Patent ID: 6985607

Claim:
A method for authenticating objects comprising: providing at least one object having a print region with printed material contained thereon comprising a layer of non-visible indicia, wherein the layer of non-visible indicia comprises a substance that emits at least one wavelength of light outside a visible range of an electromagnetic spectrum when stimulated with electromagnetic radiation; creating an optical image of the layer of non-visible indicia with an imaging device such that the layer of non-visible indicia can be perceived by a human eye viewing the optical image; recording the optical image of the object including the layer of non-visible indicia; attaching identification information pertaining to the object to the recorded optical image; and comparing the optical image of the layer of non-visible indicia to expected authentication indicia to verify the authenticity of the object, wherein the printed material further comprises an overlay layer printed over and obscuring the layer of non-visible indicia and wherein the overlay layer does not emit light having a wavelength outside of the visible range of the electro-magnetic spectrum, the overlay layer being an encoded image printed with a frequency of a predetermined number of lines per inch whereby an authentication image is revealed when the encoded image is viewed through a lenticular lens having a frequency that matches that of the encoded image.