Patent ID: 7630513

Claim:
A system for determining whether a test object is an authentic object to which an expected encoded image has been applied, the expected encoded image having been constructed by encoding an authentication image using a set of one or more encoding parameters so that if the expected encoded image is printed the authentication image is not discernible to a viewer without an optical decoding device having characteristics corresponding to at least one of the set of one or more encoding parameters, the system comprising: a digital image acquisition device adapted for capturing a digital image of at least a portion of the test object including a target area where the expected encoded image, which was constructed so that if the expected encoded image is printed the authentication image is not discernible to a viewer without an optical decoding device having characteristics corresponding to at least one of the set of one or more encoding parameters, would be applied if the test object is an authentic object; and a data processing system having an image receiving module adapted for receiving the digital image from the digital image acquisition device, an encoding information database configured for storage of at least one of the set consisting of the authentication image and the set of one or more encoding parameters, a decoding module adapted for applying an encoded image decoding algorithm to the digital image to produce a decoding result; and an authentication module adapted for comparing the decoding result to object authentication criteria to determine an authentication result.