SEAL NETWORK - A Blockchain Based Product Verification and Services Network

Counterfeits are a major problem globally, with major brands such as Nike suffering the most. Around 85% of such counterfeits originate from Asia and represent approximately 20% of China’s production. With literally hundreds of millions counterfeit items being shipped it is estimated that by 2022 the counterfeit market will reach $1,954 billion.

The profits from such enterprises frequently fund organised crime and terrorism, while fake goods such as drugs, airbags, and automotive parts jeopardise safety. The further problem is that manufacturers of genuine products produce unlicensed copies during ‘midnight shifts,’ thus undermining the original brand.

In addition to primary markets, secondary and second-hand markets are also affected with many buyers on markets such as eBay and Amazon falling victim to fraud.

Existing anti-counterfeit technologies include water-marking, invisible inks, holograms, micro-print, Mire patterns, etc. Most of these, however, can be overcome by dedicated counterfeiters. In fact, all offline antifraud methods offer only limited protection.

The Seal online platform disrupts all counterfeiters. By embedding a proprietary NFC chip in the physical item and matching that to a token on the blockchain, guaranteed authenticity can be checked simply using a smartphone.

SEAL network is a blockchain based product verification and services network. Basically, SEAL network aims to allow everybody the ability to quickly confidently and economically identify the verification of an item that’s SEAL enabled and to claim to move the hold of it applying the SEAL application.

The tech behind the SEAL network is the usage of NFC chips, which upon integration connect the product with its virtual counterpart on the block-chain. This is done with an easy tap or simple scan with any Smartphone device via the SEAL App. So basically, you only scan and let SEAL network to the rest of the work for you!

Seal is the best way for anyone to check if a product is genuine or fake. Seal combines NFC chips, which are embedded into physical products, the Seal app, and the Seal Network to provide a fast, simple, and secure way to provide products authenticity and other services.

By facilitating a secure tokenized version of a physical product, Seal allows product-specific services to operate such as transferring ownership, theft prevention, insurance, but also brand activation campaigns and product analytics.

Seal lets brands earn money every time their products change owners. For the first time in history, brands can earn money from items sold through the secondhand trade, while simultaneously protecting their markets from counterfeiters. Using the power of the blockchain, authenticity can be checked and ownership can be transferred decades from now, even if the product itself is discontinued, as long as people contribute to the decentralized Seal network.

Seal wants to bring back confidence to consumers and allow for brands to interact with their most heavily vested customers in the most direct way the internet has ever seen. Together, we build a better world in which consumers appreciate the creative work of makers and stop feeding the counterfeit economy.

SERVICES BY SEAL NETWORK

Verify Authenticity (Already implemented)

Consumers check the authenticity of a product.

Register ownership (Already implemented)

Consumers claim ownership of a product. For insurance, P2P transactions & theft prevention.

Transfer ownership (Already implemented)

Consumers transfer ownership of a product. This allows brands to earn money on the secondary market

Theft-Prevention

Consumers mark products as lost or stolen. Displays a custom message triggered when scanned.

Track Parallel Trade

Brands track the origin of products and see where they are being sold.

Product Recalls

Brands issue a product recall / product replacement by informing customers when they scan the faulty product.

Product Analytics

Seal provides geospatial/time series product analytics to brands.

Custom Integration

Brands use tokens to pay for API calls that redirect to a custom source such as an app or browser.

VISION

Master plan – Phase 1

Infrastructure of Authenticity Seal’s investments in the platform will lay the groundwork for the world’s infrastructure of authenticity. This infrastructure is the basis upon which a service ecosystem can be built upon. Perhaps most notably, it would provide a way for brands to gather data and perform geographic and time series analysis on product streams. This is a leap forward in the maturity of insight-driven organizations. Other services are not limited to the previously highlighted services. In the future, Seal may further expand its service offering, for example with special customs and law enforcement software.

Master plan – Phase 2

Convergence of E-Commerce & Retail Seal has both E-Commerce and Retail applications. In retail, Seal can become a no-checkout method to pay for genuine products. Simply scan, pay and walk away. In E-Commerce, verifying and claiming the ownership of products could occur even before the product is shipped, or listed on sites like eBay or Amazon. Should the seller fail to send the product, the new owner can lock the product by marking it as lost or stolen.

Master plan – Phase 3

Currency of Authenticity Seal establishes itself as the currency of authenticity. The currency is optimized for transacting consumer goods. Using Seal to pay for products while directly claiming ownership provides both buyer and seller a guaranteed exchange of goods. With regular FIAT transactions, there is no way to tell with certainty whether (a) the product is genuine and (b) physical money / banknotes are not counterfeited.

ARCHITECTURE

The Seal platform consists of several components, namely (i) products with an embedded Seal-chip that uniquely identify physical products (ii) the Seal-app installed on an NFC-compatible smartphone, (iii) the Seal-token which allows communication between the different parts of the platform and (iv) the Seal-network, an immutable blockchain database where each transaction is recorded and validated by its nodes.

Brands are the sole issuer of product-pairings on the blockchain. This way, brands can ensure exactly how many authentic copies are released. Disingenuous manufacturers are no longer able to produce imitations that can be passed off as authentic, because they cannot replicate the token.

SEAL TOKEN

Seal Tokens are used to pay for services by consumers and brands. The number of supported services will increase as we improve the platform.

The ultimate goal for Seal is to become the currency of authenticity, a currency optimized for the exchange of consumer products. In this way, the Seal Token is a medium of exchange. This is not listed as a service since it does not require additional fees. If used in this manner, the Seal Tokens can be used as a currency to pay for products directly. Purchasing products with Seal Tokens directly claims ownership while payment to the seller occurs simultaneously via the blockchain. Using Seal to pay for products provides both buyer and seller a guaranteed exchange of goods. With regular fiat money transactions, there is no way to tell with certainty whether (a) the product is genuine and (b) physical money / banknotes are not counterfeited. The Seal Token acts as a currency that is optimized for transacting consumer goods, an especially powerful feature in the secondhand market trade. Sovereign currencies like USD or EUR are primitive in comparison to Seal and its powerful properties as a medium of exchange and utility token.

Seal will help brands set up their own decentralized apps for their products on the Seal Network. Seal Tokens can be used to interact with these decentralized brand apps (bApps), each with their own logic and services attached to them. We envision a future where all major brands communicate with the Seal Network where Seal Tokens serve as the communication medium between the Seal Network and the bApps.