Beyond education, industry is fighting to stay one step ahead of the counterfeiters. Kodak is a leader in this effort. The company has not only used its technology to wage this battle, it also used its New York Times Square JumboTron a couple of years ago to broadcast this sobering warning: “When you buy counterfeit goods, you support child labor, you support drug trafficking, and you cost your city $1 billion in lost tax revenue.”
The company initially found its way into the business through its inks division, while working on methods to ensure the validity of passports and visas. The team realized that nearly every product contains some sort of printing, and so their expertise was soon being marketed more broadly. The company is close-mouthed about its approach, needless to say, since counterfeiters are working ‘round the clock to outwit them.
What we know is that Kodak is infusing products with something called Traceless, that Taylor describes as “ultra covert authentication technology.” The material can be picked up by a hand-held wand – a significant breakthrough. A company whose products are mysteriously migrating out of its distribution channels can now follow the leak. Similarly, store owners can with a wave of the wand discover fake goods being stocked on their shelves. Kodak controls the product and the readers, tightly screening its approach even from its clients.
Sensing an opportunity, Kodak has moved in the past year to provide clients with consulting services, providing vendors with a “holistic” approach to reining in copy-cat production and sales of their products. Taylor says companies are currently spending some $7 billion for brand protection worldwide, a number that is sure to grow. One of his team’s pitches recently was made to Kodak itself, which has seen its own cameras knocked off.
O’Neill confirms that all of these approaches are necessary to blunt the growth of counterfeiting. The profits are so great that it will take a full-out assault to deter the thieves. “We need to work the authorities, educate consumers and go after the money trail.” Asked if he thought the NYPD was winning the battle, O’Neill sighs. “We’re holding our own,” he says. All things considered, that could be viewed as a victory.

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