Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems
Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems

FAMIUM Provenance and Authenticity

Authenticate Digital and Physical Content and Products

Montag: Vintage Family Black and White Photos & a hand holding a phone with one of the pictures and a green check mark on it
© Fraunhofer FOKUS / istock / vgabusi

Authentication technologies are constantly evolving and driving innovation in the areas of security and transparency.

New authentication technologies make it possible to better protect digital content and ensure its authenticity. To ensure trust, security and integrity in various industries and areas, the authentication of products and media is essential. FAMIUM Provenance and Authenticity provides technologies to authenticate digital content and physical products and to prove their provenance via trust chains. The technology is aimed in particular for the following domains:

  • Protection against counterfeiting and fraud
  • Preventing misinformation and fake news
  • Preservation of brand integrity
  • Safety and health
  • Legal and regulatory requirements
  • Consumer protection

Digital Content Authentication

Provenance for digital media is a key mechanism for ensuring authenticity, integrity and trust in the digital information world. Together with authentication it ensures that content is genuine and comes from a trustworthy source, which can preserve the integrity and credibility of a brand and can also limit the spread of fake news and misinformation.

FAMIUM Provenance and Authenticity provides workflows and tools to integrate provenance and authenticity information in digital content production and playout environments. With FAMIUM DASH and DRM also the authentication of MPEG-DASH content, including streaming content, is enabled through the FAMIUM Player and FAMIUM Packager.

FAMIUM Provenance and Authenticity supports the C2PA specifications which define a standardised path for provenance data, interoperability and authentication & verification. Transparency and traceability are thus achieved for digital media and disinformation is reduced.

Physical Product Authentication

Authentication of physical products helps to recognise counterfeit products and keep them off the market. This is particularly important for medical products, luxury goods and electronics, as counterfeit products can be dangerous and inferior. In addition, companies invest heavily in the development and marketing of their brands. Authentication helps protect their brand from damage caused by counterfeiting, which could damage customer loyalty. Also, many industries are bound by legal and regulatory requirements. Authentication can help companies to fulfil these regulations and prevent legal consequences.

FAMIUM Provenance and Authenticity for physical products is based on Fraunhofer's SmartID technology. This utilises the unique properties of a product surface as an additional feature for generating a forgery-proof QR code.

SmartID ComProt ProductionLine
© Fraunhofer FOKUS
SmartID at a glance

Like a human fingerprint, the surface characteristics of each product are completely individual. The SmartID solution integrates these characteristics into a QR code and is hence able to identify individual products. Standard smartphones can use this to securely verify product identities. No internet connection is required for this, as the patented technology works independently of database or blockchain systems. Everyone in the supply chain - from the manufacturer to the distributor to the end consumer - can verify whether the product in question is genuine. Simple. Offline. Secure.