Patent ID: 8810402

Claim:
An electronic surveillance method comprising: activating an electronic tag with an identifier via an access to an open storage area of a memory of the electronic tag, wherein the electronic tag is considered active if the identifier is stored in the open storage area, the identifier identifying an inventory including one or more articles, wherein the electronic tag is attached to one of the articles, and wherein the access to the storage area of the memory of the electronic tag is prohibited from password protection; configuring an electronic gate device to allow retrieval of the identifier within the electronic gate device without performing database query operations; inspecting, when the electronic tag is located within a proximity of the electronic gate device, the electronic tag wirelessly from the electronic gate device without performing database query nor password authentication operations via the access to the open storage area of the electronic tag and the retrieval of the identifier within the electronic gate device; and causing an alarm via the electronic gate device if the inspecting indicates the electronic tag is active.