CENTENARY OF FEDERATION
MERCHANDISE PROTECTION PROGRAM

Australian company builds on Olympic success in fight against counterfeiting, diversion and forgery.

The recent announcement by the National Council for the Centenary of Federation that DNA Technologies (Australia) Pty Ltd would be responsible for safeguarding the authenticity of products marketed for the Centenary of Federation celebrations prior to and during the Year 2001, builds on their earlier success with the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Typically events such as this can experience up to 40% of all merchandise being counterfeited, leading to serious losses for the licensees and the event organizes, as well as the public being duped into purchasing inferior memorabilia of the event. Not so in the Sydney 2000 Olympic where the incidence of counterfeiting was less than 0.5%.
In 2001 it will be 100 years since six separate British colonies joined together to become the Commonwealth of Australia. Throughout the year, across the nation, there will be a vast array of celebrations and commemorative events. This milestone year will be one to remember. Australians and international visitors alike will be looking for permanent mementos of our 100th birthday.
The National Council for the Centenary of Federation has endorsed an exciting range of official merchandise, which will be available from licensed suppliers. This merchandise will be protected by DNA Technologies (Australia) DNA Matrix SmartMark. The development and patenting of anti-counterfeiting technologies employing DNA gene segments, in combination with unique optical and biological labels (the DNA matrix), creates a code for authentication marking that cannot be refuted and is admissible as evidence in court. The Managing Director of DNA Technologies (Australia) Pty Ltd, Ron Taylor, said, €DNA means authenticity for manufactured articles. We look forward to implementing a successful operation in conjunction with TMIS (Trade Mark Investigation Services) field operatives to protect licensees and the public from unlicensed product€.