Counterfeiting is a growing menace for brand owners and Government authorities alike. In the last decade the problem has expanded rapidly and is now not limited to luxury goods and developed economies alone. This activity now exists all over the world and covers pharmaceuticals, FMCG and even mobile phones, to name a few sectors, and causes huge losses to government, industry and the people at large. To counter this onslaught, the proactive brand owners have resorted to using authentication solutions to protect their brand. With the availability of various authentication solutions, the brand owners now have a wide range of technologies to choose from. And they need to very carefully decide the correct strategy and technology to reap the full benefits offered by the solution. Choosing an authentication solution needs careful risk assessment and the criteria for selecting the right solution to address these. Several aspects relating to cost, compatibility, feasibility and reliability have to be looked into, and then once the decision is taken, proper implementation and post implementation benefits reaped also need to be studied. Each brand owner implements a customised solution, so there aren’t any standard cure-all options available. ISO efforts…. Thankfully, the International Standards Organisation (ISO) recognised these issues, and has recently published a new ISO Standards entitled “Performance criteria for authentication solutions for anti-counterfeiting in the field of material goods”. This document can be procured from this link - http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=52210. This new standard, referenced as ISO 12931, sets out the performance criteria for customised authentication solutions for material goods. It is to be noted that ISO 12931 does not cover protection of id documents, banknotes and other similar financial documents. This also does not cover track and trace technology and mentions that track and trace technology solution on its own is not an authentication technology. The implementation of these standards will allow an organisation to learn from the collective good business practices adopted by companies and government authorities the world over, and determine the level of the reliability of the various solutions and assessment methods to test the efficacy of the solution. It addresses identification, implementation, integration and verification issues to provide a complete overview of the solution. This is a wonderful tool that ISO has provided to all brand owners and governments and with increasing implementation, the consumers will get the protection that has long been overdue. For more information, please write to us at info@homai.org.

1. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
ISO 12931 - What is in it for
Brand Owner and why Adopt it
By Pradip Shroff

2. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
ISO 12931
Performance criteria
for Authentication
solutions used to
Combat counterfeiting
of Material goods

3. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
Respect to copyright
Note: This presentation is a summary and is not
intended to serve as a substitute for purchasing and
reading the full ISO 12931 standard.
To fully understand ISO 12931 and the
recommendations made for authentication solutions
please purchase The Standard at:
http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/cat
alogue_detailhtm?csnumber=52210

4. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
 ISO (International Organization for
Standardization) worldwide federation of national
standards bodies.
 ISO Tech committee prepares International
Standards.
 Each member body interested in a subject has the
right to be represented on that committee.
 Draft International Standards are approved only if
at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote
approve it.
ISO, Tech Committee, Standards

5. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
 This International Standard sets out the performance
criteria for purpose built authentication solutions.
 These authentication solutions are designed to provide
reliable evidence making it easier to assess whether
material goods are authentic or counterfeit.
 It was not drafted or designed to define a sole means of
authentication.
 It does not specify how technical solutions achieve these
performance criteria.
 It focuses on material goods and is not intended to apply
to, for example, goods used in the financial sector, official
administrative papers, identity documents or to
downloadable products.
 Track and trace on its own is not an authentication
solution and is therefore outside the scope
 It does not deal with economical criteria aiming to
correlate performance and costs of the authentication
solutions.
The Scope

6. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
 Diagnosis – The risk assessment
 Prescription – Selection of The authentication elements
 Post Prescription – Multi level Inspection
 Follow up – Review and Assessment of risk
Authentication Process

7. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
 What are the counterfeiting issues, the consequences and
likelihood of the counterfeiting threat?
 Which of my material goods are being counterfeited or
have the potential to be counterfeited?
 In which locations are we experiencing counterfeiting and
how are the counterfeits being distributed?
 What is the manufacturing and supply chain
environment?
 How and by whom will the authentication process be
performed?
 What is the impact of human error on the solution
(process and authentication)?
Assessment of counterfeiting risk

8. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
Typical logistic chain
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Wholesal
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Distrib
utor
Retailer
Consu
mer
Key
Accounts
Transit Risk
A B C D E

9. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
1. Physical characteristics such as
static, dynamic, durability,
environmental, feature (overt,
covert or machine readable)
2. Attack resistance of authentication
element such as tampering
resistance
3. Integration process (security,
manufacturing, compliance etc.)
4. Attack resistance of authentication
tools
Assessing Authentication Solutions –Basic Parameters

10. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
ISO has categorized authentication solutions as
ISO 12931 – Defined authentication solutions
Human
Senses
Authentication Tool Forensic
Analysis
Off the
shelf
Purpose
built
General audience OVERT COVERT - -
Restricted
audience
OVERT COVERT COVERT COVERT
Track and Trace technology when used alone is not
considered to be an authentication solution. As such is not
covered by this International Standard.

11. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
Typical logistic chain
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R
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a
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Wholesal
e Dealer
Distrib
utor
Retailer
Consu
mer
Key
Accounts
Transit Risk
A B C D E

12. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
Authentication solution – Multi level inspection
Inspector /
Authentication
element
End
user
Retailer Whole seller Authorised
personnel
Accredited
/ notified
laboratory
OVERT
COVERT
Forensic

13. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
The 5 Step Process (TIS)
Step 1
Risk Analysis and
Identification of
Issues
Step 2
Develop Solution
Step 3
Implement
Solution
Step 4
Multi Level
authentication/
inspection
Step 5
Evaluation and
Measurement

14. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
Beyond ISO from
my experience

15. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
Value in the
21st century lies
in building brand.
Brand Owner's
basic role is to
SECURE
that brand
World Council for Corporate Governance

16. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
 Team leader – CEO/ Brand Owner
 Members –Representative from
Marketing/ product development,
marketing research, sales/logistic,
packaging, manufacturing, regulatory
and/or law, buyer, finance/accounts
 Outside consultant
Brand risk management team

17. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
 Do not tender for product - Tender for vendor
 Manufacturer should be using multiple
technologies
 Secure manufacturing operations
 Prefer Technologies - patented and/or
exclusive
 A research based innovative vendor
 Vendor to have a written ethical policy
Security buying – Important considerations

18. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
 Annual Business plan – The brand plan to
include Brand Protection plan
 Review every quarterly as a business review
process.
 Progress made in implementation,
 Review any event, New Risks
 Plan for revising/ upgrading the solution.
Business review process

19. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
Counterfeiting must be fought
EffecttoGovt.
• Reduction in
public health
crisis / illness /
life
• Loss of tax
revenue
• Increased
enforcement cost
• Funding of
criminal activity*
• Loss of
Government
image
Effecttomanufacturer
• Lost revenue
• Liability
crippling law
suit as incident
of
counterfeiting
increasing
health and
security
problems for
public
• Brand integrity
Effecttoconsumer
• Loss of life /
illness:
According to
WHO a fifth of
the one million
annual death
from malaria
could be
prevented if all
medicines for it
were genuine
and taken
properly.

20. © 2013 HOMAI www.homai.org
ISO 12931
Thank You
For more information, please
contact
Pradip Shroff
pradipshroff@yahoo.co.in or
HOMAI at info@homai.org