3M Uses 'Confirm' Authentication Products to Battle Counterfeit Automotive Parts

The automotive industry is constantly dealing with counterfeiting and parts piracy. These sub-par and unsafe products wind up with unknowing consumers, putting lives at risk and exposing shop owners to potential liability.

Besides safety and health concerns, counterfeiting leads to shrinking profit margins, increased warranty costs, financial investments in intellectual property protection and brand damage.

In most situations, these products look almost identical to the originals. However, they are usually full of errors, inferior and don't meet appropriate standards.

To combat this, 3M has launched a new format of the 3M Confirm authentication products featuring floating image technology that helps protect against counterfeiting and tampering. The new format offers multi-layered overt and covert security features, and allows for the incorporation of security and tracking features into the same label. The product can be used on virtually any auto part.

Introduced in April 2006, the Confirm products feature an optically variable device that appears to float above or sink below the surface of the label and then disappear as the viewing angle changes. Dramatic movement of the image is easy to detect and recognize with the naked eye, enabling quick authentication to help prove the label and product are genuine.

"This fully customizable strip is ideal for any market segments that are known victims of counterfeiting or fraud, such as automotive parts," says Bill Markovitz, marketing development manager, 3M Security Systems Division. "The additional functionality of the new format allows manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to use one label for easy authentication, bar codes, tracking and other additional security features, which cuts costs and increases efficiency and security."

The new format builds on 3M's retroreflective security technology. The floating image security feature enhances the inherent security of Confirm authentication labels and is based on 3M proprietary technologies.