Applied DNA Sciences Inc. (OTCBB: APDN; Twitter: $APDN) sells patented DNA security solutions to protect products, brands and intellectual property from counterfeiting and diversion. SigNature DNA is a botanical mark used to authenticate products in a unique manner that essentially cannot be copied, and provide a forensic chain of evidence that can be used to prosecute perpetrators.
A recent company blog post discusses Section 818 of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, a new Federal anti-counterfeiting law that is expected to have "broad international implications for hundreds of overseas companies that have supplied billions of dollars’ worth of items to the U.S. government."
An assessment by research and data supplier IHS iSupply reveals that Europe is "the largest supplier of electronics to the U.S., placing the region squarely in the sights of the new law. Europe accounts for 51% of all foreign electronics sales to the U.S. military; 47% comes from the Middle East and 2% comes from Asia."
Chairman, President, and CEO of Applied DNA Dr. James A. Hayward explains,
"Not only will the impact of Section 818 be felt worldwide, but also it is bound to cross from the public to the private sector. This is because many of the same facilities that supply the U.S. military also produce global electronic components for commercial applications. As a result, it is vital that the suppliers have new technological tools to identify components at risk of counterfeits."
Dr. Hayward's company is developing one potential way to help meet these challenges: DNA marking, a process in which botanical DNA is isolated, segmented, shuffled and reassembled to form an encrypted, unique and secure DNA marker which can be applied anywhere on a product to guarantee its authenticity.
DNA marking can be integrated into existing processes and procedures with minimal, if any, change in process. DNA is the "gold standard" of forensic evidence and is trusted and depended upon by law enforcement around the world. It is used by the FBI, Interpol and forensic labs worldwide; it is an accepted form of legal, forensic evidence that is accepted by courts globally.