Patent Application
20120095866
The present application claims priority to Italian Patent Application No. MI2010A001879 filed on Oct. 14, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a method and system for e-commerce controller and, more particularly, for checking the authenticity of items sold online through e-commerce sites.
The widespread diffusion of Internet-based sales (also known as e-commerce) has brought unexpected marketing opportunities, but has also introduced new issues for the authenticity of goods on sale, since Internet has become an ideal distribution channel for deceptive counterfeits of branded products. Fraudsters can take advantage of the fact that the world's manufacturing is shifting towards low-cost countries with poor protection of intellectual property but sufficient technology to provide them with non-evident fakes. They also benefit from the possibility of reaching millions of consumers with very little effort and almost no risk via the Internet. Knowing that consumers can only judge by appearance while surfing for shopping opportunities they have become experts at creating professional-looking sites or ads, and even using social media to lure shoppers to them.
For brands, the problem with counterfeiting is more challenging than ever before. In fact, in the past, it was primarily an image problem related to evident fakes sold offline. Today, it is also a business problem related to the revenue loss associated with deceptive fakes sold online to misled or unsuspicious consumers.
For consumers who want to purchase articles on the web it is difficult to understand which goods can be trusted as original and how to distinguish fakes from authentic goods. Many consumers know this and act accordingly. Some consumers for instance choose to buy only from the brand's online store or from online retailers with widely known household names.
The large number of non-authentic goods available on the web is, therefore, also a big problem for honest retailers because of the risk of general lack of trust from the customers. Being able to reassure potential buyers about the authenticity of merchandise is a crucial concern for Internet sellers because trust is crucial when it comes to selling branded products over the Internet. Since e-commerce marketplaces are often filled with fakes, consumers have become insecure and therefore expect a sort of “risk discount” while assessing shopping opportunities, resulting in lower prices that squeeze the profit margins of honest online retailers. For honest sellers, it is difficult to distinguish themselves from sellers of fake products, who clutter their Internet sites' pages with claims like “100% Authentic”, “Guaranteed Original”, etc., knowing that consumers have no choice but to judge appearance. In fact, e-shoppers can only examine the product photos and judge from the price. However photos can be deceptive or just plain fake and bargain prices are quite common on the Internet. That's how millions of fake products are sold over the Internet to misled or unsuspicious consumers who have limited possibilities to check the authenticity of those products neither before nor after their purchase.
In order to alleviate this problem, a number of methods are available, based on verification or certification codes (product identifiers) that can be checked by consumers to verify if such codes correspond to an authentic item. As an example, International patent applications WO 2005/083644 A1 and WO 2006/100581 A2 disclose possible methods for implementing and managing verification. Furthermore, there are commercially available systems, including Dacom's (at the website sixtrue.com), Export Box Madeinitaly.com (at the website madeinitaly.com), and Certilogo's (at the website certilogo.com), that perform an authentication of the product, by initially providing a verification code, to determine if such codes correspond to an authentic item. These verification methods work reasonably well when the customer can see and physically touch the product as normally happens in a traditional retail outlet (the so called “brick and mortar” physical shop). On the contrary, when items are on sale on the Internet, existing systems including those described above are not effective. Even when the verification code is valid and the system is reasonably sure that the product is authentic, there is no assurance that the online seller would ship the authenticated product that was advertised: for example, the seller could have one authentic item and then ship a counterfeit, or have simply copied a valid verification code from a shop and used it to advertise counterfeits of the same exact product. In the above cases, the verification codes would be valid, but the item shipped to the customer would not correspond to the item uniquely identified by that code. Therefore, a method and system that helps to detect illicit and/or improper use of verification codes in the context of online sales would be desirable.
In accordance with several embodiments of the present disclosure, a technology is provided that overcomes, at least partially, the disadvantages of the presently available systems.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method for detecting improper use of verification codes of a set of items sold through an e-commerce site connectable to a verification server is provided, the verification server having access to a repository containing information on a plurality of items, each item being associated with a verification code and with a plurality of item-related features, each item of the set of items having been pre-authenticated by a seller through the verification server, wherein the pre-authentication includes checking a verification code and at least one pre-authentication item-related feature selected among the plurality of predetermined item-related features associated to the item, the method including the steps: responsive to a user request to verify the authenticity of an item purchased through the e-commerce site, the verification server prompting the user to provide a verification code; the verification server determining the validity of the code by querying the repository; responsive to the code being determined valid, the verification server selecting at least one item-related feature among the plurality of predetermined item-related features and for each selected item-related feature obtaining information from the user; comparing the information obtained by the user with the at least one selected item-related feature to verify the authenticity of the purchased item; assigning to the item a score based on the comparison, the score being indicative of the likelihood that the purchased item is authentic; providing the user with a feedback according to the assigned score.
The at least one selected item-related feature for which information is obtained from the user corresponds to the at least one pre-authentication item-related selected feature. In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the step of obtaining information from the user includes an interactive dialogue. Such dialogue can include showing a visual representation of an item-related feature and wherein the user is requested to confirm the conformity of the purchased item with the shown visual representation.
Furthermore, the pre-authentication is a pre-requisite for selling items through the e-commerce site. This requisite could be conveyed to the possible customers by means of a message displayed on the e-commerce site advising the users that the specific product has been previously pre-authenticated by the seller and of the possibility of controlling authenticity of purchased items after the purchase has been completed.
According to further embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer program, a software application or a program product that implement the above method, when run on a computer or any apparatus capable of data processing, are provided.
A data processing system implementing the above method is also provided.
In accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, it is possible to increase the trust of the customers with e-commerce purchases because a system combining a pre-authentication step and a post purchase verification check is provided by an external entity by means of a verification server.
The features of the present disclosure will be better understood by any person skilled in the art from the following description and the enclosed drawings, referring to embodiments, which are to be considered exemplary and not restrictive, in which:
As shown schematically in
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the verification server 107 can be, for example, a JBoss application server (version 5.1) on which a software application implemented in the Java programming language is running, using the Java Virtual Machine (version 1.6), with a repository 109 implemented using Postgres (version 8), both running on IBM computer servers with a Linux operating system (version SuSe 10). Server 101 can be any server suitable for controlling access to web sites on the Internet, while client computers 105 can be, e.g., any computer capable of running a browser (e.g., Microsoft Explorer) and connecting to the Internet, but any device with network capability could be used instead.
From the customers' point of view, in a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of certified items are available on sale through server 101, each item having a unique verification code which has been previously authenticated by the seller through verification server 107. When a potential customer visits an e-commerce site on server 101 through network 103, a selection of items are available for purchase. In accordance with a further embodiment of the disclosure, some or all of the items are certified. Certified items have been pre-authenticated by the verification server 107 and the potential customer can see this information when deciding to buy the item.
Such pre-authentication was based on information provided by the seller and allows to establish whether the verification code matches with a corresponding product (item) as indicated by the seller. As an example, the verification code can verify some features of the product as described by the seller and compare these features with those of the expected product as defined by the producer (who is normally the owner of the verification code).
After the purchase process has been completed, the customer should receive the product at the indicated address: according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the system implements a post-purchase verification step based on an analysis of information provided by the customer, in order to check whether the features declared by the seller correspond to those of the delivered product. Again, the mere verification code may not be sufficient to ensure that the product is authentic. However, a combination of verification code and a list of features which are “extracted” from the product itself can provide a higher level of trust. As an example, let's suppose that the product on sale is a fashion bag. If the seller wants to pre-authenticate the product, an approved verification code should be provided to the verification server 107.
The seller will connect from a client 105 to the verification server 107 through network 103 (e.g., the Internet). The product will be put on sale on a web-based e-commerce site on the server 101, accessible by a plurality of clients 105 (which can be either sellers or buyers) through the network 103. The verification server 107 will perform a formal check of the verification code on the repository 109 to verify the existence and the status of the code (e.g., the code might have been stolen from a producer or blocked after a license to produce branded goods was cancelled). If the code does exist and it is valid, i.e. the status does not suggest any evident misuse or any reasons for preventing the sale, the server will compare some features of the product for which the pre-authentication is requested with the information recorded on the repository 109 for the product associated with the code. Such additional information will be obtained from the seller in several possible ways: according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the seller will be prompted to enter a plurality of features as answers to specific questions from the server. Such questions can be a predetermined list of questions indicated by the producer, or possibly a subset of a larger number of questions selected by the server, e.g., as a random choice. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that such step of acquiring information on the product can be performed in several different ways—manually or automatically—one item at a time or several at a time, e.g., automatic submission of files (e.g. XML) populated with the data required by the verification system from corporate information systems (e.g. ERP, MRP, Auction Management and Catalog Systems, etc.).
After such pre-authentication step is completed, the seller will be authorized to display a sort of certification on the web site to advertise the pre-authentication to possible customers. This could be done, for example, by way of a banner that distinguishes the pre-authenticated products, or a “clickable” button found on the pre-authenticated product's page that redirects prospective consumers to the verification service's site, encouraging the post-purchase authentication and explaining the guarantee offered in case of an eventual purchase.
A customer who wants to purchase a pre-authenticated item, knows (e.g., by reading the instructions on the web site) that a pre-authentication has already been performed by the seller and a post-sale authenticity check is available if the product is purchased on such web site. In this way, the customer is informed that the seller is willing to have all advertised products checked by an independent authority. Ideally, the seller could offer a guarantee to the buyer in case the post-sale verification fails.
When the buyer receives the purchased product, a post-purchase authentication check can be performed through the same verification server 107. Again the buyer can connect to the verification server 107 from one of the plurality of clients 105 through network 103. The verification server 107 will request the buyer to provide a verification code and a set of features to verify whether the product matches with the information stored on repository 109 as associated to the code provided by the buyer. If the comparison reaches a satisfactory threshold, the product is rated as authentic and the purchase process is considered successfully completed. Otherwise, an alert is issued to let the buyer know that further investigations are needed to determine the authenticity of the purchased product. This warning message (the alert) can be delivered in several different ways, as later described.
Throughout the present disclosure, the term “e-commerce sites” is being used to refer to all Internet sites where goods can be found or purchased, including online retailers, online marketplaces, and online classified sites.
Online retailers can be Internet sites that sell goods and services directly to consumers, generally offering online payment. Examples of online retailers include the websites at saksfifthavenue.com, apple.com, and net-a-porter.com.
Online marketplaces can be Internet sites that connect buyers and sellers from disparate locations, facilitate online payment, and generally manage their user community. Examples of online marketplaces include the websites at ebay.com, taobao.com, and ricardo.ch.
Online classified sites can be Internet sites that connect individuals and businesses that are offering goods and services to consumers. Typically, the buyers and sellers are from the same geographic area (city, region, etc.).
Furthermore, generally, the buyers don't register with the site and they don't make a payment online facilitated through the site. Examples of online classified sites include craigslist.com, kijljl.com, and subito.it.
Computer 250 includes different units, which are connected in parallel to a system bus 253. In detail, one or more microprocessors 256 control the computer operation. A RAM memory 259 is used directly by the microprocessors 256 as a process memory, while a ROM memory 262 holds the basic code for the initial loading operation (bootstrap) of the system. Various peripheral units are connected to a local bus 265 by way of suitable interfaces. In particular, these peripheral units may include a mass memory formed by hard disk 271 and a CD-ROM and optical disk driver (e.g., DVD or Blu-Ray®) 274. Moreover, the computer 250 may include input devices 277 (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, or a track point) and output devices 280 (e.g., a screen or a printer). A network card (Network Interface Card) 283 is used to connect the computer 250 to a network. A bridge unit 286 forms an interface between the system bus 253 and the local bus 265. Each microprocessor 256 and the bridge unit 286 may operate as “master agent” and request exclusive access to the system bus 253 for information transmission. An Arbiter 289 manages the access requests to the system bus 253, avoiding conflicts between the requesters. Similar remarks apply to slightly different systems or to systems based on differently configured networks. Other components, beside those described, can be present in specific cases and for particular implementations (e.g., palmtop computers, handheld phones etc).
As shown in
An example is shown in
As shown in
The verification server 107 performs the comparison between the information provided by the customer and the information available on the repository 109. A feedback is then provided to the customer reflecting the result of the post-authentication process.
The diagram of
The implementation of the code verification can be done, as mentioned above, in several different ways, and the decision of considering a code as invalid can be dependent on several different rules or policies. Just to make an example, it is possible that the system allows an “acceptance” threshold based on a sort of rating to be given to the code in order to establish its validity or not: this threshold can be customizable by an administrator. If the code is considered valid, then the process goes to step 611, where item-related features are checked. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, this check is performed with an interactive dialogue between the server and the seller. A sequence of questions is proposed to the seller, who is invited to give one or more details which can be “extracted” from the physical item. The questions can be about one or more of the following information items: brand, model, color, size, origin (i.e. in what city and country the product was purchased), likeness of the brand's logo present on the item, likeness of a hologram on the item, and so on. These are obviously just some examples and the list of question can be selected (e.g., randomly) from a larger set of possible questions. At step 613 the system determines whether the answers received by the seller match the expected information which was previously stored in the repository (see 109 of
The post-sale authentication process is illustrated in
At step 703, a post purchase (after sale) request is received and the first check is on the verification code (step 705). The same considerations made for the pre-authentication process can be done for the post purchase process: the code will be checked in a similar way as done for the pre-authentication. If the code fails the verification (step 707), a negative feedback is conveyed to the buyer (step 709). Alternatively, such negative feedback could be postponed until after the complete verification process has been performed. This could be justified by the possibility that the validity of the verification code is not completely clear. Again, this is a matter of system administrator choice who can decide to impose stricter of softer rules for the authenticity of the items on sale. If the verification code is considered valid, the process goes to the item-related features verification process (step 711), which follows similar rules as the corresponding process described for pre-authentication. If such verification succeeds (step 713), a positive feedback is issued to the buyer, otherwise a message will be delivered (e.g., displayed) to advise that further inquiries might be needed. As occurred for the method described in
In the present disclosure, the pre-authentication and the post purchase authentication processes has been presented as performed in a very similar way and possibly with the same server controlling both processes. However, other arrangements are possible, e.g., one (or more) dedicated server for pre-authentication and one (or more) for post purchase authentication. The pre-authentication could even follow a completely different path than the post purchase, or even be a simple self authentication process from a seller. Also, the code verification process was not discussed in deep detail, as those skilled in the art know that several methods and systems are available to handle such kind of verifications.
In practice, the implementation details can be changed and modified in many equivalent ways as far as the described and shown single constructive elements, without departing from the adopted solution and therefore remaining within the scope of protection accorded to the present patent. A person skilled in the art can modify the solution described above in several ways, with the aim of complying with local or specific requirements, all within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In particular, it should be noted that, even if implementation details have been given with reference to one or more embodiments, omissions, substitutions or changes of some specific features or steps of the method described can be adopted due to design or manufacturing needs.
For example, the hardware structures could have different configurations and/or include different modules. Throughout the present disclosure, the term “computer” is used to include any apparatus (e.g. telephone, palmtop computer, etc.) having a processing capability, for execution of software programs or part thereof. The programs can be structured in different ways or implemented in any form. In the same way, memories can be of many constructive forms or can be replaced by equivalent entities (not necessarily formed by tangible supports). The programs can be in any form suitable for execution of the related tasks and can be written in any programming language or presented in form of software, firmware or microcode, both in object code and in source code. The programs themselves can be stored on any kind of support, provided that it can be read by a computer. For example, the supports can be: hard disks, removable disks, (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD or Blu-Ray® Disc), tapes, cartridges, wireless connections, networks, telecommunication waves. The supports can be, for example, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, mechanical, infrared type or semiconductors.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| MI2010A001879 | Oct 2010 | IT | national |
