The objective of the proposed research is the design and fabrication of a novel stand-alone wireless robust system with enhanced hardware-enabled authentication and anti-counterfeiting capabilities. The system consists of two major components; the near-field certificates of authenticity (CoA), which serve as authenticity vouchers of the products they are attached to, and a microcontroller-enabled, low-power and low-cost reader. Small-sized passive physical three-dimensional structures that are composed of extremely cheap conductive and dielectric materials are shown to yield a unique and repeatable RF signature in a small portion of the frequency spectrum when brought in the reactive and radiating near-field regions of an array of miniature antennas. The multidimensional features of these CoAs, or in other words their signature or fingerprint, are cryptographically signed and digitally stored. The contactless signature validation procedure, in which an attempt to associate the near-field signature response of the physical CoA with the digitized signature, is carried out by the reader designed and fabricated. This low-cost reader operates autonomously and in an offline fashion. The feasibility and performance robustness of the system, in terms of accuracy, consistency and speed of capturing of the signatures, is rigorously assessed with a wide array of tests. Moreover, the entropy, or uncertainty, of the signatures generated by the system are empirically quantified and verified to achieve a virtually impossible false alarm. The aforementioned characteristics of the realized authentication system make it applicable to a vast array of physical objects that needs protection against counterfeiters.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Sociology

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, November, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. S.)--Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006. / Fernandez, Facundo, Committee Chair ; Janata, Jiri, Committee Member ; Mizaikoff, Boris, Committee Member.

Yeung Hoi Calvin. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-53). / Abstracts in English and Chinese, appendix in Chinese.

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

This research explores the international and national (such as Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and the OAPI region) standards of trademark law as well as the international rules promoting free flow of goods and how these two legal systems safeguard the consumers’ right to health. Focuses on the following two specific aspects of trademark law: counterfeiting which includes infringement, and licensing of a trademark in relation to consumers’ protection. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Dr Atangcho N Akonumbo Senior Lecturer, Catholic University Yaounde, Cameroon. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

M. Tech. (Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Counterfeiting is a global phenomenon in developed and developing countries, causing a threat to national economies and societies. It negatively harms new investment and progressively endangers public health and safety as well. Known and famous brands are often targeted for counterfeiting. This phenomenon is primarily driven by consumers’ aspiring attitudes, social media pressures and the need to differentiate oneself. The aim of the study is to examine the influence of materialism, hedonic consumption motive, utilitarian consumption motive, personal gratification and novelty-seeking on attitudes and the influence of attitudes on willingness to purchase counterfeit sportswear products at a selected HEI. The study is grounded within the positivist philosophy, in which a quantitative research approach was followed, since positivists prefer an analytic and factual interpretation of quantitative data. An online structured questionnaire was used to collect data through an online survey. The study sample was conveniently selected from a population of registered students at a selected HEI in Southern Gauteng in the 2020 academic year. Data were collected on demographic variables, materialism (MAT), hedonic motivation (HED), utilitarian motive (UTL), personal gratification (PGT), novelty-seeking (NOS), attitude towards counterfeits (ATC) and willingness to purchase (WTP) counterfeit sportswear. A total of 327 questionnaires were completed and used in the final data analysis. Descriptive statistics techniques, correlations and regression analysis were used to evaluate perceptions and relationships between the study constructs. The research results revealed the existence of significant positive associations amongst the study constructs. Of the five antecedents, two of the five predictor variables, namely, UTL and NOS showed significant predictive relationships with attitudes towards counterfeit sportswear purchases. Attitudes towards counterfeits (ATC) also emerged as a significant predictor of students’ WTP counterfeit sportswear. Since NOS and UTL seem to predict a positive attitude towards counterfeit sportswear, the study recommends that brand owners develop awareness about ethical purchasing behaviour. They should also educate consumers on the social and economic downside of buying counterfeit products and that seeking novelty when purchasing counterfeit products may soon wane and wear off, leading to regret and cognitive dissonance. Further, brand marketers should also emphasise the utility value inherent in the purchase of authentic branded products instead of buying counterfeits. Since consumers cannot often readily distinguish between genuine and fake sportswear, it is therefore critical for marketers of branded products to promote the contrast of originals and fakes and to underline the quality, longevity, and dependability of their authentic products in the market. These results make a valuable contribution to academics, brand managers and marketers, as the results reveal that consumer buying can be influenced by personality and social interests of different individuals. The study notes that laws only cannot prohibit the sale and purchase of counterfeit products. It requires the stricter implementation thereof. Further, there is a need for behavioural change strategies to counter the effects of counterfeiting. Nudges such as promotions and loyalty programmes may encourage the purchase of authentic products as opposed to the purchase of counterfeits.

Counterfeiting is an illegal activity that continues to boom in the 21st century. Many research studies regarding counterfeiting undertaken in the past have had a strong focus on the supply side of the industry, whereas few studies look to consumer demand and even fewer towards consumer demand for counterfeit products in an emerging African market. The aim of this research study, therefore, was to provide a descriptive analysis of the South African consumers‟ intention to purchase authentic luxury fashion brands versus counterfeit products and secondly, to examine if various demographic groupings differ in their purchase intentions. In order to achieve the research objective, an extensive literary review was conducted on the global counterfeit problem with specific focus on the South African counterfeit industry. The concept and value of branding was highlighted, followed by a discussion on consumer behaviour in conjunction with the decision-making process and the consumers‟ intention to purchase. An empirical study was conducted with UNISA students residing within the areas of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape through a mixed method approach. Qualitative research formed the first leg of the study and assisted in identifying past purchase behaviour of authentic and counterfeit luxury fashion brands. Once identified, these brands were then utilised in a quantitative survey to satisfy the research objectives. The results of this research study indicate that South African consumers‟ have a high intention to purchase authentic luxury fashion brands versus a low intention to purchase counterfeit products. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Counterfeiting is an illegal activity that continues to boom in the 21st century. Many research studies regarding counterfeiting undertaken in the past have had a strong focus on the supply side of the industry, whereas few studies look to consumer demand and even fewer towards consumer demand for counterfeit products in an emerging African market. The aim of this research study, therefore, was to provide a descriptive analysis of the South African consumers‟ intention to purchase authentic luxury fashion brands versus counterfeit products and secondly, to examine if various demographic groupings differ in their purchase intentions. In order to achieve the research objective, an extensive literary review was conducted on the global counterfeit problem with specific focus on the South African counterfeit industry. The concept and value of branding was highlighted, followed by a discussion on consumer behaviour in conjunction with the decision-making process and the consumers‟ intention to purchase. An empirical study was conducted with UNISA students residing within the areas of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape through a mixed method approach. Qualitative research formed the first leg of the study and assisted in identifying past purchase behaviour of authentic and counterfeit luxury fashion brands. Once identified, these brands were then utilised in a quantitative survey to satisfy the research objectives. The results of this research study indicate that South African consumers‟ have a high intention to purchase authentic luxury fashion brands versus a low intention to purchase counterfeit products. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)