Imagine taking the Sunday edition of the New York Times, cutting out every single word, one by one, and stacking them in a completely random order to form a pile about three and a half feet high. Now add to these other words in a language only you know and then create one single sentence from the entire stack by selecting words that only make sense to you.
That is the natural and artificial encryption methodology behind re-sequencing botanical DNA with your own special recipe using additional ingredients. Unless you know the language and the sentence structure and where those additional words in the DNA sequence appear, you cannot hope to clone this hybrid DNA marker.
This is the scientific technique with which Applied DNA Sciences is marking all kinds of valuable goods to protect them against counterfeiters. The process creates a completely traceable path for things like cash-in-transit, materials used in designer clothing, electronic parts, and any other goods that OEMs deem valuable enough to secure against counterfeiting while authenticating the integrity of the original product and source.
I asked the team at Applied DNA Sciences a number of questions in an extended interview. First on my priority list was to find out how foolproof and robust the botanical DNA marker was. Just like many EBN readers, I watch CSI and know that after a period of time, DNA degrades on its own. However, among the patents filed by Applied DNA Sciences is an encapsulation and stacking technique that effectively renders the DNA extremely robust against ultra violet rays and other environmental degradation agents. The stacking structure assures that the DNA can't be tampered with while avoiding detection. There are an infinite number of sequences that can be generated, so the markers are unique per application.
My next question concerned the cost of applying the marker to the materials and the cost of authentication. The cost for applying the DNA impregnated ink, adhesive, or spray is less than a penny per application. A hand-held scanner can quickly detect the presence of the DNA, but if an OEM wishes to authenticate the sequence, the part has to go back to Applied DNA Sciences' Labs for a full lab workup. "Aha," I said. Here is where things get costly.
In my own research, I discovered the cost for sequencing to be about $1,000. However, because Applied DNA has its own labs and labor force and are interested in high volume deployment, they are able to control costs to make it very affordable. They also indicated that within three to four years, the detection and authentication software and equipment will be managed by a laptop such that it will be very practical for a shipping/receiving department to have the authentication on site as part of their incoming inspection process.
This was all sounding very good to me, so I asked about IP and how they are protecting their patents and processes. Currently, all the authentication work is being performed by Applied DNA Sciences because only they know what to look for to authenticate. I asked if a company using this technology had to send the sample marked part back to them for verification. They said that for now, this was the case.
It occurred to me that there was a hidden business potential, so I asked, "Are you going to set up labs around the world?" Bingo! That is just what they are planning to do to increase their market reach and make it more viable for companies around the world to use their services. But the laptop-size equipment is on the way and it will be linked to the cloud for rapid marker authentication. So, the IP remains the IP of Applied DNA Sciences. The servers that will link to the cloud will be under Applied DNA's control.
I am beginning to think that this is the anti-counterfeiting strategy of the future. If the cost and access of authentication continues to drop, and the botanical DNA can truly not be cloned, along with the fact that there are little to no restrictions on the kind of surfaces associated with various application media -- including metal -- to which the marker can be affixed, and we have virtual environmental ruggedness, then who is to say that this won't be the straw that breaks the counterfeiter's back.
I indicated in an earlier article that I would give the bad guys something to worry about in a subsequent article. I think I have kept that promise: Applied DNA Sciences is already proven by the military, selected manufacturers like Altera and Micron, and tier-one distributors, which have tested and endorsed botanical DNA marking as an effective countermeasure. So far, the testing has been 100 percent reliable, and now it is only a matter of time before we see widespread deployment of this technology. I like it when the good guys win.
@Dodge, Thanks. Here is the company's respone:
disclosed in the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 26, 2012, on June 6, 2012, a complaint for patent infringement was filed against the Company by Smartwater, Ltd. in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in an action entitled Smartwater, Ltd. v. Applied DNA Sciences, Inc., No. 1:12-cv-11009-PBS. The complaint alleged that the Company infringed one or more claims under two of plaintiff's patents by selling or offering for sale, manufacturing and using certain of the Company's products, by inducing others to infringe and by contributing to infringement by others. The plaintiff sought injunctive relief with respect to the patents as well as awards of damages and attorneys' fees. The Company had not been served with the complaint and on August 24, 2012 the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the complaint and refiled a similar complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, No. 12-CV-61660-Zioch/Otazo-Reyes. On August 30, 2012, plaintiff served the Company with the complaint. The refiled complaint seeks injunctive relief with respect to one of the patents as well as awards of damages and attorneys' fees. The Company believes that none of its products infringed any claims under either of plaintiff's patents and moreover notes that one of plaintiff's patents has expired. The Company denies the allegations in the complaint, believes they are without merit and intends to defend the action vigorously.
As is stands today, this is only approriate as a layer of technology, but should not be couned on by itself, especially with the basic yes/no handheld detector they are purportedly using. This is an expensive and time consuming method of detecting counterfeits, and should be used as a final step, when validation by a court of law is required. Otherwise a more robust taggant & reader system should be used.
Actually, what you say in your article is "A hand-held scanner can quickly detect the presence of the DNA".
That is my point of contention. You do not mention fluorophores at all in the article, which is what most people will read. I am also now aware that ADNAS is being sued for patent/IP violation by another DNA company.
Vis-a-vis fluorohpres, they can be easily sourced online and introduced to a variety of materials, so creating a situation where numerous false positives are generated is very simple for the counterfeiters. I have seen this happen in my own supply chain when we have attempted to introduce basic security that depends on a simple yes/no detector.
@DodgeJ I did write that the detection element was a fluorophore. Applied did not mislead in any way. I also mentioned that the forensic identification was still at the lab level. I also indicated that the cost for authentication in a few years was going to be significantly less than it is today and that tabletop equipment would access the cloud for the remote authentication. Please re-read my earlier response to you. Please do not vilify the company by saying they may have mislead me. If anything, it was a bad choice of wording on my part. I am sorry if I mislead you. They did not.
This type of technology is not ground breaking. Companies have been using moelcular markers and otehr types of chemical additions to products for years. The drawback has always been, and continues to be, the fact that you must send them back to a lab for testing. It is a great layer of security, but due to shipping costs, test costs, and the need-to-know desire form industry, it will remain as a very good final authentciation feature.
I think you have been slightly misled by ADNAS. What they are detecting, it seems, is the fluorophores themeselves, or other types of light responding material that they add with the DNA. If the scanner was simply detecteting the presence of DNA, it would respond to anything that had DNA in it - blood, skin, etc. They seem to be opearting in a very gray area of truth in their marketing and advertising. The key to their system (the field detection portion anyway), seems to be the addition of another marker or chemical, which they probably don't even manufacture themselves.
Posted on PC Pro 7/2/12 - "The majority of fake components sold into the electronics and technology industries are not manufactured in backstreet factories in Asia, but are reused parts that have been cleaned up".
Interesting clip Rich!!!At least before the whole planet is counterfeited, Douglas' article has just assured that there's a ground breaking anti-counterfeiting strategy of the future. I think it's great. Just hope the cost will not be a problem?
Radio frequency identification device technology is rapidly gaining interest by assuring the integrity of supply chains through rules-based management.
Machine-to-machine technology is growing so rapidly that one report says there could be 10 billion connected devices by 2016. That's a big market opportunity.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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