AI-generated image

Product authentication ● Patented Crypto-Optical Technology

The anti-counterfeit solution any smartphone can verify.

A copy-evident code, printed on your product, label or packaging. Scan it with any phone camera: originals pass, copies fail.

Get your Sample Kit See how it works

Sample Kit: one genuine code, one perfect reprint. You won’t see the difference. The scan will.

Recognised by the G20. Trusted by global brands.
Winner G20 Innovation Award 2025 Read about the award
LIQUI MOLY BOSCH STIHL Chillington AHK German Federal Government Government of Kenya
and more

Any phone. No reader. Even offline.

Nothing to install. Any smartphone camera. Nothing to sign up for – for inspectors, dealers and customers alike.
Works where the signal doesn’t. With the authentic app, the answer sits in the code, not on a server you have to reach. Border checks, warehouses, weak coverage.
One camera on your line. That’s it. The code comes as a ready-to-apply sticker or printed into your label. A camera on the line scans each code once. No new machines, no special inks.
150+ countries where LIQUI MOLY sells products carrying the code
Patented Crypto-Optical Technology
ISO 27001 certified data hosting
Made in Germany developed and based in Chemnitz

Countries: LIQUI MOLY press release, June 2026 .

Fact sheet

For the people who check the details.

Specs, comparison and sources – for procurement, IT and packaging teams. Everything else on this page is for everyone.

Updated November 2026
Open the fact sheet

Specifications

SecurityCrypto-Optical Technology, patented. A printed pattern inside the code that breaks when copied or reprinted.
VerificationAny smartphone camera. No app, no reader. About one second. Result: Original or Not original.
OfflineYes – with the authentic app.
PrintingStandard CMYK, produced by authentic.network through a qualified industrial printing partner – into your label or as a ready-to-apply sticker. No special inks.
LineOne camera registers each code once. No new machines.
DataUnique serial number per code. Every scan with time and place. ISO 27001-certified hosting (ISO/IEC 27001).
RegulationReady for the EU Digital Product Passport (ESPR). Battery passport from 18 February 2027 (EU 2023/1542).
ProofLIQUI MOLY: 40 million products a year, sold in 150+ countries (press release, 2 June 2026). G20 Innovation Award 2025, Secured Digital Infrastructure (award).
Per projectThroughput, lead time, pricing, interfaces – quoted for your product and volumes.

Compared

MethodA copy…Checked withExtra per unit
Standard QR codepassesAny cameraNone
Hologramis judged by eyeHuman eyeFoil or label
NFC tagfailsNFC phoneChip per unit
Crypto-Optical TechnologyfailsAny phone camera, no appNone
  • Verification principle as commonly deployed; no statement on cost or quality of third-party products.
  • Counterfeit trade: OECD/EUIPO, Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025.
Case study
40 million products.
One trusted identity.

LIQUI MOLY protects its lubricant range worldwide with authentic.network - fully integrated into its data, production and processes, from ERP connection to track & trace and grey-market control. The result: every unit can be checked in the field, grey-market cases surface with the article and batch they belong to, and digital services such as an oil finder and a customer app run on the same code.

“We want to be able to trace our entire supply chain, from production to the end customer. And we want to do so worldwide. This is essential to delivering on our quality promise.”
Marco Esser, Global Marketing Director, LIQUI MOLY

All it takes is a camera.

40M+ products protected every year
150+ markets worldwide
LIQUI MOLY Top Tec 4200 canisters and a LIQUI MOLY motor oil drum in a production hall AI-generated
Prove it to yourself

The Sample Kit: one genuine code and one perfect reprint, sent to your desk. Try to tell them apart, then scan both.

Get your Sample Kit
The problem

Physical products can’t prove who they are.

No proof 4.7%

of EU imports are counterfeit. 1

No control 8%

of revenue lost to grey markets. 2

No connection 1/3

of revenue comes from post-sale services. 3

1 OECD/EUIPO 2025, by value · 2 authentic.network customer deployment, lubricants · 3 BCG Services Benchmark Study 2025

Solutions

One sticker. Six jobs.

All solutions

Print the code once, switch on what you need - now or later.

Proof Brand Protection

Stop counterfeits and protect your reputation.

Learn more Control Track & Trace

See where your products are verified, market by market.

Learn more Control Grey-Market Control

Spot products sold outside their intended market and act on it.

Learn more Connect Warranty & Service

Register products in one scan and cut fraudulent claims.

Learn more Connect Customer Engagement

Turn every scan into an experience that builds loyalty.

Learn more Connect Digital Product Passport

Make product data accessible, verifiable and ready for the EU’s product passport rules (ESPR).

Learn more
Industries

Built for global industries.

From lubricants to automotive, chemicals, pharma and agriculture - our technology protects what moves the world.

Explore all industries
AI-generated Lubricants Automotive part with an authentic.network code (AI-generated image) AI-generated Automotive Chemical drum with an authentic.network code label (AI-generated image) AI-generated Chemicals Vitamin pack with an authentic.network code (AI-generated image) AI-generated Pharma AI-generated Agriculture
Questions

What people ask before they start.

What is authentic.network?

authentic.network is an anti-counterfeit solution for physical products: a patented, copy-evident security code printed on the product or its label and linked to your product data. Any smartphone camera verifies it - no app, no reader; with the authentic app even with no signal. Originals pass, copies fail, and you see where your products are being checked.

What is product authentication, and how is it different from a QR code?

Identification tells you which product something claims to be. Authentication confirms that the item in front of you is the one that claim belongs to. A standard QR code can be copied perfectly, so it identifies but does not authenticate. A copy-evident code fails verification when it is duplicated.

How does authentic.network prevent counterfeit products?

It makes copies visible. Every protected item carries a printed security layer that is linked to your product data. Anyone along the chain - distributor, inspector, customer - scans the code with a normal smartphone and sees whether this item is the original. A counterfeit either carries no valid code or a reproduced one, and a reproduction does not pass the check. Every scan is also recorded, so you see where copies are surfacing instead of hearing about them months later.

Can counterfeiters copy an authentic.network code?

They can copy what the code looks like. The security layer sits in the printed structure of the code itself, and photographing, scanning or reprinting it changes that structure - so the reproduction fails verification while the original passes. That is what the Sample Kit demonstrates: it contains one genuine code and one perfect reprint. You will not see the difference. The scan will.

Can a copy-evident code be reproduced with a high-resolution printer?

No – and not because of print resolution. Codes that rely on a copy becoming blurry (copy detection patterns) are tied to what a phone camera can resolve, and research from the University of Geneva (2021) has shown they can be cloned with industrial printers. Crypto-Optical Technology works differently: bit-block manipulation places the security in the structure of the code itself. A reprint reproduces the picture, not the structure – so it fails the scan, whatever printer made it. The Sample Kit contains exactly that: one original and one industrially printed, high-resolution reprint. Scan both.

What does it cost to protect a product?

Pricing depends on volume, on the code format and on which solutions you switch on, so we quote per case. What is not in the price, at any volume: new production machines, special inks, reader hardware, or an app your customers have to install. The code is printed in the process you already run, and it is verified with the phone people already carry.

Do we have to change our production line?

No. The security layer comes as a ready-to-apply sticker or is integrated into your label artwork, using standard print. authentic.network produces it through a qualified industrial printing partner. No new machines on your line, no special inks.

What is a Digital Product Passport and when does it become mandatory?

A Digital Product Passport is a machine-readable record of a product's origin, materials and lifecycle. It is introduced product group by product group under EU law: the battery passport applies from 18 February 2027, and further product groups follow through delegated acts under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.

Can authentic.network detect grey-market products?

Yes. Every verification scan is recorded with its location, so a unit meant for one market that is verified in another becomes visible. That turns grey-market diversion from a suspicion into something you can act on.

How is the code applied to our products?

In one of two ways. Either we print it as a sticker and ship it to you ready to apply, or we integrate the code into your label artwork and produce the label through our qualified industrial printing partner. No new machines and no special inks are needed in either case.

A more secure tomorrow

Let’s protect what’s real.

The Sample Kit is one genuine code and one perfect reprint, sent to your desk. Try to tell them apart, then scan both.

One genuine code, one perfect reprint. We confirm by email and ask where to ship it. Privacy

Thanks – we will email you shortly to confirm the shipping address.

That did not go through. Please try again or write to us via the contact page .

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Real products.
Real people.
Real markets.
A more secure tomorrow.
How it works

Looks identical.
Fails the scan.

Unlike standard QR codes, holograms or NFC, the security is part of the printed code itself. Every code is unique and carries its own serial number - and a copy fails the check on any smartphone.

Magnified
Crypto-optical border A printed bit-block pattern. Photograph or reprint it, and the pattern breaks.
QR code The carrier – readable by any smartphone camera.
9:41
Original Verified
Not original Verification failed

Digital Product Passport

Verified original
Article Product A-100
Batch B-24-0915
Production date 15 Sep 2026
Target market EU
Breaks on removal Tamper-evident: removal breaks the code.
Scans · last 24 h Live · demo data
Scans 1,284
Countries 23
Reports 3
Hamburg, DE 214 ✓ OK
Milan, IT 96 ✓ OK
Warsaw, PL 71 ✓ OK
Rotterdam, NL 12 ⚠ Report
Original .
Copy .
Breaks .

01 · The code Every product carries a unique, copy-evident code.

02 · The security The security sits in the crypto-optical border .

03 · The check Any smartphone camera checks it. No app.

04 · The copy A copy looks identical – and fails the scan .

05 · Tamper-evident Peel it off and it breaks .

06 · The insight See where every scan happens – and where reports come in.

07 · The passport One code. Counterfeit protection and Digital Product Passport.

See the technology in detail