Fighting Counterfeits With a Digital Product Passport

The Digital Product Passport was not designed as an anti-counterfeiting tool — but applied at item level it has a powerful side effect: a counterfeit cannot be verified.

Three layers of defence

1. Unique identity

A model-level passport stops nobody: the counterfeiter prints the same QR. An item-level serial traps every copy into the same identity. See choosing granularity.

2. Scan analytics

Once scans are recorded server-side, anomalies become visible:

• The same serial scanned many times in a short window.
• A geographically impossible scan distribution.
• Scans of a batch that has not shipped yet.

This analysis can be done in aggregate without collecting personal data. See GDPR and DPP data.

3. Cryptographic carriers

NFC chips can generate a verification code that changes on every tap, making physical cloning practically impossible — the preferred approach on premium goods. See NFC and RFID for DPP.

The fake passport page risk

A counterfeiter can copy not just the QR but the page it opens. Countermeasures:

• Use your own identity domain and make it visible in consumer communication. See data persistence and backup.
• Serve signed data with a verification interface for independent checking. See EN 18246 data authentication.
• Enable cross-checking through the registry entry. See the EU DPP Registry guide.

Value in resale

Authenticity verification resolves the biggest friction in the second-hand market. When a brand links it to a resale programme, the passport creates direct commercial value. See DPP in resale and second-hand.

Frequently asked questions