GB2567186A

GB2567186A - A method and system for authenticating a product

Info

Publication number: GB2567186A
Application number: GB1716249.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sherlock Charlie
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-10-05
Filing date: 2017-10-05
Publication date: 2019-04-10
Also published as: GB201716249D0

Abstract

This invention relates to a method and system for authenticating a product. The system comprises a blockchain database 3 having a QR code generator 5; a product manufacturing facility having a QR code printer 9; a secure communication channel between the blockchain database and the product manufacturing facility 15; a user communication device (UCD) 11 having a user interface 13, a verification application (APP) and a camera; and a communication channel between the UCD and the blockchain database. In use, the manufacturing facility requests a QR code from the blockchain database. Upon receipt, the manufacturing facility marks a product with the QR code 19 and sends a product record relating to the product and associated with that QR code to the blockchain database for storage. A consumer with a smartphone or like device can capture the QR code and retrieve a product record so that the product record can be compared with the physical product to verify authenticity.

Description

“A method and system for authenticating a product”

Introduction

This invention relates to a method and system for authenticating a product.

Counterfeit goods are a major threat to both producers and consumers alike. From a customer’s perspective, the counterfeit goods may present a material risk to their health and safety. From a producer’s perspective, the counterfeit goods may present a significant risk to their financial security and reputation. Accordingly, there is interest from both the producers and the consumers to tackle the dissemination of counterfeit goods.

Typically, counterfeiters target high value goods in industries such as, but not limited to, pharmaceuticals, aviation/automotive parts, luxury goods and medical devices. It is immediately apparent how counterfeit goods that are not manufactured to the required exacting specifications in the pharmaceutical, aviation/automotive parts and medical devices fields could have catastrophic consequences for the consumer. It is also evident how counterfeit goods may have a damaging affect on the reputation of genuine producers when products thought to originate from them are found to be deficient.

Counterfeiting of goods is a very substantial problem and significant efforts and resources have been dedicated towards preventing the spread of counterfeit goods. For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, according to a 2008 study by the World Health Organisation’s International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce, counterfeit goods accounted for 10% of the world’s medicines. These counterfeit medicines may have the wrong dosage of the active ingredient, the incorrect active ingredient or indeed no active ingredient at all and the result of taking such medicaments can be harmful if not fatal. It has been estimated that the counterfeit medicine trade is worth in excess of €110 Billion annually and therefore there are numerous parties willing to risk the consequences for a portion of this highly lucrative business. According to a study by BCC Research, global sales of anti-counterfeiting packaging technologies were worth (USD) $64 Billion in 2010 and were projected to rise to (USD) $74.2 Billion by 2015.

-2Heretofore, the anti-counterfeiting packaging technologies in the pharmaceutical industry have consisted primarily of RFID tag identification or ultra-violet marking of legitimate products. Although an effective way of differentiating between real and counterfeit goods, there are numerous problems with the existing approaches. For example, RFID tag technology is relatively expensive to implement on individual packets of medicaments. Accordingly, there is a reluctance on the part of many manufacturers to implement such systems and the end result of those that do is a further increase in the price of the end product for the consumer. Secondly, although difficult to replicate by counterfeiters, the challenges they pose are not insurmountable and determined counterfeiters have been known to circumvent these measures. Furthermore, the known approaches are suitable for use by intermediaries that have the necessary equipment for detecting and reading the security measures however these approaches are seldom suitable for use by the end user. For example, pharmacists may have the necessary RFID reader to validate the authenticity of a pharmaceutical good although the patients (i.e. the end user) will typically not have this equipment and will rely on the party that they purchase the medicament from to verify its authenticity. This is not always entirely satisfactory.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for authenticating a product that overcomes at least some of the above-identified problems. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and system for authenticating a product that offers a useful alternative choice to the consumer.

Statements of Invention

According to the invention there is provided a method of authenticating a product in a system, the system comprising: a blockchain database having a QR code generator; a product manufacturing facility having a QR code printer; a secure communication channel between the blockchain database and the product manufacturing facility; a user communication device (UCD) having a user interface, a verification application (APP), a memory having product records associated with QR codes thereon, and a camera; and a communication channel between the UCD and the blockchain database; the method comprising the initial steps of:

- 3the blockchain database transmitting a unique QR code to the product manufacturing facility;

the product manufacturing facility marking a product with the unique QR code and transmitting a product record to the blockchain database; and the blockchain database storing the QR code and the associated product record in the blockchain database; and thereafter, upon a user wishing to authenticate the product, the method comprising the steps of:

the user capturing the QR code with the camera on their UCD;

the APP performing an offline authentication challenge on the QR code;

the APP displaying an authentication result to the offline authentication challenge on the user interface of the UCD; and, on the QR code passing the offline authentication challenge, the method comprising the steps of:

the APP transmitting an online authentication request including the QR code to the blockchain database;

the blockchain database receiving the online authentication request including the QR code from the UCD, retrieving the product record associated with that QR code from the blockchain database and transmitting an authentication response including the product record associated with that QR code to the UCD for display on the user interface; and the user inspecting the product record and authenticating the product against the product record displayed on the user interface.

By having such a method, the product’s authenticity may be checked by the end user provided they have a user communication device such as a smartphone. As the smartphone is practically a ubiquitous device even in many third world areas, this is seen as a particularly suitable method to allow consumers themselves to authenticate the

-4goods. The user will be able to compare the product with the product record to see if the product matches the product record. The initial authentication of the QR code is performed on the UCD by the APP by reading the QR code and authenticating the QR code. This allows offline authentication which can be enabled for specific products or specific markets. Furthermore, the method is relatively inexpensive to implement and will not require expensive equipment to set up. This will help to promote manufacturers to implement the technology and will keep the cost of the end product down. Advantageously, the QR code and the associated product record are stored in a blockchain database thereby making the information accessible to third parties while at the same time making the information practically impervious to attack and corruption.

In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method in which the QR code is encrypted and the method comprises the intermediate step of the APP decrypting the QR code.

In one embodiment of the invention, the offline authentication challenge comprises the step of the APP decrypting the QR code to determine code authenticity. This is a simple way of determining whether or not the code is authentic. If the code cannot be decrypted, this is indicative that it is not a valid code.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which upon receipt of the QR code from the UCD, if the decryption of the QR code by the APP fails, the method comprises the step of the APP displaying an authentication result including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD. This is seen as a particularly useful implementation of the present invention. In this way, it will be relatively simple to identify whether or not the QR code and by extension the product is authentic or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the offline authentication challenge comprises the step of the APP retrieving a digital signature from the QR code. This is seen as another simple way of determining whether or not the QR code is authentic. The digital signature may be retrieved after decryption if the QR code was encrypted.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which upon receipt of the QR code from the UCD, if the verification of the digital signature by the APP fails, the

- 5method comprises the step of the APP displaying an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD. This is seen as a particularly useful implementation of the present invention. In this way, it will be relatively simple to identify whether or not the QR code and by extension the product is authentic or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the offline authentication challenge comprises the step of the APP retrieving embedded product details from the QR code. Again, this may be done after decryption if the QR code was encrypted. The product details may be used in the offline authentication challenge by presenting the product details on the user interface of the UCD and thereafter allowing the user to compare the details displayed on screen with the details of the product.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which upon receipt of the QR code from the UCD, if there is no product record associated with the QR code in the APP, the method comprises the step of the APP displaying an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD. This is seen as a particularly useful implementation of the present invention. In this way, it will be relatively simple to identify whether or not the QR code and by extension the product is authentic or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the digital signature is sent with the QR code to the blockchain database as part of the online authentication request.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which upon receipt of the QR code from the UCD, if there is no product record associated with the QR code in the blockchain database, the method comprises the step of the blockchain database transmitting an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD. This is seen as a particularly useful implementation of the present invention. In this way, it will be relatively simple to identify whether or not the QR code and by extension the product is authentic or not.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which the method comprises the step of the blockchain database transmitting a plurality of unique QR codes to the product manufacturing facility for subsequent use by the manufacturing

-6facility to mark a plurality of products. In this way, the QR codes can be supplied in batches and the manufacturing process will be able to work effectively in an off-line mode.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which the manufacturing facility transmits a plurality of product records along with the QR codes associated with each of the product records to the blockchain database.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which the blockchain database maintains a record of authentication requests relating to a QR code and upon the number of authentication requests relating to a QR code exceeding a predetermined limit, the method comprises the step of the blockchain database transmitting an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD. In this way, if a valid QR code is taken from a genuine product and replicated on a counterfeit product, a track of the number of validation requests made in respect of the QR code will be kept and if it exceeds a certain number, it will be determined that the QR code has been copied and replicated on counterfeit produce.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which the blockchain database maintains a record of the location of a UCD issuing a multiple failed authentication requests, the method comprises the step of the blockchain database notifying this instance to a third party indicating multiple counterfeit warning messages. Again, this will be an effective way of detecting counterfeit produce. It may be common for manufactured produce to be destined for a certain geographical location and if a request is made to validate that QR code from an entirely disparate location, it will be reasonable to assume that the produce to which the QR code that has been read is applied is fake and should be reported as such.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which the blockchain database maintains a record of the location of a UCD issuing an authentication request and upon the blockchain server identifying that the location of the UCD issuing the authentication request does not match a location in the product record, the method comprises the step of the blockchain database transmitting an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD. Again, this will be an effective way

- 7of detecting counterfeit produce. It may be common for manufactured produce to be destined for a certain geographical location and if a request is made to validate that QR code from an entirely disparate location, it will be reasonable to assume that the produce to which the QR code that has been read is applied is fake and should be reported as such.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which the step of the manufacturing facility marking a product with the unique QR code and transmitting a product record to the blockchain database further comprises the manufacturing facility marking a batch of products containing a finite predetermined number of products with the unique QR code and transmitting a product record for the batch of products to the blockchain database. Depending on the value of the goods, it may be acceptable to place the same QR code on relatively small batches of goods. For example, it may be decided that a batch of 50 or less goods may have the same QR code as it would not be cost effective to have less goods with different QR codes and it would not be economical for counterfeiters to manufacture the goods with such short batch runs.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a system for authenticating a product comprising:

a blockchain database having a plurality of QR codes and associated product records stored thereon, and a QR code generator;

a product manufacturing facility having a QR code printer;

a secure communication channel between the blockchain database and the product manufacturing facility;

a user communication device (UCD) having a user interface, a verification application (APP) and a camera for capturing a QR code; and a two-way communication channel between the UCD and the blockchain database.

- 8This is seen as a particularly simple and cost effective system to implement to allow consumers to easily authenticate their goods. The system allows a user having an ubiquitous communication device to check the authenticity of the goods. The records of the goods and the associated QR codes are stored in a safe and secure manner that is not susceptible to fraudulent attack. Furthermore, access to the records of the goods is simplified.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a system in which the UCD is one of a mobile telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, and a phablet. These are seen as useful devices for the consumer to use to authenticate the products. Further specialized equipment will not be required at their end.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a system in which the product manufacturing facility comprises a memory for storage of a batch of QR codes issued by the blockchain database and a product record associated with each of the QR codes.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method of authenticating a product in a system comprising a blockchain database and a user communication device (UCD) having a camera, a verification application (APP), and a user interface, the method comprising the steps of:

capturing a QR code marked on the product with the camera of the UCD;

the APP performing an offline authentication challenge on the QR code;

transmitting an authentication request including the QR code from the UCD to the remote blockchain database over a communication channel;

- 9receiving at the UCD an authentication response from the remote blockchain server including a product record associated with the QR code transmitted in the authentication request;

displaying the product record on the user interface of the UCD; and the user comparing the product with the product record displayed on the user interface of the UCD to determine the authenticity of the product.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which the QR code is encrypted and the QR code is decrypted and if the decryption of the QR code by the APP fails, the method comprises the step of the APP displaying an authentication result including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which upon capture of the QR code by the UCD, a digital signature is retrieved from the QR code for verification and if the verification of the digital signature by the APP fails, the method comprises the step of the APP displaying an authentication result including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which upon capture of the QR code by the UCD, if there is no product record associated with the QR code in the APP, the method comprises the step of the APP displaying an authentication result including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which if there is no product record associated with the QR code in the blockchain database, the method comprises the step of the UCD receiving an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which upon the number of authentication requests relating to a QR code exceeding a predetermined limit, the method comprises the step of the UCD receiving an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message.

- 10In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which in which the UCD transmits its location as part of the authentication request and upon the remote blockchain server identifying that the location of the UCD issuing the authentication request does not match a location in the product record, the method comprises the step of the UCD receiving an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message.

a blockchain database having a plurality of QR codes and associated product records stored thereon;

a user communication device (UCD) having a user interface, a verification application (APP) for displaying a product record and a camera for capturing a QR code; and a two-way communication channel between the UCD and the blockchain database.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a system in which the UCD is one of a mobile telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, and a phablet.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method of generating a product authentication system comprising the steps of:

a blockchain database generating a unique QR code and transmitting the unique QR code to a product manufacturing facility;

the product manufacturing facility marking a product with the unique QR code and transmitting a product record associated with that product and that QR code to the blockchain database; and

- 11 the blockchain database storing the QR code and the associated product record in the blockchain database.

This is seen as a particularly simple and effective method of generating a product authentication system that obviates the need for expensive RFID tag solutions and is inexpensive to install.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method in which the method comprises the product manufacturing facility marking a batch of products with the unique QR code and transmitting a product record associated with that QR code and the batch of products to the blockchain database.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a product authentication system comprising:

a blockchain database having a plurality of QR codes and associated product records stored thereon, and an encrypted QR code generator;

a product manufacturing facility having an encrypted QR code printer;

a user communication device (UCD) having a user interface, a camera and a validation application (APP) on the UCD which has means to decrypt the QR code, and means to verify that the QR code is a valid QR code associated with this verification system.

a product manufacturing facility having a QR code printer;

- 12a user communication device (UCD) having a user interface, a camera and a validation application (APP) on the UCD which has means to verify a digital signature contained within the QR code thereby verifying that the QR code is a valid QR code associated with this verification system.

a product manufacturing facility having a QR code printer;

a user communication device (UCD) having a user interface, a camera, a validation application (APP) and an APP database on the UCD, the APP having means to verify the digital signature contained within the QR code thereby verifying that the QR code pertains to a valid product held within the APP database.

a product manufacturing facility having a QR code printer;

a secure communication channel between the blockchain database and the product manufacturing facility for transmitting a QR code from the blockchain database to the product manufacturing facility and for transmitting a product record associated with that QR code and a product from the product manufacturing facility to the blockchain database.

- 13In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method of marking a product with a secure authentication code comprising the steps of:

requesting a unique QR code from a remote blockchain database;

receiving the unique QR code from the remote blockchain database;

marking the product with the unique QR code; and transmitting a product record associated with that product and that QR code to the remote blockchain database.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will now be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:Figure 1 is diagrammatic representation of a system for authenticating a product.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a system for authenticating a product, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1, comprising a blockchain database 3 having a Quick Response (QR) code generator 5, a product manufacturing facility 7 having a QR code printer 9, and a user communication device (UCD), in this instance a smartphone 11 having a user interface 13, a camera (not shown) and a verification application (APP) (not shown) including an APP database with QR codes and corresponding product records contained therein. There is further provided a secure communication channel 15 between the blockchain database 3 and the product manufacturing facility 7 and a communication channel 17 between the blockchain database 3 and the UCD 11. In the embodiment shown, the blockchain database is illustrated as a single component however it will be understood that the blockchain database will be spread over a plurality of computing devices.

- 14In use, an operator in the product manufacturing facility 7 requests a QR code from the blockchain database over the secure communication channel 15. It is envisaged that communications over the secure communication channel 15 will be encrypted with a proprietary or other encryption method. The blockchain database 3, on receiving the request, operates the QR code generator 5 to generate a QR code and this QR code is then transmitted from the blockchain database to the product manufacturing facility 7. The product manufacturing facility 7 thereafter sends the QR code to the QR code printer 9 and the QR code 19 is applied to the product 21. In the drawing, the printer is shown as a standard label printer however as well as labels, it will be understood that the QR code could be printed onto the product directly or could be etched or laser cut into the product, depending on the nature of the product itself and the specific requirements of the manufacturer. The product is then packaged if necessary and shipped to a distributor/retailer/customer. In the interim, once the QR code 19 has been associated with a particular product, the product manufacturing facility 7 sends a product record to the blockchain database. The blockchain database saves the product record and the associated QR code 19 in the blockchain database.

When a user wishes to authenticate the product 21 (assuming it has made its way into their possession), the user operates the camera of their UCD to capture the QR code 19 on the product 21. If the QR code is encrypted, the verification app (APP) on the UCD will decrypt the QR code using a secret key to determine if the QR code 19 is a valid code (and not a copy of a random QR code). Failure of this initial verification will return a counterfeit message on the user interface of the UCD.

Assuming the QR code 19 is valid, the APP will verify a digital signature retrieved from the QR code against its own internal database on the UCD. Failure of this secondary verification will return a counterfeit message on the user interface of the UCD.

Assuming the digital signature is valid, the APP will validate the QR code 19 against the list of ‘blacklisted QR codes’ held within the APP database on the UCD. The failure of this third level verification will return a counterfeit message on the user interface of the UCD.

- 15Assuming successful validation of the QR code validation process, the APP will decode the product details (contained within the QR code 19) and will verify against its own database. The APP will display the product details on the UCD, or the failure of this third level verification will return a counterfeit message on failure on the UCD.

The user then transmits the QR code 19 to the blockchain database. The blockchain database receives and reviews the QR code and determines if there is a product record in the blockchain database that corresponds to the QR code. If there is a product record in memory that corresponds to the scanned QR code, the blockchain database returns the product record to the UCD. The user of the UCD then inspects the product record on the user interface of the UCD and compares the product record with the physical product, thereby verifying the authenticity of the product. In this way, the user is able to ascertain with certainty whether or not the product is genuine or counterfeit.

Various modifications could be made to the foregoing without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims. For example, the QR codes may be provided in batches and each QR code could be applied to a product before a batch of product records were returned to the blockchain database. Similarly, the QR codes have been described as unique however it is envisaged that for some goods, it may be possible to provide a QR code on a particular batch of products. For example, the same QR code may be applied to a batch of 50 packets of a particular medicament. The blockchain database may operate in online or offline mode if desired. Another useful embodiment of the present invention would require multiple QR codes to be validated before the product could be authenticated. For example, the successful authentication process would require the validation of a plurality of associated QR codes (pertaining to an individual product), e.g. successful validation of the QR code on the product box, successful validation of the second QR code on the product leaflet and successful validation of the third QR code from the foil seal on the product itself.

In the embodiment shown, the user communication device (UCD) is a smartphone however other types of device could be used instead including a mobile phone, a tablet, a phablet and the like. What is important is that the UCD can capture the QR code, send the QR code to the blockchain database, receive a product record and display that product record to the user of the UCD. The user record may comprise a pictorial

- 16representation of the goods and indeed may include a plethora of information relating to the product that will enable the product to be identified with ease. This information may include a product description, the expiry date, the number of contents in the pack, the batch number printed on the pack, the manufacturing data printed on the pack or other identification information that may be used to identify the contents of the pack.

It is envisaged that if there is no product record corresponding to the QR code, the product is fraudulent and a message may be transmitted back to the customer warning them that the product is fraudulent and may cause them harm. At the same time, the local police services may be alerted. There are other ways in which the product may be deemed fraudulent even if the QR code is a valid QR code. For example, an unscrupulous individual may take a valid QR code and apply that to their counterfeit goods. In those circumstances, there may be a number of additional measures undertaken to determine whether or not the product is valid. For example, the UCD may transmit location information to the blockchain database. If the location is outside an expected location for that product (e.g. the United Kingdom), an alarm is raised that the product is counterfeit. Similarly, there may be a limit on the number of times a QR code may be authenticated. For example, if the QR code is authenticated more than 5 times, it is deemed that the QR code in question has been copied and is being used on multiple goods and the QR code can be marked in memory as fraudulent. In those cases (where the QR code is deemed fraudulent) a message is returned to the UCD indicating that the product is fraudulent.

It will be understood that other additional functionality may be added to the system and method without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the system and method may also be used to warn a customer that the product is past its “best before” and/or “use-by” date. If the product has passed its use-by date, its efficacy may be reduced or indeed it may represent a danger to the consumer. If the consumer scans a QR code on the product, a suitable warning message may be presented to them on the user interface of the UCD. Similarly, if the product was part of a product recall, the information in the database may be updated with that information so that if the customer scans a code on a product that has been recalled, the customer will be warned that the product is part of the recall and should not be used/consumed. The message may also provide details of where the product is to be returned.

- 17Similarly, the system and method according to the invention may advantageously be used to prove ownership or provide a record of ownership of valuable items. For example, a QR code may be applied to a valuable item such as, but not limited to, an expensive watch. The QR code may be etched into the metal surface of the watch for example. If the watch is stolen, the owner may report it as stolen and it may be marked in the database as stolen. If the thief then tries to sell or pawn the watch, the purchaser may check the item in the database and will determine from the returned record that the watch is stolen and that the police should be alerted. Alternatively, if the watch was not stolen but is being sold after the ownership has been verified, the ownership details may be updated in the database. The QR code may be used to log delivery of the item in that delivery company personnel may deliver the item, the recipient may scan a QR code upon receipt and the delivery is verified, the item location is updated and the ownership information may be updated.

Throughout the specification, reference is made to a blockchain database. It will be understood that this is the preferred mode of implementation of the present invention due to the security advantages associated with blockchain database technology. As an alternative, other databases or other data storage systems could be used including, but not solely limited to an SQL database, a flat file structure or like data storage structure. Furthermore, reference is made to a proprietary encryption method. This could entail symmetric or asymmetric encryption techniques. Indeed, the encryption method may not be proprietary.

It will be understood that various parts of the present invention are performed in hardware and other parts of the invention may be performed either in hardware and/or software. It will be understood that the method steps and various components of the present invention will be performed largely in software and therefore the present invention extends also to computer programs, on or in a carrier, comprising program instructions for causing a computer or a processor to carry out steps of the method or provide functional components for carrying out those steps. The computer program may be in source code format, object code format or a format intermediate source code and object code. The computer program may be stored on or in a carrier, in other words a computer program product, including any computer readable medium, including but not limited to a floppy disc, a CD, a DVD, a memory stick, a tape, a RAM, a ROM, a PROM,

- 18an EPROM or a hardware circuit. In certain circumstances, a transmissible carrier such as a carrier signal when transmitted either wirelessly and/or through wire and/or cable could carry the computer program in which cases the wire and/or cable constitute the carrier.

It will be further understood that the present invention may be performed on two, three or more devices with certain parts of the invention being performed by one device and other parts of the invention being performed by another device. The devices may be connected together over a communications network. The present invention and claims are intended to also cover those instances where the system is operated across two or more devices or pieces of apparatus located in one or more locations.

In this specification the terms “comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising” and the terms “include, includes, included and including” are all deemed totally interchangeable and should be afforded the widest possible interpretation.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described but may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

(1) A method of authenticating a product in a system, the system comprising: a blockchain database having a QR code generator; a product manufacturing facility having a QR code printer; a secure communication channel between the blockchain database and the product manufacturing facility; a user communication device (UCD) having a user interface, a verification application (APP), a memory having product records associated with QR codes thereon and a camera; and a communication channel between the UCD and the blockchain database; the method comprising the initial steps of:

the blockchain database transmitting a unique QR code to the product manufacturing facility;

the product manufacturing facility marking a product with the unique QR code and transmitting a product record to the blockchain database; and the blockchain database storing the QR code and the associated product record in the blockchain database; and thereafter, upon a user wishing to authenticate the product, the method comprising the steps of:

the user capturing the QR code with the camera on their UCD;

the APP performing an offline authentication challenge on the QR code;

the APP displaying an authentication result to the offline authentication challenge on the user interface of the UCD; and, on the QR code passing the offline authentication challenge, the method comprising the steps of:

the user transmitting an online authentication request including the QR code to the blockchain database;

the blockchain database receiving the online authentication request including the QR code from the UCD, retrieving the

-20product record associated with that QR code from the blockchain database and transmitting an authentication response including the product record associated with that QR code to the UCD for display on the user interface; and the user inspecting the product record and authenticating the product against the product record displayed on the user interface.
(2) A method as claimed in claim 1 in which upon receipt of the QR code from the UCD, if there is no product record associated with the QR code in the blockchain database, the method comprises the step of the blockchain database transmitting an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD.
(3) A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the method comprises the step of the blockchain database transmitting a plurality of unique QR codes to the product manufacturing facility for subsequent use by the manufacturing facility to mark a plurality of products.
(4) A method as claimed in claim 3 in which the manufacturing facility transmits a plurality of product records along with the QR codes associated with each of the product records to the blockchain database.
(5) A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the blockchain database maintains a record of authentication requests relating to a QR code and upon the number of authentication requests relating to a QR code exceeding a predetermined limit, the method comprises the step of the blockchain database transmitting an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD.
(6) A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the blockchain database maintains a record of the location of a UCD issuing an authentication request and upon the blockchain server identifying that the location of the UCD issuing the authentication request does not match a location in the product record, the method comprises the step of the blockchain database transmitting an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD.
(7) A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the step of the manufacturing facility marking a product with the unique QR code and transmitting a product record to the blockchain database further comprises the manufacturing facility marking a batch of products containing a finite predetermined number of products with the unique QR code and transmitting a product record for the batch of products to the blockchain database.
(8) A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the QR code is encrypted and the method comprises the intermediate step of the APP decrypting the QR code.
(9) A method as claimed in claim 8 in which the offline authentication challenge comprises the step of the APP decrypting the QR code to determine code authenticity.
(10) A method as claimed in claim 9 in which on the APP being unable to decrypt the QR code, the method comprises the step of the APP displaying an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message on the user interface of the UCD.
(11) A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the offline authentication challenge comprises the step of the APP verifying a digital signature from the QR code.
(12) A method as claimed in claim 11 in which on the APP being unable to verify the digital signature of the scanned QR code, the method comprises the step of the APP displaying an authentication result including a counterfeit warning message on the user interface of the UCD.
(13) A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the verification process comprises a number of QR codes being verified by the APP on the UCD, and in which the method comprises the step of the APP displaying an authentication result including a counterfeit warning message to the UCD if all QR codes have not been verified.
(14) A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the digital signature is sent with the QR code to the blockchain database as part of the online authentication request.
(15) A method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the verification application (APP) on the UCD validates the product information contained within the QR code against data in the APP database and in which on the APP being unable to validate the product information the method comprises the step of the APP displaying an authentication result including a counterfeit warning message on the user interface of the UCD.
(16) A system for authenticating a product comprising:

a blockchain database having a plurality of QR codes and associated product records stored thereon, and a QR code generator;

a product manufacturing facility having a QR code printer;

a secure communication channel between the blockchain database and the product manufacturing facility;

a user communication device (UCD) having a user interface and a camera for capturing a QR code; and a two-way communication channel between the UCD and the blockchain database.
(17) A system as claimed in claim 16 in which the UCD is one of a mobile telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, and a phablet.
(18) A system as claimed in claim 16 or 17 in which the product manufacturing facility comprises a memory for storage of a batch of QR codes issued by the blockchain database and a product record associated with each of the QR codes.
(19) A method of authenticating a product in a system comprising a blockchain database and a user communication device (UCD) having a camera and a user interface, the method comprising the steps of:

capturing a QR code marked on the product with the camera of the UCD;

transmitting an authentication request including the QR code from the UCD to the remote blockchain database over a communication channel;

receiving at the UCD an authentication response from the remote blockchain server including a product record associated with the QR code transmitted in the authentication request;

displaying the product record on the user interface of the UCD; and the user comparing the product with the product record displayed on the user interface of the UCD to determine the authenticity of the product.
(20) A method as claimed in claim 19 in which if there is no product record associated with the QR code in the blockchain database, the method comprises the step of the UCD receiving an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message.
(21) A method as claimed in claim 19 or 20 in which upon the number of authentication requests relating to a QR code exceeding a predetermined limit, the method comprises the step of the UCD receiving an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message.
(22) A method as claimed in any of claims 19 to 21 in which in which the UCD transmits its location as part of the authentication request and upon the remote blockchain server identifying that the location of the UCD issuing the authentication request does not match a location in the product record, the method comprises the step of the UCD receiving an authentication response including a counterfeit warning message.
(23) A system for authenticating a product comprising:

a blockchain database having a plurality of QR codes and associated product records stored thereon;

a user communication device (UCD) having a user interface for displaying a product record and a camera for capturing a QR code; and a two-way communication channel between the UCD and the blockchain database.
(24) A system as claimed in claim 20 in which the UCD is one of a mobile telephone, a smartphone, a tablet, and a phablet.
(25) A method of generating a product authentication system comprising the steps of:

a blockchain database generating a unique QR code and transmitting the unique QR code to a product manufacturing facility;

the product manufacturing facility marking a product with the unique QR code and transmitting a product record associated with that product and that QR code to the blockchain database; and the blockchain database storing the QR code and the associated product record in the blockchain database.
(26) A method as claimed in claim 25 in which the method comprises the product manufacturing facility marking a batch of products with the unique QR code and transmitting a product record associated with that QR code and the batch of products to the blockchain database.
(27) A product authentication system comprising:

a blockchain database having a plurality of QR codes and associated product records stored thereon, and a QR code generator;

a product manufacturing facility having a QR code printer;

a secure communication channel between the blockchain database and the product manufacturing facility for transmitting a QR code from the blockchain database to the product manufacturing facility and for transmitting a product record associated with that QR code and a product from the product manufacturing facility to the blockchain database.
(28) A method of marking a product with a secure authentication code comprising the steps of:

requesting a unique QR code from a remote blockchain database;

receiving the unique QR code from the remote blockchain database;

marking the product with the unique QR code; and transmitting a product record associated with that product and that QR code to the remote blockchain database.