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Technologies |
"The 21st Century Solution to Counterfeiting, Forgery & Diversion" |
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(Australia) Pty Ltd |
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A Unique LabelWhen you buy an Olympic T-shirt, you will soon get more than you bargained for, reports Rochelle
Burbury of
the Australian 9th Nov. 1998
Y 2000 more than 50 million items of official Olympic merchandise will contain the DNA of a famous former Olympic athlete. Not
only will the human DNA imprint protect Olympic merchandise from counterfeiting
but it will provide a unique marketing tool as a more unusual Olympic souvenir. In
a world and Olympic first, the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games
has formed an agreement with DNA Technologies (Australia) to provide human DNA
imprint to be impregnated into the dyes, swing tags, sew in labels and stickers
on Olympic merchandise. SOCOG
is keeping the identity of the former Olympian a secret because it is planning
to use the concept for marketing
purposes. Last year, however SOCOG
released Olympic pins with DNA imprints from former Olympians Dawn Fraser and
Murray Rose, one of whom may have been used for the new DNA security devices. As
Olympic merchandise rolls out, SOCOG also
plans to use one or two other high-profile athletes for DNA material. The
technology involves taking a swab from inside the
side of the athletes mouth to provide a DNA string from the cheek cells. A
unique segment from the string is formed into a genetic code, which is amplified
to produce copies. It is then mixed with other parts of the DNA to mask
the code. The code is then covered with a protein to give it a hard shell to protect it from its carriers, such as the alcohol in dyes. The DNA is then mixed with other ingredient to make the imprint electronically detectable. DNA Technologies has produced special scanners which emit a noise or light when passed over the merchandise. A team of
“
You can never clone the person back from our marks,”
DNA Technologies Ron Taylor said. “To reverse the engineering
would be like looking for a gene that creates a certain disease… It’s not
impossible to duplicate but commercially it’s not viable.” DNA Technologies is working with 40 official Olympic
licensees and has so far distributed 2.5 million DNA units. Once a majority of
product is tagged with DNA, SOCOG will start a campaign alerting consumers to be
aware of the technology and the threat of counterfeiting. Mr. Taylor said
SOCOG and DNA Technologies also planned to introduce collectable tags as part of
their marketing programs next year. Ms.
McGill said instances of counterfeiting would get worse as the Games drew
closer. “As
the public become more aware of goods and unscrupulous people are more aware of
the money that can be made from Olympic souvenirs, I do think it will get
worse. We’ve put ourselves in a strong position to fight and protect
people from getting ripped off,” she said. SOCOG
has instances of counterfeit Olympic products every week and has seized many of them. Recent seizures include soccer balls and 499
watches. The
Sydney 2000 Games Indicia and Images Protection Act was introduced in 1996 and
designed to protect Olympic word and symbols. It also aims to preserve the
financial integrity of the Games because ambush marketing has the potential to
devalue official licenses. SOCOG
also has seized T-shirts, caps and others clothing, which Ms. McGill described
as “Very ratty stuff.” “It’s
found at markets and we don’t sell (official merchandise) at markets.
There has been no actual copying of the logo, it’s been a grey area with
borderline designs. That is something we have cause for concern over.”
she said. “We’re
trying to ensure consumers are protected, particularly if they’re thinking
they are contributing to the games or athletes.” SOCOG
retains a specialist trade mark investigator firm which monitors the register of
trademarks. If anyone tries to register a name using protected Olympic
words, SOCOG issue a warning about its intellectual property rights. It
also works with the Retail Trade Association to warn retailers of suspect
product and with Australian Customs to educate its staff on what to look for. SOCOG‘s
legal staff of three will double during the Games and be supported by 60 staff
and volunteers, dedicated police officers and council rangers. For More Information Contact: |
Send mail to
DNAAus@dnatecaus.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
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