pharmaceutical manufacturers protect both their copyrights and patient safety, and avert the myriad problems that can occur throughout the supply chain.
Electromagnetic identification use a small laminate tag containing magnetic elements that can be embedded into the product or its packaging. The magnetic elements give off a signal when interrogated by a special scanner and the position of these elements within the tag gives each tag a unique identity, not unlike traditional barcodes.
Another alternative for the manufacturer is taggants. One example is a coding system based on the use of complex bio-molecules that are introduced into the packaging or product. Taggants provide a high level of security and are proving to be extremely difficult to copy. The use of these technologies is held back by their detection method, which is highly specific and usually forensic, involving wet chemistry
Compatibility
When deciding on the level and type of security required, a company needs to make sure the solution they choose is compatible:
1. With the existing production methods
o The anti-counterfeiting feature will need to be integrated into the production process with the minimum of disruption, as this will significantly affect the total applied cost of the solution
2. With materials, paper, plastics, and foils
o Having stated the benefits of embedding security features into products and packaging, it is clear that any solution must be capable of being embedded or covertly placed in any material.
3. With existing security features
o The best anti-counterfeiting strategies embrace a selection of different technologies; a standard banknote carries many different security features, so any security feature should be capable of working in parallel with existing security features. This also protects any existing investment in anti-counterfeiting
4. With existing logistics systems
o The solution will ideally also be capable of working along side existing barcode, and possibly RFID, product tracking and supply chain management systems.
5. With temperature fluctuation, radiation sterilisation and cryogenic storage
o Certain products will undergo radiation sterilisation and cryogenic storage, manufacturers must be confident that security features will withstand these processes.
o Certain products will move between large temperature changes, any solution must be able to withstand such fluctuations.
Like all new techniques, they are usually proprietary and offer the best security, as it is not generally available in the open market. For a security feature to be effective it has to be unique, have limited and known source of availability, be easy to verify and cost effective. Brand and product protection can be achieved by careful package design incorporating appropriate security and tracking features. Equally the industry is responding to the challenge and introducing number of security features, products and tracking systems to stay one step ahead of the counterfeiter.
Your brand is your "golden goose", protect it effectively and profit from it for years to come.
(The author is chairman, Holographic Security Marking Systems P Limited, Mumbai)