Hologram Industry News

Schreiner MediPharm, a Germany-based provider of pharmaceutical labeling products, has developed a transparent hologram seal that provides evidence of tampering and counterfeiting to ensure the safety of packaged pharmaceutical products. The seal is fixed with a heavy duty adhesive and any attempts to peel it off would damage the packaging surface. Also, the seal features a 2D single–image design and dynamic special effects that would make counterfeiting especially difficult.

The transparency of the seal ensures that variable data such as batch information remains legible and intact. The Transparent-Hologram-Seal is economical for small volume orders. The seal was developed in conjunction with Schreiner MediPharma’s sister company, Schreiner ProSecure, which specializes in authentication, tamper-protection and track and trace solutions.
Sources: http://www.labelsandlabeling.com/news/schreiner_medipharm_introduces_transpare

23 September 2009: TSSI has acquired a portfolio of patents for specialist volume and true colour holograms including Biometrigram and HD-3D hologram patents from authentication security technology and consultancy firm Ver-tec.
The move follows the recent launch of TSSI’s Magnetics Solutions Division, which aims to drive growth across TSSI’s document security and brand protection products.
According to TSSI, counterfeiters are becoming increasingly sophisticated, producing highly realistic ID documents. Additional security measures are therefore required to provide the highest level of protection possible and ensure that ID documents such as passports, ID cards and access cards cannot be replicated. Hologram technology provides an effective security solution for all identity documents as each hologram is unique making it impossible to imitate.
HD-3D is a true colour hologram, meaning the images always maintain their original colours from any viewing angle, unlike embossed holograms which exhibit a rainbow effect. Each hologram is unique with different serial numbers and/or bar codes, which can also be encrypted for added security.
The Biometrigram, a volume hologram, can store multiple biometrics as well as analogue images and encrypted digital information. TSSI says these have a higher information density than electronic chips so are ideal for use on ID cards. Each hologram is unique so ensures the correct identity of the document holder and provides an effective security measure in the fight against identity fraud.
“The acquisition of HD-3D and Biometrigram follows the recent launch of our new Magnetics Solutions Division,” says Danny Chapchal, executive chairman, TSSI Systems. “Both of these products are a welcome addition to our portfolio of identity and document security offerings. Our customers want top quality security solutions and these new patents will meet this increased demand for fraud proof identity documents.”
“The creation of the Magnetics Solutions Division and the acquisition of Ver-tec patents along with our back to basics approach regarding contract coating sees us turning a corner,” says Ian Elver, Business Development director, TSSI. “It positions us as a serious contender in the supply of products to help fight counterfeiting and fraud.”
Source: www.securitydocumentworld.com

With an aim to provide notes with longer life, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intends to introduce polymer notes in the country. As a measure in this direction, RBI is mulling to implement a pilot project for the new type of notes.

The advantage of polymer notes is that these notes are cleaner than paper notes, easily recyclable, provide greater security against counterfeiting and will last four times as long as conventional paper notes.

“Polymer notes have been introduced in Australia and the RBI is examining a proposal to start a pilot project for introduction of such notes in the country”, said HR Khan, executive director, RBI.

It may be noted, Australia was the first country in the world to have a complete system of bank notes made from plastic (polymer) in 1988. As of 2009, seven countries have converted fully to polymer banknotes including Australia, Bermuda, Brunei, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Romania, and Vietnam. Other countries with notes printed on Guardian polymer in circulation include, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong (for a 2-year trial), Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Singapore, Solomon Islands (no longer issued), Sri Lanka, Thailand, Samoa and Zambia.

Khan, who was here to release the Rs 10 bi-metallic coins on the theme of connectivity and information technology said, “The timing of the pilot project has not been decided and it is likely to be announced soon.”

He said, the average life of a currency note is about six to nine months compared to more than 10 years for the coins. Since coins are the mainstay of various economic activities, the Central bank is promoting the use of coins. The design of the new coin has been prepared by National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and is minted at Noida. RBI has taken a series of measures for supplying good quality notes and to improve the security features of the currencies. Besides, Reserve Bank of India (Note Refund) Rules, 1975 is also proposed to be amended to make the system simple for the people, he added.
Sources: www.rbi.org.in

When it comes to intellectual property theft and piracy, most people think of movies and high-end handbags- but what if the brakes on your car were fake? Clearly, the auto parts industry has a piracy problem. The FBI estimates that the auto industry loses $12 billion in annual sales due to counterfeiting. China accounts for $9 billion of counterfeit auto parts loses. Counterfeit Auto Parts is the selling of unauthorized parts to be used in repair and maintenance of an automobile.

What are fake parts?
Virtually every automotive part has turned up in counterfeit trade, including windshield glass, brake fluid, brakes, headlights, taillights, emissions components, tires, belts, hoses, alternators, sheet metal and suspension parts. The extent of it being that an entire car was copied, manufactured and sold not as a Chevy but as a “Chery QQ,” with plans for export. What’s different now is the sophistication of the industrialization taking place in emerging economies while manufacturing in these areas has developed, the concept of intellectual property has not.

What Should Be Done?
Manufacturers should create a team that focuses on anti-counterfeiting strategy. This should include registration of trademarks and copyrights, and strategy for enforcement of intellectual property rights. Also, anti-counterfeiting technology should be employed, to ensure that genuine products are readily identifiable. Use of various markings and anti-theft devices (holograms, RFID tags, etc.) is essential, that would distinguish a genuine product from a fake one…. more

For complete article, download auto-piracy-problem-solution.pdf

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Despite the increasing use of electronic payments, currency retains an important role in the payment system of every country. However, today, the crime of counterfeiting currency continues to present a potential danger to national economies and financial losses to consumers at large. Recent seizures of large quantities of counterfeit bank notes reported in the press, suggest that, there has been a dramatic increase in the scale of currency counterfeiting in India. Thus, to sustain public confidence in a circulating currency, banknotes must contain features that the public can use to readily judge their authenticity and determine the notes’ denominations.
In this article we study counterfeit money & its threat to society, explore the characteristic of an ideal currency & then examine real world considerations that affect currency design. We also compare and contrast design features in bank notes issued by monetary authorities of various countries, to deter counterfeiting, including India.

History Of Counterfeit Money And Its Effects
Banking in India started as an activity among the European traders, chiefly the East India Company in the early 18th century. The first bank to employ the concept of paper money was a bank set up in Calcutta by Governor Warren Hastings in c. 1770 AD. However, the idea of issuing paper currency by the Government was promulgated by Sir James Wilson, the Finance Member in the Executive Council of the Viceroy, in 1859. Accordingly, an act was passed in 1861, empowering the Government of India to issue currency notes. However, world over, with the invention of a banknote, arose another problem-that of counterfeiting. The crime of counterfeiting currency is as old as money itself. Modern counterfeiting began in 1650 A.D, when paper money was first developed. Initially nations used it as a means of warfare, to overfl ow the enemy’s economy with fake bank notes, so that the real value of the money decreases. However, in the late twentieth century, with the invention of advanced machinery such as color copiers & other electronic devices, counterfeiting became easier and further flourished.
For complete article: download
counterfeit-detterence-currency-design-in-india-abroad.pdf

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The 20th Holopack-Holoprint will be held on Nov 11-13, 2009 at Budapest, Hungry, the Birth place of Dr. Dennis Gabor (1900) who invented the hologram in 1947.

It’s 20 years since the first Holo-pack•Holo-print, during which time holograms have significantly developed and emerged as one of the most effective anti-counterfeiting and authentication devices used by public and private sector organisation the world over.

Holography is amongst one of the few industries which has tremendous opportunities, but is also subject to rapid advancement and innovation. The pace of change and innovation in holography has quickened in recent years, so the theme of this year’s event will be ‘Holography: the next 20 years’. This will allow the industry to look at new strategies that will sustain holograms as the pre-eminent document protection and brand anti-counterfeiting device, to develop and grow in other established applications and to find new applications in the face of the toughest economic downturn for more than 70 years.

Holopack∙Holoprint 2009 will see hologram producers, strategists, business development executives, artists and designers as well as origination, production and finishing equipment suppliers attending. Holo-pack•Holo-print 2009 will also host the annual International Hologram Manufacturers’ Association Excellence in Holography Awards. These recognise outstanding industry achievement and are given to those organisations that have introduced the most innovative or commercially viable hologram product or technique over the past year.

For more information, visit at http://www.holopackholoprint.info

IN ABOUT four months from now,new vehicles rolling on to the Capital’s roads will have special number plates. The new tamper-proof high security registration plates (HSRP) will make duplication difficult,and act as a deterrent against theft.

Beyond proposal Senior Delhi government officials said a draft proposal has already been prepared. “We are about to hire a consultant.The consultant will suggest how we can actually implement it,” said a senior Delhi government official not authorised to speak to the media.

The new plates will initially come only with new vehicles. Later, old vehicles will also have to replace conventional number plates with these.

Tobe fixed onto the vehicle’s body with special snap locks, the new plates will have a special code — unique for each vehicle — embossed on them along with the registration, engine and chassis numbers.

Made of aluminium, each plate will be protected against counterfeiting by the application of a chromium-based hologram. Any attempt to remove the number plate will break the snap lock, making it impossible to replace by anyone other than the authorised agency.

Introduction of these plates was first mooted about a decade ago. The project, however, was delayed due to lack of prepa ration at various levels. The Supreme Court, in its order in May 2009, has also extended the deadline for all states to implement these plates by another three months.
Source:www.hindustantimes.com

Specialist publishers, conference organisers and consultants Reconnaissance International has purchased the annual Pan-European High Security Printing Conference and the Asian High Security Printing Conference from the Cross Group and BSC International.

Established in 2001 these conferences have become recognised as leading events within the government and related high-security documents arena. The conferences cover issues relating to banknote production and cash handling, passports, tax stamps, e-passports, e-ID card production and other areas involved in high security printing.

The next four conferences will be transitional, organised jointly by Cross Group, BSC International and Reconnaissance International, as the events are integrated into Reconnaissance’s existing conference business. This includes the Tax Stamp Forum, Optical Document Security, the Global Forum on Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting and the Holo-pack•Holo-print® conference among others.

Ian Lancaster, managing director of Reconnaissance International, said the acquisitions will be an excellent fit with the company’s existing portfolio.

“These conferences complement our existing operations and fit extremely well between our core currency and authentication activities,” he said.

The 6th Pan-European High Security Printing Conference will be held from 1 - 2 April 2009 in Warsaw, Poland, while the 8th Asian High Security Printing Conference will follow on 13 -15 October 2009, with support from the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation.

The 7th Pan-European High Security Printing Conference will be held in Berlin, German in spring 2010.
For more about this visit: http://www.reconnaissance-intl.com/

France, Paris, March 16, 2009: Hologram. Industries announced the purchase of 100% of the company ADVESTIGO, a French producer of software specialized in the fight against counterfeiting and the exchange of illicit content. Financing for this acquisition in the amount of €4.5 million will be based fully on cash available at Hologram. Industries which amounted to €10.0 million as of December 31, 2008.

Hologram. Industries designs, manufactures and sells high security optical solutions worldwide within three major markets:
- The authentication of identity documents;
- Vehicle identification;
- The protection of brand-name products.

For Hologram. Industries, this acquisition is part of a horizontal diversification strategy and, besides providing a presence in the high growth market for the fight against numeric counterfeiting, thus provides it:

* Access to a new innovative technology which, in particular, will permit it to widen its offer to authentication solutions and traceability over the internet, aimed at brand-name protection and identity documents.
* A new team of 14 persons of which 9 persons are dedicated to research and development.

Advestigo and Hologram. Industries have previously worked together successfully as partners in the development of the Global Checker product, an innovative solution for on-line verification of the authenticity of identity documents.

The combination of these two entities makes the fruitful collaboration of a promising future core business concrete. Thanks to the strengthened collaboration between experts with different scientific horizons aimed at the same objectives of fighting fraud, this will permit the creation of increasingly innovative products which are well adapted to the market. From a sales and marketing perspective, it will permit Hologram. Industries to carry the Advestigo product offering internationally, thanks to the Group`s know-how and international network.

A French producer of software conceived in order to:
* detect, measure and battle numeric counterfeiting over the internet;
* strengthen the fight against the physical counterfeiting of goods through the
operation of adapted internet based surveillance.

In particular, Advestigo capitalizes on a portfolio of patented technologies for content recognition (text, sound, image or video) based on numeric prints, and integrated software solutions which can respond to its customers` needs.

Its cutting edge solutions AdvestiSEARCH and AdvestiGATE are currently targeted towards the markets for numeric media (on-line music, TV, cinema, games and software….) and for national security (public sector and security services). The
AdvestiSEARCH solution which is used industrially by the main copyright holders in France most notably won the Grand Prize for the “Information Society Technology” under the auspices of the European Commission.

Advestigo, which is based in Saint Cloud, France, is a member of the Microsoft IDEES program, of IBM PartnerWorld and the Cap Digital competitive pole. It`s supported by OSEO Innovation, the SGDN and the DGA, the National Agency for Research and the Ile-de-France Region through the PM`UP program. The SACEM, the SCPP, the National Police Force, the ALPA, the SPPF, Canal+, SonyBMG, Merlin, M6 and France Télévision are among its main customers.

www.hologram-industries.com

India, New Delhi, March 7, 2009: With the invention of a banknote, arose another problem-that of counterfeiting. Counterfeiting is probably as old as money itself. Before the introduction of paper money, the main way of doing it was to mix base metals in what was supposed to be pure gold or silver. Modern counterfeiting begins with paper money. Nations have used counterfeiting as a means of warfare. The idea is to overflow the enemy’s economy with fake bank notes, so that the real value of the money plummets.
With last year, the number of fake currency seized in India till October 2008 is Rs 5.6 crores (50 million), three times more than in 2007. In an attempt to reduce counterfeiting, The Indian government has invited global tender for participation in the process of short listing of Security features for bank notes. The last date for submission of application is 31st March 2009. Government of India is keen to consider such security products for bank notes which have been developed and tested in at least three major circulation Bank notes in the world in efforts to make counterfeiting difficult.