The terms you’ll meet when you look into protecting your products — what they mean, without the jargon.
The unique serial code authe gives each item — short, non-sequential, one per item (e.g. FM-K9M-2P4A5). It's what the scan-tag encodes and what the verify page looks up. Because each autheID belongs to exactly one item, a copied tag can't cover a production run of fakes.
The printed code (QR or Data Matrix) that carries an item's autheID. You print it on a label or drop it in the packaging; a buyer points any phone camera at it and lands on the item's verify page. No app, no account.
Giving every unit its own unique code, instead of one shared barcode for a whole product line. A regular retail barcode says 'this is product X'; a serial code says 'this is unit #2,481 of product X' — which is what makes per-item verification possible.
The plain web page a buyer lands on when they scan a tag: 'verified by authe', the item's photo and details, and its story. It's a normal web page, so it works on any phone, any channel, without an app or account.
Two kinds of 2D barcode. Phone cameras are most at home with QR codes; Data Matrix is the compact format common in industry (and the format Amazon Transparency uses). authe labels can carry either — or both side by side.
Global Trade Item Number — the number behind a retail barcode (UPC/EAN). It identifies a product, not a unit: every jar in a production run shares one GTIN. Per-item programs like Amazon Transparency require one, and authe's Transparency CSV export works for any product with a GTIN.
A GS1 standard for writing a web address so a single code carries both the product's GTIN and the item's serial. One printed code can then do several jobs: a shopper's phone opens the verify page, while a retail scanner reads the product number from the same code.
GS1's industry target for retail checkouts to accept 2D barcodes (like QR codes) alongside the classic striped barcode. It's why a single well-formed 2D code on packaging is becoming the norm — and why authe offers a GS1 Digital Link option on its labels.
Amazon's per-unit anti-counterfeit program. An enrolled brand puts a unique code on every unit, and Amazon checks codes at fulfilment so counterfeit units are stopped before they ship. Enrolment requires Amazon Brand Registry and a registered trademark, and Amazon charges per unit.
Amazon's bring-your-own-serial path: instead of taking Amazon-issued codes, a brand registers its own per-unit serials, which Amazon validates at fulfilment exactly like its own. It's the path that lets an autheID double as a Transparency serial — one code on the unit, not two.
Amazon's program for brand owners, gated on a registered trademark. It unlocks Amazon's brand-protection tools and is the eligibility requirement for Transparency. It's between the brand and Amazon — authe itself requires neither a trademark nor Brand Registry.
A digital counterpart to the paper certificate of authenticity — tied to the piece's tag instead of loose paper, so it can't be separated, copied, or lost the same way. On resale it can transfer to the next owner with the piece's history intact.
An item's documented history: who made it, where it's been, who has owned it. For collectibles and limited runs, provenance is where much of the value lives — and it's exactly what a transferable, verified record preserves across resales.
A near-identical listing of someone else's product, common on marketplaces. Takedowns are slow and uncertain; the counter a seller controls is proof — giving buyers a way to check which item is the genuine original.
A complaint claiming a genuine item is fake — filed by a competitor, a confused buyer, or in error. It can suspend a listing or an account overnight. Per-item proof of identity gives the seller something concrete to point the marketplace to.
A visual deterrent: a shiny label meant to look hard to copy. The catch is that it's judged by eye, and similar-looking stickers are easy to order. A scan-tag is a check rather than a look — each tag opens one item's own record.
A small chip a phone can tap to open a link — the tap-to-verify alternative to scanning a printed code. NFC tags cost more per unit and need physical tags sourced and applied; printed codes cost cents and go on any label. Both can point at the same kind of verify page.
Upcoming EU rules requiring products in certain categories to carry a digital record of materials, repair, and recycling information. authe is not a DPP compliance product — but a per-item tag and record is the same plumbing, and a head start if the rules reach your category.
Genuine goods sold through channels they weren't meant for — surplus rerouted to other countries or unauthorized resellers. Authenticity checks alone don't catch it, because the goods are real. Geo-recorded scans do: they show where genuine units actually surface.
A label designed to show damage when peeled or transferred, so a tag can't be quietly moved from a genuine item to a fake one. Pairing a scan-tag with tamper-evident stock closes the move-the-sticker gap.
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