Product protection

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Under product protection , product security or anti-counterfeiting [ æntɪ kaʊntəˌfɪtɪŋ ] ( Engl. 'Against counterfeiting ") means all measures by which a product against product piracy and counterfeiting can be protected. The term product protection also includes measures against willful impairment of products such as food.

The approaches pursued are of a legal, organizational, economic and technological nature. The aim of all approaches is to make counterfeiting of products so expensive with the simplest and cheapest possible means that it is no longer worthwhile for the counterfeiters. For this, a distinction must be made between the identification feature and the security feature . Identification features are, for example, logos or a typical product design. They differentiate a product from competing products. However, such identification features do not provide any security when it comes to counterfeit products. The situation is different with the security feature, which can be, for example, a hologram or a security thread embedded in the product . In addition, there are various approaches to designing a product in such a way that the analysis of the product ( reverse engineering ) or the production of copies is made more difficult.

With product protection, the calculated turnover in the product life cycle can be achieved, since losses due to product piracy and imitation are prevented. It supplements the strategies of protecting intellectual property with property rights (such as patents, trademarks) and, in contrast to these, has a preventive effect.

The product protection used is already designed in the new and further development and is ideally patentable itself. It can require both a more complex and a simpler product structure. In open innovation projects for researching and developing hardware, product protection means that intellectual property is preserved. So promotes z. B. the partially concealed multi-body co-simulation the willingness to cooperate for open hardware projects.

Requirements profile for product security

The Orgalime guide (Europe Liaison Group of the European Mechanical, Electrical, Electronic and Metalworking Industries) for combating brand and product piracy names the exclusivity of the method, a solid connection with the product, the combination of requirements for effective methods of product security visible and invisible elements, easy control and recognizability, no possibility to copy, remove or change the features and a reasonable cost / benefit ratio.

The requirements result in the following principles for effective product security: A good security feature requires that it can only be copied by third parties with the greatest possible effort and expense. If the effort involved in counterfeiting a product becomes so great that counterfeiting becomes uneconomical for counterfeiters, they sometimes do not even consider counterfeiting.

A security feature should be able to be identified quickly and easily by auditors. To combat product piracy, it is imperative that the security features on the protected products are checked regularly. This can be done with your own employees or by contracted companies, but is also carried out by customs on a random basis after an application for border confiscation. The faster and easier such a check can be carried out, the more checks can be carried out and the more intensively product piracy can be combated.

The security feature should be used as cost-effectively and economically as possible. Last but not least, the security feature should also be checked for its profitability for the company. The costs resulting from the loss of sales and damage to the image must be compared with the benefits of the security feature. The cost / performance comparison with other security features must also be made.

Organizational measures

Organizational measures secure the supply chain and the internal and external flow of knowledge about products, processes and strategies, whereby in order to maintain the innovation climate and thus the innovative capacity of an organization, one has to weigh between confidentiality and knowledge transfer.

Technical measures

In addition to the organizational and legal options for defending against product piracy through product security, it is above all the technical solutions that are essential for effective product security. The technical solutions for product security include holograms , kinegrams , smart cards , magnetic strips , micro-color codes , digital watermarks , DNA or nanotechnologies , security labels (VOID foils, document foils), infrared or UV varnishes, data matrix codes, online checks the legality of a software copy, querying the authenticity of a product by transmitting the product code by telephone (call-in) and tracking goods through the supply chain to detect unusual product movements as well as so-called tracking & tracing, e.g. with the help of RFID transponders. These technologies also enable the identification of originals for the legally secure defense against unjustified product liability claims that are based on copies. These measures shift the starting point of product piracy to production and thereby increase the effort, making the creation of copies economically unattractive.

Product protection for food

Since 2003, the term product protection has also been understood to mean the protection of food against malicious, illegal or terrorist acts. The term Food Defense has become a synonym for this internationally in the corresponding food-specific quality management standards (e.g. BRC Global Standard or IFS Food Version 6) .

Instructions & concepts

The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) has published numerous instructions and concepts for the protection of food :

  • Guidance for Industry: Food Producers, Processors, and Transporters: Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance
  • Food Defense 101
  • Food Defense Plan Builder
  • Vulnerability Assessment Software
  • CARVER + Shock Primer
  • ACM BEST Practices

Particular attention is paid to the controlled access of people to the company premises (e.g. identification requirement, video surveillance, production areas electronically secured by chips) and the employment of trustworthy, well-trained staff in sensitive areas of production as well as regular food defense site inspections by the Food Defense Representative.

Methods

International, food-specific quality management standards (e.g. BRC Global Standard or IFS Food Version 6 ) require such measures. Important elements here are the documentation and regular checks of the supply chain, the use of sealed transport vehicles and / or sealed general cargo:

Types of sealing

Security level

Security tape:

  • Security level low because such tapes are easy to obtain and there is no uniquely assigned control / security number
  • not suitable for machine readability
  • Documentation is only possible with a lot of time expenditure by keeping lists

General cargo seal:

  • Security level very high, because there is a unique control / security number and other security features such as B. holograms etc. are possible
  • Easily machine-readable with a printed bar or QR code (e.g. with an app)
  • Machine readability enables the generation of forgery-proof documentation

Truck & container seals:

  • Security level high, because a unique control / security number is available
  • machine-readable with printed bar or QR code (e.g. with an app)
  • Machine readability enables the generation of forgery-proof documentation

literature

  • Thomas Meiwald: Concepts for protection against product piracy and unwanted know-how leakage , Dr. Hut Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-8439-0167-3
  • Oliver Kleine, Dieter Kreimer, Nora Lieberknecht (eds.): Robust piracy design of products and processes , VDMA Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-8163-0601-6
  • Michael Abramovici, Ludger Overmeyer, Bernhard Wirnitzer (eds.): Labeling technologies for effective protection against product piracy , VDMA Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-8163-0602-3
  • Eberhard Abele, Albert Albers, Jan C. Aurich, Willibald A. Günther (eds.): Effective protection against product piracy in companies - Recognizing piracy risks and implementing protective measures , VDMA Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-8163-0603-0
  • Kai Schnapauff Preventive protection against copying of technical products , TCW Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-941967-01-4
  • Rainer Erd / Michael Rebstock: Product and brand piracy in China , Shaker Verlag, Aachen 2010 ISBN 978-3-8322-8996-6
  • Thomas Meiwald, Markus Petermann, Udo Lindemann: Creation of a protection concept to avoid product piracy , In: Industrie Management, N. Gronau, H. Krallmann , B. Scholz-Reiter, GITO mbH Verlag für Industrielle Informationstechnik und Organization, Berlin 2008, ISSN  1434 -1980
  • Marcus von Welser, Alexander González: Brand and product piracy, strategies and approaches to combating them , Wiley-VCH, 2007, ISBN 3-527-50239-4
  • Christoph Wiard Neemann: Methodology for protecting against product imitations, Shaker Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8322-6271-6
  • Thorsten Staake, Elgar Fleisch, Countering Counterfeit Trade, Illicit Market, Best-Practice Strategies, and Management Toolbox, 2008, ISBN 3540769463
  • Thomas Meiwald, Markus Petermann, Carlos Gorbea, Sebastian Kortler: Fighting Product Piracy: Selecting Action Measures for OEMs Based on Links to Situational Influencing Factors , In: Self-optimizing Mechatronic Systems: Design the Future, J. Gausemeier, F. Rammig, W Schäfer, WV Westfalia Druck GmbH, Paderborn 2008, ISBN 978-3-939350-42-2
  • Ingo Winkler, Wang XueLi: Made in China - brands and product piracy. Strategies of counterfeiters & defense strategies for companies , IKO-Verlag Frankfurt, 2007, ISBN 3-88939-893-6
  • Jörg Kammerer, Xiaoli Ma, Ina Melanie Rehn, Hans-Joachim Fuchs: Pirates, forgers and copiers: Effective methods and strategies against the infringement of industrial property rights in China , Gabler Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3834901590
  • David M. Hopkins, Lewis T. Kontnik, Mark T. Turnage: Counterfeiting Exposed - Protecting Your Brand and Customers, Wiley 2003, ISBN 0-471-26990-5

Web links

credentials

  1. http://productpiraterie.neemann.org : Overview of a procedure against product imitations with technical and strategic measures
  2. Guidance for Industry: Food Producers, Processors, and Transporters: Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance , March 2003, US Food and Drug Administration.
  3. ^ Food Defense 101
  4. ^ Food Defense Plan Builder
  5. Vulnerability Assessment Software
  6. CARVER + Shock Primer
  7. ACM-BEST-Practices ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.americancasting.com
  8. a b c d e f + Seal Manager Hasenhütl Consulting, Dr. Klaus Hasenhütl, Berliner Ring 40, 8047 Graz, Austria