Electronic authentication of products

This chapter puts forward the proposition that a legally protectible ‘authentication mark’ is associable with digital products. The proposition builds on the notion that an authentic digital product is one reproduced or distributed with legitimate authority or approval. The digital watermarks and digital signatures currently used in digital products are, in effect, authentication marks that comprise embedded ownership and other data. Thus they constitute a turn away from human sensate marks to machine sensate marks as a basis for bipolar distinction, insofar as they distinguish lawfully produced digital content from unauthorized or infringing copies. Later in the chapter, attention is drawn to new means of establishing the genuineness of overt or covert indicia of authenticity that products of all kinds may bear. In particular, blockchains coupled to the Internet of Things (‘IoT’) show considerable promise for immediate provision of on-demand verification of authenticity indicia and efficient detection of counterfeits.