OSLO, Norway--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Thin Film Electronics ASA (“Thinfilm”) (OSE:THIN.OL; OTCQX:TFECY), a leader in the development and commercialization of printed electronics and smart systems, today announced that its NFC products will be the first NFC-based solutions to be included in the World Customs Organization (WCO) IPM anti-counterfeiting tool.
The WCO selected Thinfilm’s NFC OpenSense™ and NFC Barcode™ products, printed smartphone-centric NFC (near field communication) tags that enhance brand security, in order to enable a wider range of product protection than otherwise possible. The Thinfilm tags are unique in that they deliver both ease-of-use and high security levels through a commonly available reading device – an NFC-enabled smartphone, tablet or industrial reader – and do not require special hardware or infrastructure. With 179 member countries, the WCO is the international authority on customs-related matters. WCO provides the best available tools to combat counterfeiting and piracy around the world. IPM is a global database that enables rights holders to provide customs officers with real-time data on their products.
“Counterfeiting is a major global problem that impacts a range of industries including pharmaceutical, technology, food and beverage, retail and more, with 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies affected,” said Davor Sutija, chief executive officer for Thinfilm. “We believe NFC OpenSense can play a significant role in helping the WCO to combat illicit trade and the growing threat it poses to our society and economy.”
NFC OpenSense and NFC Barcode tags both deliver thin, flexible, cost-effective protection with smartphone-centric NFC readability. In addition, NFC OpenSense tags are readable before and after product opening. Unique identifiers within each Thinfilm OpenSense tag support enhanced product authentication by identifying if a seal has been broken anywhere along the supply chain. Using the tags within the IPM Connected tool, a secure cloud database tracks product lineage and provides robust analytics to enable smart business decisions. With the economic, security and scalability benefits of printed electronics, OpenSense will contribute to protecting a wider range of products.
IPM Connected is an extension of the WCO’s original IPM solution, the only global anti-counterfeiting tool that allows products’ operational data to be communicated directly to customs officers on the ground, facilitating the identification of counterfeit goods.
About Thin Film Electronics ASA
Thinfilm is a leader in the development of Printed Electronics. The first to commercialize printed, rewritable memory, the Company is creating printed systems that include memory, sensing, display, and wireless communication, all at a low cost unmatched by any other electronic technology. Thinfilm’s roadmap integrates technology from a strong and growing ecosystem of partners to enable the Internet of Everything by bringing intelligence to disposable goods.
Thin Film Electronics ASA (“Thinfilm”) is a publicly listed Norwegian company with headquarters in Oslo, Norway, product development and production in Linköping, Sweden, product development, production, and business development in San Jose, California, USA, and a sales office in Tokyo, Japan. For more information, visit http://www.thinfilm.no or follow us on Twitter @ThinfilmMemory.
About the World Customs Organization
The WCO is the only international intergovernmental organization that deals with Customs procedures and regulations governing trade between countries. Its work aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs administrations across the globe, and to help them fulfil their dual role of facilitating trade whilst ensuring its security. It is a setting in which governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices and standards, and coordinate Customs policies. It is also noted for its work in areas covering the development of global standards relating to commodity classification, valuation and rules of origin, as well as compliance issues, the promotion of integrity, and sustainable Customs capacity building initiatives. For more information: www.wcoomd.org or email ipmcommunication@wcoomd.org.