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Protecting a product from counterfeiting takes more than adding a code, seal, or security label. Start by mapping how counterfeit or tampered goods could enter your supply chain, decide who must verify a product and what they need to learn, then combine suitable technical controls with organisational, legal, and monitoring measures.

Start by defining the risk

Before choosing a technology, map the product’s journey and the points where counterfeit goods could be introduced, substituted, or mixed with legitimate stock. Consider the product itself, packaging and components, suppliers, manufacturing stages, distribution routes, servicing, resale, and disposal. Include tampering as well as outright imitation.

The EUIPO’s summary of ISO 22384:2020 treats product security and supply-chain integrity as lifecycle concerns—from concept and design through manufacturing, distribution, service, and disposal. It also notes that technologies on the market “represent only part of a solution”: organisational and legal controls matter alongside technical ones.

  • Identify the exposure: Which products, components, packages, suppliers, or routes are most vulnerable, and where could fake or altered goods mix with genuine stock?
  • Name the verifiers: Buyers, distributors, service partners, customs officers, and internal investigators may need different checks and levels of detail.
  • Set the evidence need: Decide whether you need a quick authenticity check, tamper evidence, a product or batch’s movement history, or verification of a material claim.
  • Map the response: Determine who investigates a suspicious result, who can access records, and what actions may follow. Legal and enforcement options depend on the relevant product, country, and sales channel.

Choose the outcome before the technology

Authentication, identification, tamper detection, and traceability are related but distinct aims. A mark may help someone check whether a product is genuine; a unique identifier linked to records can also help a business track individual items or trace their history. A tamper-evident feature can reveal interference without establishing that the contents are authentic. A material tracer may support a specialist authenticity check but is not, by itself, a history of where a product traveled.

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Write down the question the control must answer. For example: “Can a customer check this item?” is different from “Which distributor received this batch?” or “Was this package opened?” One measure may not answer all of them.

Compare controls by the job they must do

The EUIPO Anti-Counterfeiting and Anti-Piracy Technology Guide groups examples into electronic, marking, chemical and physical, mechanical, and digital-media categories. Its map is a landscape of options, not a ranking or endorsement. The practical differences are the threat addressed, placement, verification method, production changes, data requirements, and ability to support investigation.

Approach Potential role Verification and implementation considerations
Visible or smartphone-readable marking Quick authenticity checks; some codes can also carry traceability data. May be checked visually or with a phone. A code supports traceability only when it is registered and used in supply-chain records. A copied visible mark alone may be inadequate where imitation is likely.
Unique identifier marks Item-level authentication and tracking or tracing. Each mark can be associated with a signature in a reference database. Recording identifiers may require production or printing-line equipment. Pre-recorded identifier labels can require less process change; the EUIPO guide gives a general estimate of a few euro cents per item for such labels, not a current vendor quote or universal installed cost.
Copy-detection patterns Authentication on a product, document, or package. An algorithm compares information in an original pattern with a scanned pattern. Patterns can be integrated into QR codes or data matrices and read by a phone or scanner. The EUIPO guide says digital integration need not require major production or logistics changes; it does not provide a general price.
Chemical encoding and tracers Hidden checks of material or product authenticity, or certain tamper-related checks. Tiny particles are applied to suitable materials and detected with specialist equipment; decoding may take place in a laboratory. Production changes and cost depend on the material and method.
Electronic and mechanical controls Depending on the method, identification, tracking, tamper evidence, or physical protection. Examples on the EUIPO map include RFID and NFC, electronic seals, security labels, laser engraving, anti-alteration devices, security threads, and film. Assess the actual workflow and security properties rather than relying on a category name.
Provenance data framework Cross-party product or batch history and supply-chain risk visibility. NISTIR 8536 describes interoperable event data, cryptographic links, and selective disclosure. The framework does not establish that a particular vendor implementation is secure or suitable.

The EUIPO guide’s marking page describes the main purpose of marking technologies as authenticating rather than identifying individual products. That distinction matters when a company expects a mark to do both jobs: item-level identity and traceability depend on suitable identifiers, records, and processes, not simply on putting a scannable symbol on a package.

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Design verification for the people who will use it

A security feature has little practical value if its intended checker cannot inspect it reliably. Decide whether verification is visual, phone-based, scanner-based, or requires specialist equipment. Check that the feature’s location and presentation suit the product and that legitimate users can reach the verification method during normal operations.

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For unique identifiers, plan how each identifier is created, applied, recorded, and checked against reference data. EUIPO notes that recording identifiers may call for special production or printing-line equipment. A pre-recorded label can reduce process changes compared with direct product marking, but it still needs a dependable way to associate the label with the correct item and records.

  • Assign ownership for reference data and define who can access or change it.
  • Decide how staff will handle repeated scans, suspicious results, or an identifier that is missing or unreadable.
  • Set rules for what information is shared with supply-chain partners and what remains confidential.
  • Plan for reader, server, or connectivity outages so that verification does not silently become an unchecked step.

These are operational design decisions, not specific requirements prescribed by the cited guide. They should reflect the company’s products, workflows, and risk tolerance.

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Build traceability without oversharing

When several companies need a shared product history, agree on what events are recorded, how records are linked, and which participants can see them. A database of identifiers alone does not provide a useful chain of custody unless the relevant events are captured and associated with those identifiers.

NIST’s NISTIR 8536, published September 9, 2026, describes a provenance approach using standardized, shareable supply-chain event data and cryptographically verifiable links to form a temporally ordered chain. It also emphasizes interoperability and selective disclosure, so participants can share information needed for traceability while protecting sensitive business information. Treat this as a framework for system design, not as proof of the security or suitability of any particular implementation.

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In practice, assess standards alignment, partner participation, data governance, and implementation security before relying on cross-company records. A technically sound record system cannot show events that partners do not capture or provide.

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Combine technical, organisational, and legal measures

Choose controls as a set rather than assuming one marking feature will deter every form of counterfeiting. A visible mark may make a basic check easier; an identifier connected to records may support tracing; a seal may show whether packaging was disturbed. Each addresses a different part of the problem, and an attacker may copy or bypass a feature that is not protected by the wider process.

Organisational measures can define responsibilities for applying and recording marks, controlling access to identifiers, investigating alerts, and reviewing supplier or distribution procedures. Legal measures may be relevant to rights, reporting, or enforcement, but the appropriate options depend on jurisdiction, product, and channel. Obtain market-specific legal advice rather than assuming one country’s remedies apply everywhere.

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Pilot the process and review its effectiveness

Test the complete workflow before expanding it. A pilot should establish whether the intended verifier can use the feature, production can apply and record it consistently, and available records can answer the investigation questions the business actually expects to ask. Include relevant supply-chain partners where their steps are part of the process.

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Define measures of effectiveness that fit the identified risk—for example, whether checks are completed as intended or whether records support the required investigation. ISO 22384 guidance includes implementation and regular assessment of the protection plan, but the reviewed sources do not set universal performance thresholds or prescribe a single pilot protocol. Review findings over the product lifecycle and adjust controls as exposure or operating conditions change.

Put the scale of the problem in context

The EUIPO technology guide reports OECD/EUIPO estimates that counterfeit and pirated goods accounted for up to 2.5% of global trade in 2019, and up to 5.8% of EU imports—around EUR 119 billion—in 2019. These are estimates for 2019 from a study published in 2021, not current-year measurements. They indicate the scale of the broader problem, not the risk level for any individual manufacturer or product.

The EUIPO guide is an informational reference and does not guarantee the completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of its technology descriptions. A technology listing is not evidence that a particular commercial product will perform as claimed; validate suitability and implementation details for the actual product and market.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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