Consumer empowerment in the fight against the counterfeiting of goods and Intellectual Property Rights infringement

The objective of this report is provide a survey and analysis of the techniques to empower the consumer in the fight against counterfeiting and IPR infringing products. In this report, the term consumer is used in wide context: consumer can be the generic citizen interested in buying a product, the law enforcer, who want to identify counterfeit goods in the field, a small enterprise evaluating the purchase of a product and so on. This report focuses on techniques to empower the consumer in the field in the presence of the good itself by using technical tools and devices, which are easily available. The report identifies three main categories of empowering tools. The first category is represented by a modern smartphone (or similar device like a tablet) as a tool to empower the consumer in the fight against counterfeiting. The modern smartphone is equipped with a high resolution camera, support for different standards for wireless connectivity, a powerful processor able to support the implementation of sophisticated algorithms and support for NFC and RFID readers. In addition, the smartphone can be integrated and augmented with a wide range of plug-in devices and tools (e.g., an USB microscope). The second category is represented by a wide range of portable products (e.g., portable spectrometers), which can be used for fight against counterfeiting in the field have also appeared in the market. In many cases, these portable produces implement systems only available in forensic labs. The report will also provide an overview of these systems without entering in the details of the specific product by the specific company. A third category of tools is represented by low cost tools, which are different from the previous categories. This report provides an analysis of the different needs and levels of competences of the "consumer" and what type of infrastructure must be put in place so that the smartphone/tablet or the portable equipment can be an effective tool. The concept of empowering the consumer can be an important element to support Due Diligence practices and Supply Chain Integrity because the different categories of consumer can authentication the goods in different parts of the supply chain and report the presence of non-compliances (e.g., counterfeit products). Privacy aspects are also taken in consideration. Data collected by a smartphone or the portable equipment may disclose personal information of the consumer. Privacy risks and countermeasures in the specific area of fight against counterfeiting are described.