Creative Technology No. 33: Applying Anti-Counterfeiting Technology

Reporter Bảo Phong: Dear viewers, it is a pleasure to welcome you back to the Creative Technology segment produced by the Education and Science Department of Vietnam Television. Ladies and gentlemen, we face the increasingly complex problem of trading in counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights. In fact, in Vietnam, businesses have recently applied many solutions; however, counterfeiting technology is growing ever more sophisticated, and there have been many cases where products were faked along with their anti-counterfeit labels. Against that backdrop, the market has recently seen more new technology solutions, such as digital anti-counterfeiting, or using artificial intelligence or blockchain to combat counterfeiting. Besides the efforts of the authorities, applying digital technology is an urgent requirement. So how can we promote the role of technology in driving research and development of anti-counterfeiting technologies to support businesses in protecting their brands? That is the topic of today's Creative Technology program.

And I am Bảo Phong, who will accompany you throughout this program.

Report: The rampant spread of counterfeit and imitation goods, plus increasingly sophisticated counterfeiting tricks, has forced businesses and authorities to apply many kinds of new technology to anti-counterfeiting. According to the Vietnam Anti-Counterfeiting Center, counterfeit and imitation goods remain a constant worry for Vietnamese businesses. With counterfeiting technology growing more sophisticated, there have been many cases of products being faked along with their anti-counterfeit labels. Many businesses have suffered heavy losses in both revenue and brand reputation because their products were counterfeited.

Mr. Trịnh Hồng Sơn - Manager of the Hasufood clean food store chain said: Currently, some products carry QR origin-traceability labels and barcodes; however, those two are purely for tracing information and cannot authenticate the goods. That means we cannot yet verify whether they are genuine or counterfeit.

Mr. Trần Trọng Vinh - Chairman of the Asian Professional Security Association: Counterfeit goods are an extremely painful problem for Vietnam as well as for countries around the world; technologies to counter it are still limited and not widely applied. One of the earlier anti-counterfeiting technologies is the anti-counterfeit label, but producing such labels requires many kinds of technology and the effectiveness has not met expectations.

Report: According to experts, although Vietnam has issued many sanctions for dealing in counterfeit and imitation goods, they are still not enough to deter counterfeiters. Therefore, choosing effective anti-counterfeiting solutions has always been a top priority for businesses. At present, applying modern advanced technologies to create anti-counterfeiting solutions is considered one of the optimal measures delivering high effectiveness.

APPLYING VIETNAMESE TECHNOLOGY IN ANTI-COUNTERFEITING SOLUTIONS: iSeal

Reporter Bảo Phong: And to help you better understand today's topic, we have invited two guests to the studio.

It is my honor to introduce our first guest, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Minh Vỹ - Director of the Vietnam Anti-Counterfeiting Technology Center. And our second guest, Mr. Nguyễn Khương Tuấn - Chief Technology Officer of Onyx Vietnam Joint Stock Company.

First of all, thank you both for taking the time to join us in the studio today. Over the years, Vietnam — from state management agencies to associations and especially technology solution companies — has been making great efforts to combat counterfeit and imitation goods, and we have achieved some very positive initial results. My first question is for Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyễn Minh Vỹ: What is the current situation of counterfeit and imitation goods in Vietnam, and what basic solutions do we have?

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Minh Vỹ: Counterfeit and imitation goods are now rampant across the market. The Government has called on the whole nation to join forces against counterfeiting. We have reached an alarming stage: agencies, organizations, and production facilities are all encountering counterfeit and imitation goods in great numbers. Industrial enterprises producing goods are also hit by counterfeits. Especially in food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals, counterfeit goods are extremely dangerous because they directly affect people's health and even threaten their lives. So counterfeit and imitation goods are now a social problem. That is why our Vietnam Anti-Counterfeiting Technology Center is focusing on research and applying science, technology, and anti-counterfeiting solutions to gradually minimize the rampant spread of counterfeit and imitation goods.

Reporter Bảo Phong: Clearly, applying new technologies in anti-counterfeiting solutions has been our priority in recent years. So from the perspective of a unit developing such technology solutions, what do you think, Mr. Nguyễn Khương Tuấn?

Mr. Nguyễn Khương Tuấn - Chief Technology Officer - Onyx Vietnam Joint Stock Company: Technology trends in general must aim for convenience and accuracy. In anti-counterfeiting, the trend is to create mobile apps so users can check directly. In my view, an anti-counterfeiting technology must meet three criteria: first, it must be able to resist counterfeiting; second, it must be reusable many times so that parties in supply chains can all take part in checking for counterfeits; third, it must be easily accessible. Very few technologies today can meet all three criteria. That is why a breakthrough is needed in this field to completely solve the problem.

Reporter Bảo Phong: Counterfeit and imitation goods have recently appeared in very sophisticated packaging and designs, making product origin traceability truly difficult. So, Mr. Nguyễn Minh Vỹ, how do you assess the contribution of science and technology in recent years to protecting consumers and preventing counterfeit and imitation goods?

**Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Minh Vỹ: There are now many sophisticated tricks and forms sneaking into the market. Counterfeit goods clearly bring very high profits; sometimes counterfeits even look better than the genuine products, so consumers are easily fooled. Therefore, applying technology in the most effective anti-counterfeiting solutions will bring great benefits to consumers and, especially, protect the brands of organizations and businesses. We believe that businesses must truly be pioneers in creating, exploring, and researching the most effective solution. Our Vietnam Anti-Counterfeiting Technology Center is a place that concentrates human resources to research and apply those solutions. We have a science and technology council that always reviews, appraises, and evaluates fairly and impartially, choosing the best option to apply in the field and minimize the counterfeits rampant on the market.

Reporter Bảo Phong: Thank you both for your comments in the first segment of today's program. From what our guests have shared, we can see that applying technology to combat counterfeiting is almost mandatory given the global trend as well as Vietnam's own. But what technologies are being developed and applied in Vietnam, especially from the intellect and brainpower of Vietnamese enterprises — we will find out in the next part of today's program. I invite our two guests and our audience to watch the next report in the program.

Report: Against the backdrop of rampant counterfeit and imitation goods, the market has recently seen more new technology solutions using digital technology or artificial intelligence and Blockchain to combat counterfeiting. This is an anti-counterfeiting solution using RFID chips, operating on the principle of collecting and protecting data. The data includes information related to product origin and circulation history, collected automatically along the product's journey, protected by the data encryption technology of the TrueOrigin solution whose core is iSeal identification technology.

Mr. Trần Đình Ngọc (Director of Onyx Vietnam Joint Stock Company): With TrueOrigin's origin authentication solution, why can this anti-counterfeiting problem be solved thoroughly? Because it comes from the essence of the origin system and a technological breakthrough from the system's principle. That will thoroughly solve anti-counterfeiting for products.

Mr. Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng (Chairman of the Vietnam Consumer Protection Association): This method is highly scientific and applicable; with just a device — a smartphone — in hand, anyone can access it and get a clear answer on whether the goods are genuine or counterfeit.

Report: The technology combines blockchain and NFC chips into a Blockchain chip label that cannot be counterfeited; whatever it is stuck on becomes identified, creating a one-to-one pairing between the physical world and the digital world. In the digital space of mathematical logic, distinguishing right from wrong and real from fake is already precise. However, achieving that one-to-one pairing between the physical and digital worlds is a major challenge.

Mr. Trần Trọng Vinh - Chairman of the Asian Professional Security Association: Onyx's TrueOrigin solution applies modern Blockchain technology. This Blockchain technology cannot be counterfeited. If it is put into practice, we can say that counterfeiting can be completely combated — counterfeit goods are detected immediately because the labels cannot be faked. Previously there were anti-counterfeit labels, but people could counterfeit them. TrueOrigin's technology has been internationally certified by WIPO as an invention.

Report: At the same time, applying anti-counterfeiting and digital technologies will make product information more transparent, facilitate management, and strongly support the fight against trade fraud, helping enforcement agencies access information quickly and accurately to detect and remove counterfeit and poor-quality products, contributing to consumer protection.