Killer Control

A method to provide unique codes for products so that authenticity can be easily checked by purchasers, so that the locations of stores selling counterfeit products can be recorded, the control of these unique codes is resistant to fraudulent use and can be traced to a batch number, line number and manufacturing location, and so that consumer usage patterns can be discerned by manufacturers of products.

The system consists of the following:

1) Variable data printers with unique id’s attached to packaging lines which print on the package or directly on high value items
2) Design of packaging so that opening the package destroys the data where needed (eg industrial products such as low cost ball bearings)
3) Special purpose machines to print data directly on high value items (high cost ball bearings, watches)
4) Computers to control the output of variable data printers which will erase the unique codes from memory when they have been printed
5) Access protocols for these computers so that only authorised persons can download codes and only for the products to be packed or filled on those lines
6) Nested access protocols for assigning product codes and assigning the manufacture of those to named lines
7) A server and software to assign the unique codes to products and download them to the designated printers
8) A database to store the unique codes so assigned
9) A server to access the data so stored
10) Access points such as the internet and mobile phones
11) Customers can sms the unique code to the designated access point which can be a general one for some customers and a specific one for those who so choose
12) The sms can be called party pays if they choose; can be add driven or can be consumer paid
13) Internet checks are generally expected to be free
14) Failed products will be messaged to the customer by sms and the location of the failure cell site will be stored indefinitely
15) Failed messages can also give the sender the option to choose from a list of known store locations to give the location or allow the sender to fill in the data, perhaps for a token payment
16) Successful products will be messaged to the customer along with a message chosen by the brand owner
a. Successful checks can then have the code cancelled so that any subsequent check of the product results in a failure
i. Useful only for high value products and drugs and certain brands where customer access to the brands is controlled
1. Under this system mistaken cancellation can happen in two ways
a. The item is checked and not bought for the reasons
i. Malice
ii. Stupidity
b. The confirmation sms does not reach the buyer who then takes a different piece
2. Authorized dealers of high value items can be given a method to restore the number within a customer defined period from a designated cell phone
a. These restoration requests will be tracked
b. Successful checks can be stored in a database which will be queried on subsequent checks and a double check will have the location stored and
i. The sender can get a message that the product has been checked before or get a message listing the sellers within the range of the cell tower etc
ii. Or double checks can ignored but location data stored for later investigation
iii. Or the customer can be asked to pick a seller from a list so that the location can be fraud checked

Why this will work

1) It gives virtually every citizen a low cost tool to check what he buys instead of relying on the police and the bureaucracy
a. It will make little difference to products where people want to buy a pirated product such as cd’s, dvd’s and watches and bags known to be fakes
i. Although one could have clever marketing of unique tags by people like LV that say – mine is not a fake – check it out
1. Could become the Kelly Tag
b. It will kill dead fakes of those things where the buyer wants the genuine article (medicine, cosmetics) where he is risking his well being or he is being charged full price and the value created in fraud is accruing to the seller and not to the buyer

This will work because minimal investment is needed in the lines and per unit costs are negligible. It will have a disproportionate impact on fraud because bad sellers will be virally blacklisted and because sellers will work to reduce the chance of being caught.

Once the system is ready it should be pushed onto pharma by the government who can add the cost to the DPC regime – it will cut spurious medicine use to 0 in a few months of implementation. Costs of sms can be allocated based on type of medicine, selling price etc.

Almost every strip of medicine will be checked if the sms can be held to 25p because that is zilch even when compared to a strip of Crocin and nothing when compared to the risk of death.

Revenue model

1) Patent the protocol
2) License the protocol to third party manufacturers of variable printing devices
a. Sales of printing devices to pay selling and admin costs
3) Annual per printer fee
4) Minimal per code fee (5 paisa in India)
5) Fees for nice sellercodes – Sun for sunsilk as opposed to xmsidh
6) Share of the sms revenue/bulk buy and resell
7) Sale of aggregate data
a. Because the purchase of medicine will drive a lot of the use we can identify a large set of phone numbers that we will know a lot about, including how rich they are etc
b. Can use for locational promos, including by mom and pop shops