The secure registry of holographic images, established by the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) to safeguard hologram copyright, has been relaunched as the Security Image Register (SIR).
The centrally held global database of secure holograms will continue to be operated on behalf of the IHMA by the Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau under the strictest confidence and security that supports ISO14298* on behalf of members.
The SIR will be available to hologram producers, manufacturers of other optical variable devices, printers and designers of documents. It will also be available to central government and institutions such as central banks, revenue authorities and passport issuers, through their security image suppliers
It will enable them to verify that their security hologram design, or elements of a hologram design, do not infringe copyright or allow the unintentional copy of existing security holograms. The image registration is completed once the design has received clearance.
The SIR will also be accessible to law enforcement agencies, allowing them to check for the provenance of a design when they need information on a suspect hologram.
The expanded register is designed to introduce image registration to the full spectrum of optical security manufacturers. It provides a global database that protects the security image by recording and identifying all copyright associated with each design and manufacture of a security image. Each registration will be allocated a unique reference number that can be tracked to support authentication of the image and its copyright.
IHMA chair Dr Paul Dunn, said: “Over the years holograms have evolved into highly sophisticated security images and new processes have been introduced that are not conventional holograms in the strictest sense. The new look SIR reflects a rapidly changing sector, where hologram technology is increasingly a part of an integrated security to protect brands, profits and people. It represents a beneficial step forward, more accurately reflecting the way holograms and OVD’s are designed and used - undoubtedly facilitating an increase in the registration of images and secure their integrity.”