People all over the world have suffered from counterfeiting in one way or the other. Maxwell a young teenager after been diagnosed suffering from malaria due to mosquito bites in Lagos, Nigeria, had to get medicine from a drug store (local pharmacy). He never knew he was bargaining for something different, after administering the drugs, he had complications which later led to an emergency where he was moved down to the hospital. He was lucky to be saved by professional healthcare workers (doctors, nurses) as what turned out to rather cure almost took his life. As a means of curbing fake medicines in Nigeria for instance, we have been advised to check properly and there is a seal to scratch off where there are numbers (code), and such numbers are sent to a particular number that will give instantaneous information about the drug if it is genuine or fake.
Counterfeit simply put means making something fake to look original with some attributes of the original product(s). Those who indulge in such acts have the sole intent to make huge gains (money) at a very low risk while endangering the lives of consumers. As humans, we come in contact with these counterfeit products in our everyday life activities in one way or the other. These products range from software, music, vehicle tyres, automobile spare parts, electronics, smartphones, computers, textiles, pharmaceutical products, cosmetics and so on. These products do not meet the required standards and they are sold under the same brand name as the original in most cases while some are smartly packaged to have the resemblance of the real product unless thoroughly checked you might not be able to detect. The downside of these counterfeit products could be felt socially, economically, environmentally and healthwise and due to these effects, we tend to have many unresolved issues around us. The people in this business do not care about the well-being of others, their sole aim is to make massive profits and it is a multi-billion dollars business with syndicates spread around the globe. Counterfeit products have led to the death of many persons or permanent disabilities around the world be it from substandard medicines or vehicle tyres and its negative consequences are too numerous to mention.
Due to the severity of counterfeiting, United Nations launched a campaign on January 14, 2014, in New York City, Times Square, where the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) made a press release, describing counterfeiting as a crime which touches “virtually everyone in one way or another” and that counterfeit goods, whether drugs or consumer products, can pose a serious risk to health and safety. As rightly put by the UNODC, lives are at risk and these acts tend to lead to loss of revenue to the genuine companies because the monies that are supposed to be coming to them will be channeled to substandard goods thereby enriching those in such business line. I have got a goods news for everyone, the era of counterfeiting is coming to an end with the introduction of Seal as a brand name combating such illegal acts and as a member of IACC (INTERNATIONAL ANTICOUNTERFEITING COALITION).
What Is Seal All About
Seal is a network that will leverage on the blockchain technology running on a decentralized database tokenizing real products in order to combat counterfeiting using the near-field communication protocol (NFC), the seal network, and an app. When these physical products that have NFC chips (seal chips) installed come in contact with the SEAL app, it will instantly communicate with each other thereby establishing the genuineness of the said product or otherwise.
Problems
Midnight shift Brand: These are products produced by brands manufacturing partners often after their normal day's shift production cycle. These products are sometimes sold on the black market through unauthorized distributors or go through the normal supply chain with conspired distributors thereby not being accountable for by the company. The products are not substandard but intellectual theft which tends to push the manufacturer's price downward thereby leading to loss of revenue while those involved makes money off it.
Secondhand Market: This is where people trade their wares, watches, smartphones, jewelry, and so on for money, possibly things they no longer need. This market is of high importance to counterfeiters because of its large size and people tend not to know the authentic from the fake and in so doing they do not have trust in the market.
The brand manufacturers do not have different access and control over this market and they do not gain from transactions that take place since their only income comes from first purchase.
Primary Market: This is where substandard products are sold at a very close price to authentic products at discounted rates and consumers tend to mistake such for original products because that is what they are meant to believe. Some of the big brands suffer from this market thereby losing a chunk of money to counterfeit syndicates. From forecasts and available data, if this scourge is not tamed now, in the near future many big brands will pay dearly for it because the counterfeit cabal keeps growing and raking in billions of US dollars as revenue from their illicit activities.
Secondary Market: We have a wider price margin between genuine and substandard products in this marketplace and some consumers knowingly go for this market with the sole intention of buying at a lower price. The seller, in this case, does not tell consumers that the products are genuine they will say it is a replica of the confirmed original product and they serve the same purpose.
Seal's Solution
Online Verification: Products will be verified online with available data and such data will not be prone to duplication with the services of seal leveraging on the blockchain technology as well as chips whose state changes whenever an interaction occurs thereby hindering such product(s) from being tampered with. Seal uses NFC (Near-Field Communication) protocol to establish a connection with products that have chips embedded in it. With seal authenticating, products genuineness is simplified by the use of its app and chips embedded on products.
Give Incentives For Seal Network Adoption: With seal's concept, brands will benefit when their item(s) or product(s) changes ownership by paying for the chips while still earning a profit at the same time. Seal will make fighting against counterfeit profitable because brands will earn all through the lifecycle of their product.
Secondhand market: This market is large and very susceptible to counterfeit. Being a value store, seal is simplifying the process of authenticating products and giving room to brands to earn through the lifecycle of their products as far as ownership changes along the line, it means more money for brands. This will in turn boost consumers trust and integrity because product's authenticity will be verified before it will be selected for listing.
Benefits of Using Seal
Product authenticity verification: With Seal app, authentication is just a few clicks away and the app is user-friendly with simple to use features.
Registration of ownership: Products are registered on the blockchain, so its information is intact.
Transfer of ownership: When a new buyer buys a product from its initial owner and with seal it is easy
Prevention against theft: With the aid of seal app, a lost or stolen item can be flagged, a customized message can be composed and any time the product is scanned the customized message will pop up thereby hindering the seller or buyer from purchasing such item(s). Location and time will also be sent by the smartphone thereby informing the owner where such item(s) is/are and can easily be gotten back and such anti-theft measure will make stealing of other person's belongings unattractive.
Parallel trade tracking: Seal will use its technology to assign a product to a particular country and when such product is taken to another country without authorization it will be easily detected.
Recall of faulty products: If during the course of scanning a product has already been reported or designated for recall, possibly an email or push notification will appear on the smartphone of the owner notifying safe return of such item.
Custom integration: Third parties can easily integrate other services they need through the API therefore giving room for better user experience to be tailored in-house as so desired.
Token Sales & Details
The seal token is a utility token built on the ethereum (ERC20) blockchain alongside with NFC chips that will power the platform and will be used as means of payment between consumers and brands.
Token sale is currently ongoing and soft cap already passed, so every wise investor will not want such opportunity to pass by. Hurry and grab your tokens, main token sale ends 27th May, 2018.
Conclusion
With the adverse effects of counterfeiting as it affects the world generally, it is a thorn in the flesh of all and a menace to put an end to, thanks to Seal network coming at the nick of time to salvage the situation. With the steps as outlined by the team, it is evident that if this technology is well embraced, it will serve as a source of profit making for brands as well as fight counterfeiting at the same time. There is no other solution needed other than this offered by seal with enormous benefits. Products will be verified on the spot and their technology will discourage theft. There is already available seal network mobile app for iOS and Android devices as they support multiple devices. The blockchain technology as seen is evolving every day as it is capable of solving varieties of problems bedeviling humans and seal network has taken advantage of this area to help humanity to grow finances and businesses.
The Team
As shown in the following pictures, the team is made of up experienced professionals who brought their wealth of experiences to use for a common good which will disrupt counterfeiting business.
For more details, please check the following useful links:
Website**: https://seal.network/
Whitepaper: https://seal.network/seal-whitepaper.pdf
Bitcointalk profile link: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3217735.0
Telegram: https://t.me/sealnetwork
Author's bitcointalk username: mayukus4life
Author's bitcointalk profile link: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1777715