AI-generated image

Product authentication ● Patented Crypto-Optical Technology

The anti-counterfeit solution any smartphone can verify.

A code that detects copies – printed on your product, label or packaging. Any phone camera checks it: the original passes, the copy fails.

Get your Sample Kit See how it works

Sample Kit: one genuine code, one perfect reprint. You won’t see the difference. The scan will.

Recognised by the G20. Trusted by global brands.
Winner G20 Innovation Award 2025 Read about the award
LIQUI MOLY BOSCH STIHL Chillington AHK German Federal Government Government of Kenya
and more

Any phone. No reader. Even offline.

Nothing to install. Any smartphone camera. Nothing to sign up for – for inspectors, dealers and customers alike.
Works where the signal doesn’t. With the authentic app – at border checks, in warehouses, with weak coverage.
One camera in your production. That’s it. The code comes as a ready-made sticker or is printed into your label. A camera on your production line captures each code once. Your machines stay as they are.
100M+ codes delivered worldwide
Patented Crypto-Optical Technology
ISO 27001 certified data hosting
Made in Germany developed and based in Chemnitz

Trusted by manufacturers including BOSCH, STIHL, LIQUI MOLY and Chillington. Volume figure: authentic.network, 2026.

Fact sheet

For the people who check the details.

Technical data, comparison and sources – for procurement, IT and packaging. The rest of this page is for everyone.

Updated November 2026
Open the fact sheet

Specifications

SecurityPatented Crypto-Optical Technology. During printing, a digital security structure is written into the code: deliberately altered bit blocks, arranged by a cryptographic key. It breaks when the code is copied or reprinted.
VerificationAny smartphone camera. No app, no reader. About one second. Result: Original or Not original.
OfflineYes – with the authentic app.
PrintingStandard CMYK, no special inks – the security is not in the ink but in the digitally generated structure printed with it. Produced by authentic.network through a qualified industrial printing partner – into your label or as a ready-to-apply sticker.
ProductionOne camera registers each code once. No new machines.
DataUnique serial number per code. Every scan with time and place. ISO 27001-certified hosting (ISO/IEC 27001).
RegulationReady for the EU Digital Product Passport (ESPR). Battery passport from 18 February 2027 (EU 2023/1542).
Proof100M+ codes delivered (authentic.network, 2026). G20 Innovation Award 2025, Secured Digital Infrastructure (award).
Per projectThroughput, lead time, pricing, interfaces – quoted for your product and volumes.

Compared

MethodA copy…Checked withExtra per unit
Standard QR codepassesAny cameraNone
Hologramis judged by eyeHuman eyeFoil or label
NFC tagfailsNFC phoneChip per unit
Crypto-Optical TechnologyfailsAny phone camera, no appNone
  • Verification principle as commonly deployed; no statement on cost or quality of third-party products.
  • Counterfeit trade: OECD/EUIPO, Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025.
Case study
Quality you can confirm
with one scan.

LIQUI MOLY protects its oils with our individual security code. Customers in around 150 countries worldwide check with their smartphone that their oil is genuine. This strengthens brand protection, transparency and trust in product quality.

“We want to be able to trace our entire supply chain, from production to the end customer. And we want to do so worldwide. This is essential to delivering on our quality promise.”
Marco Esser, Global Marketing Director, LIQUI MOLY

All it takes is a camera.

No app and no reader
LIQUI MOLY Top Tec 4200 canisters and a LIQUI MOLY motor oil drum in a production hall AI-generated
Prove it to yourself

The Sample Kit: one genuine code and one perfect reprint, sent to your office. Try to tell them apart. Then scan both.

Get your Sample Kit
The problem

Physical products can’t prove who they are.

No proof 4.7%

of EU imports are counterfeit. 1

No control 8%

of revenue lost to grey markets. 2

No connection 1/3

of revenue comes from post-sale services. 3

1 OECD/EUIPO 2025, by value · 2 authentic.network customer deployment, lubricants · 3 BCG Services Benchmark Study 2025

Solutions

One sticker. Six jobs.

All solutions

Print the code once, then use what you need – now or later.

Proof Brand Protection

Stop counterfeits and protect your reputation.

Learn more Control Track & Trace

See where your products are verified, market by market.

Learn more Control Grey-Market Control

Spot products sold outside their intended market and act on it.

Learn more Connect Warranty & Service

Register products in one scan and cut fraudulent claims.

Learn more Connect Customer Engagement

Turn every scan into an experience that builds loyalty.

Learn more Connect Digital Product Passport

Make product data accessible and checkable – ready for the EU product passport (ESPR).

Learn more
Industries

Built for global industries.

From lubricants to automotive, chemicals, pharma and agriculture – our technology protects what moves the world.

Explore all industries
AI-generated Lubricants Automotive part with an authentic.network code (AI-generated image) AI-generated Automotive Chemical drum with an authentic.network code label (AI-generated image) AI-generated Chemicals Vitamin pack with an authentic.network code (AI-generated image) AI-generated Pharma AI-generated Agriculture
Questions

What people ask before they start.

What is authentic.network?

authentic.network protects physical products against counterfeits. We print a patented security code on the product or its label and link it to your product data. Any phone camera checks the code – no app and no reader, and with the authentic app even without signal. Originals pass, copies fail. And you see where your products are being checked.

What is product authentication, and how is it different from a QR code?

A normal QR code only says which product something claims to be. It can be copied perfectly – a fake with the same code looks the same in the scan. Authentication goes further: it confirms that this exact item is the original. A copy-evident code fails as soon as it is copied.

How does authentic.network prevent counterfeit products?

It makes copies visible. Every protected item carries a printed security code linked to your product data. Everyone in the supply chain – dealers, inspectors, customers – scans it with a normal smartphone and sees whether the item is genuine. A fake has either no valid code or a copied one, and a copy fails the check. Every scan is also recorded. So you see right away where copies turn up – not months later.

Can counterfeiters copy an authentic.network code?

Counterfeiters can copy what the code looks like. But the security sits in the printed structure of the code. Photographing, scanning or reprinting changes this structure – the copy fails the check, the original passes. That is exactly what the Sample Kit shows: one genuine code and one perfect reprint. You won’t see the difference. The scan will. How this differs from holograms: Holograms vs. printed codes.

Can a copy-evident code be reproduced with a high-resolution printer?

No – and it is not about print resolution. Some codes rely on a copy becoming blurry (copy detection patterns). Researchers at the University of Geneva (2021) showed that such codes can be copied with industrial printers. Crypto-Optical Technology works differently: the security is in the structure of the code itself. A reprint copies the picture, but not the structure – and fails the scan, whatever printer made it. The Sample Kit contains an original and a high-resolution industrial reprint. Scan both.

What does it cost to protect a product?

The price depends on volume, code format and the solutions you want. That is why we quote each case individually. What you never need: new machines, special inks, reader hardware or an app for your customers. We produce the code through our qualified industrial printing partner. It is checked with the phone everyone already carries.

Do we have to change our production line?

No. The code comes as a ready-made sticker or is printed into your label. authentic.network produces it through a qualified industrial printing partner. You need no new machines and no special inks.

What is a Digital Product Passport and when does it become mandatory?

A Digital Product Passport is a machine-readable record of where a product comes from, what it is made of and its life cycle. The EU is introducing it step by step, product group by product group: the battery passport applies from 18 February 2027. Further product groups follow under the Ecodesign Regulation (ESPR).

Can authentic.network detect grey-market products?

Yes. Every scan records its location. If a unit meant for one market is scanned in another, you see it straight away. That turns a suspicion into something you can act on.

How is the code applied to our products?

In two ways: either we print it as a sticker and ship it ready to apply. Or we build the code into your label and produce the label through our qualified industrial printing partner. Either way, you need no new machines and no special inks. How implementation works: Implementation.

A more secure tomorrow

Let’s protect what’s real.

The Sample Kit is one genuine code and one perfect reprint, sent to your desk. Try to tell them apart, then scan both.

One genuine code, one perfect reprint. We confirm by email and ask where to ship it. Privacy

Thanks – we will email you shortly to confirm the shipping address.

That did not go through. Please try again or write to us via the contact page.

Prefer to talk? Talk to an expert
Real products.
Real people.
Real markets.
A more secure tomorrow.
How it works

Looks identical.
Fails the scan.

Unlike normal QR codes, holograms or NFC, the security is in the printed code itself. Every code is unique and has its own serial number. A copy fails on any smartphone.

Magnified
Crypto-optical border A printed bit-block pattern. Photograph or reprint it, and the pattern breaks.
QR code The carrier – readable by any smartphone camera.
9:41
Original Verified
Not original Verification failed

Digital Product Passport

Verified original
Article Product A-100
Batch B-24-0915
Production date 15 Sep 2026
Target market EU
Breaks on removal Tamper-evident: removal breaks the code.
Scans · last 24 h Live · demo data
Scans 1,284
Countries 23
Reports 3
Hamburg, DE 214 ✓ OK
Milan, IT 96 ✓ OK
Warsaw, PL 71 ✓ OK
Rotterdam, NL 12 ⚠ Report
Original .
Copy .
Breaks .

01 · The code Every product carries a unique, copy-evident code.

02 · The security The security sits in the crypto-optical border.

03 · The check Any smartphone camera checks it. No app.

04 · The copy A copy looks identical – and fails the scan.

05 · Tamper-evident Peel it off and it breaks.

06 · The insight See where every scan happens – and where reports come in.

07 · The passport One code. Counterfeit protection and Digital Product Passport.

See the technology in detail