WO2000055859A1

WO2000055859A1 - Compact disc packs

Info

Publication number: WO2000055859A1
Application number: PCT/GB1999/001119
Authority: WO
Inventors: Keith Reginald Pike
Original assignee: Pike, Susanna
Priority date: 1999-03-16
Filing date: 1999-04-13
Publication date: 2000-09-21
Also published as: GB9905881D0; AU3434599A

Abstract

The card from which a compact disc pack is produced includes a security feature. For example, the card may be in the form of a laminate comprising a layer of board and a layer of paper formed with the security feature, e.g. a metallic strip or a fluorescing logo. The pack may be formed from two blanks, one (10) of which incorporates the security feature.

Description

COMPACT DISC PACKS

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to compact discs.

A major problem facing the compact disc industry is the production of counterfeit discs, i.e. unauthorised copies produced by "pirate" manufacturers and distributed in contravention of the rights of the original manufacturer. This is estimated as costing the industry billions of dollars.

Such counterfeit discs can be difficult to identify, i.e. it is difficult to distinguish between a genuine disc produced by the original manufacturer and an unauthorised copy. The original manufacturers thus face substantial problems when attempting to stop the distribution of the counterfeit copies. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to facilitate the identification of genuine compact discs and thereby enable the identification of counterfeit discs.

One proposal which has been made is to incorporate an electronic tag within the type of compact disc pack known as a "jewel case", the tag being embedded in the plastics material from which the "jewel case" is produced.

As will be appreciated, the embedding of an electronic tag in the plastics material adds significant cost to the production of the pack and it is accordingly a further object of the present invention to provide a compact disc pack which provides a level of security against counterfeiting at least equivalent to that obtained with an embedded electronic tag, but at substantially less cost.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a compact disc packaged within a pack which incorporates at least one security feature facilitating the identification of genuine compact discs, the at least one security feature being selected from the group comprising security paper, security paper laminated to board, security paper bonded to board, board incorporating a security feature, and board formed from a plurality of layers bonded together with at least one of the layers including a security feature. The pack may comprise first and second sheets of board hingedly connected together and a third sheet sandwiched between the first and second sheets, the third sheet being formed with an aperture which acts as a compartment which receives the disc, the second sheet acting as a closure for one side of the compartment and the first sheet serving to hold the disc in the compartment while allowing removal of the disc from the compartment, said third sheet being formed from board which has strength and rigidity characteristics greater than the board from which the first and second sheets are formed.

The second sheet is preferably hingedly connected to a fourth sheet which acts as a cover for the pack, i.e. the first, second and fourth sheets are formed from one blank, which is preferably of high quality card to which sophisticated printing can be applied, whilst the third sheet is formed from a separate blank which is thicker than the first blank and to which printing is not normally applied.

The blanks from which the pack is produced may themselves incorporate a or the security feature. For example, at least one metallic, fabric or heat-responsive strip may be incorporated in the card. If a metallic or fabric strip is employed, it may be stitched into the paper from which the card is made. It may alternatively be in the form of a continuous strip embedded in the card, but located close to the surface of the card so as to be visible. The metallic or fabric strip may be contained in a sheet of paper which is laminated with a layer of board. The metallic or fabric strip or other security feature may alternatively be incorporated in a sheet of paper forming part of an insert, e.g. a booklet or instruction leaflet, contained within the pack.

If a heat-responsive strip is used instead of or in addition to a metallic or fabric strip, the heat-responsive strip is preferably contained within a sheet of paper which is laminated with a layer of board to form the card from which the pack is produced. The heat- responsive strip may alternatively be incorporated in a sheet of paper which forms part of an insert, e.g. a booklet or instruction leaflet, contained within the pack.

To make copying of the pack more difficult, the metallic or fabric strip, when used, may be marked or embossed with logos or other insignia, which logos or other insignia are changed at regular intervals. Two or more metallic strips may also be employed. In such case, the metals from which the strips are formed may either be the same or different, and may be varied for different kinds or types of disc, or at regular intervals, all to make copying more difficult for counterfeit disc manufacturers.

As an alternative, or in addition, to the use of the at least one metallic or fabric strip and/or the heat-responsive strip, the card from which the pack is made may be in the form of a laminate which includes a sheet of paper which is impregnated with a dye which fluoresces when, for example, it is exposed to ultra violet light or subject to a chemical reaction. The dye may be applied in the form of a logo or other indicator which is changed at regular intervals. The colour of the dye may also be varied.

Each blank may be formed from a number of layers of card appropriately bonded together and one or more of the layers of card may be embossed with projections or depressions or impregnated with a fluorescent dye, again arranged in the form of a logo or other indicator which can be changed at regular intervals.

The presented surfaces of the pack, i.e. those surfaces of the card which are visible in the completed pack, will normally be printed with information concerning the contents of the disc, with eye-catching designs and the like. Such designs may be made deliberately complicated to render copying of the designs more difficult for a potential counterfeiter.

A hologram may also be applied to the raw board prior to (or after) printing, again to make copying more difficult.

A watermark may be included in one or more of the sheets of informative or instructional material contained in the pack and such watermark may be produced using a semi-fluorescing dye excited by ultra violet light.

Various numbering or other sequential marks may also be added to the pack. A ear or semi-opaque patch or window (with or without a design) may be included, again to make copying more difficult.

The various security devices referred to above may be used singly or in combination.

The compact disc may be a musical disc - since the music industry is currently subject to very large volume piracy - but the invention is equally applicable to compact discs carrying computer software, for example, CD Roms and computer games programmes, which are also subject to large-scale copying. The invention is also applicable to CDs containing the spoken word and to video discs (DVD) and any other CD format, of which different variations are appearing all the time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of packaging a disc, which method includes providing a pack which contains a security code, applying indicia to the disc corresponding to the security code, and placing the disc within the pack.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided the combination of a disc and a pack, the pack including a security code and the disc having indicia applied to it which corresponds to the security code.

The code may be a randomly generated code, which code is readable electronically such that, when a disc manufacturer is packaging the discs he has produced, the packs will be fed sequentially to a code reader which will interpret the code. The code reader will preferably be linked to an indicia-applying means such that, when the code of a pack is read, the indicia-applying means will be operated to cause the application of indicia corresponding to that particular code to the specific disc which will be placed in the pack.

The code reader is preferably linked to a memory or other storage device so that a record is kept of the codes which have been read and/or of the indicia which have been applied, and this will then be correlated with information concerning the customer to whom the packed disc is despatched. The manufacturer will thus be in a position to visit the premises of the customer and check the discs on sale at those premises and determine whether the discs and the packs on sale there have the correct markings.

The codes in the packs may be created by, for example, the incorporation of a smart chip or random metal fibres in the board from which the pack is formed, the fibres typically being of random length as well as random distribution such that each pack has a unique code which can be determined (interpreted) by the code reader. The indicia applied to the compact disc may comprise letters and/or numbers (corresponding to the code) and the letters and/or numbers may be applied either openly or covertly. The third sheet of the pack (as defined above) may be the component of the pack in which the randomly distributed metal fibres are incorporated.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a plan view of a first blank for use in the manufacture of a compact disc pack,

Figure 2 is a plan view of a second blank for use in conjunction with the blank of Figure 1 in the manufacture of a compact disc pack,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a compact disc containing a compact disc, and

Figure 4 is a flow diagram showing the sequence of operations in the packaging of a compact disc

Description of the Preferred Embodiments

The blank 10 shown in Figure 1 is formed of thin high-quality card of such nature that sophisticated multi-colour printing can be applied to it. Such printing may comprise, for example, logos, insignia and information concerning the contents of the disc The designs of the logos and insignia are made deliberately complicated in order to render copying of the designs more difficult for a potential counterfeiter. A hologram may also be applied to the card prior to (or after) printing, again to make copying more difficult.

The blank 10 has two fold lines 11 and 12 which divide the blank 10 into three portions 13, 14 and 15. Portions 13 and 14 are solid and form the front and back covers respectively of the completed pack, whereas portion 15 acts as the top sheet of a holder for the compact disc. Portion 15 is formed with an aperture or cut-out 16.

The upper boundary 17 of the aperture 16 comprises a semicircle with two arcuate lobes or notches 18 symmetrically arranged relative to the vertical centre-line of the aperture 16. The lobes or notches 18 are directed towards the upper corners of blank portion 15 so as to be spaced from the edges of blank portion 15, and thereby avoiding weakening the part of the blank portion 15 surrounding the aperture 16.

The lower boundary 19 of the aperture 16 is of curved wave form as shown so as to provide a lobe or notch 20 at the centre of the circle from which the arc forming the upper boundary 17 is struck. This lobe 20 is positioned between two arcs so that the visual impact of the aperture 16, particularly when a compact disc is contained within the pack, suggests a "smiling Teddy Bear".

The blank 21 shown in Figure 2 is formed from a card which is thicker and heavier than the card from which blank 10 is formed, typically being twice as thick as the card of blank 10. Only the edges of blank 21 are visible in the completed pack and the card from which blank 21 is formed does not necessarily, therefore, need to be of print quality.

Blank 21 is formed with an aperture or cut-out 22 which is of circular form with the same radius as the circle of aperture 16 in blank portion 15. The aperture 22 is formed with two arcuate lobes or notches 23 which are symmetrically positioned relative to the vertical centre line of blank 21 and are directed towards the upper corners of blank 21. The formation of the lobes or notches 23 thus does not weaken the border surrounding the aperture 22, which has a diameter slightly greater than that of the compact disc which it is intended to receive.

Blank 21 is of the same height as blank 10 and its width is the same as that of portion 15 of the blank 10. The mode of production of the pack from blanks 10 and 21 is as described in British Patent Specification No. 2 319 242, to which reference should be made.

Blank 10 can be produced from card which is formed as a laminate comprising a sheet of paper having a security feature and a layer of board applied to the sheet of paper during production of the card. The security feature incorporated in the sheet of paper can comprise one or more of the following:- a) a single metallic strip, b) two or more metallic strips of either the same metal or different metals, c) a heat-responsive strip or strips, d) one or more fabric strips, e) an embossed or like security marking, f) a logo formed using a dye which fluoresces when subjected to ultra violet light, g) an aperture formed in the sheet to receive a smart chip or other device, and h) a taggent, which may be, but is not necessarily, a biotaggent.

The security features referred to above can be varied as required by the CD manufacturer and can be combined with a numbering system so that the maker of counterfeit CDs does not know in advance what security feature(s) will be employed for a particular CD. The makers of the laminated card will also exercise control over the customers to whom the laminated card is supplied, thereby reducing the possibility of counterfeiters obtaining access to the required form of card. The above security features can also be combined with an "active device", such as the "Flying Null" strip or a programmable micro-chip embedded or otherwise included in the pack, or a taggent, such as a biotaggent.

The CD pack can contain a booklet attached to the inside face of the front cover of the pack, i.e. to the inner face of blank portion 13 and the booklet (as well the card from which blank 10 is formed) may include a security feature such as a watermark, metallic strip, heat-responsive strip or logo formed from a fluorescing dye. The booklet may also be security printed. Blank 21 can also be produced from card or board which includes a security feature. For example, the blank 21 can include randomly distributed metal fibres which are of random lengths, the metal fibres acting as dipoles so that, in the presence of a suitable reader, the randomly distributed dipoles produce a code which can be read by a code reader as described below with reference to Figure 4.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 3, which corresponds to Figure 7 of the drawings of British Patent Specification No. 2 325 217, to which reference should be made, there is shown a pack containing a compact disc 45. The pack is produced from two blanks, one of which includes four hingedly connected sheets, two of which are indicated as 32 and 35, while the other blank includes a sheet which includes a compartment in which the disc 45 is received, this sheet being bonded immediately beneath sheet 35.

Sheet 35 is formed with an aperture 39 having a configuration the same as the aperture 16 in sheet 15 shown in Figure 1 and permits insertion of the disc 45 in the compartment in the sheet beneath the sheet 35. The aperture 39 in sheet 35 includes a pair of arcuate lobes 40 which extend towards the upper corners of the sheet 35 so that the disc 45 can be removed from the compartment through the aperture 39 by engaging the centre of the disc 45 by means of the tip of the thumb and the edge of the disc 45 by means of the tip of the appropriate index finger fitting in the respective lobe 40. The pack shown in Figure 3 can be provided with one or more of the security features referred to above with reference to Figures 1 and 2. In particular, the pack shown in Figure 3 can be provided with a randomly generated code which is represented by indicia which are applied to the disc 45, either openly or covertly. Thus one of the blanks from which the pack of Figure 3 is formed, or part of one of the blanks, can comprise board impregnated with randomly distributed metal fibres or other devices which are such as to produce a code.

Turning next to Figure 4, this is a flow diagram showing the operations involved in the packaging of compact discs using the packs described above. The packs include a sheet which incorporates, for example, randomly distributed metal fibres or other media which will generate a code and are supplied sequentially, as indicated by the arrow A, to a code reader B. The information obtained by the code reader B is passed to a memory C, to which information is also supplied concerning the customer for the packs, and to an indicia-applying means D, e.g. a printer, to which compact discs are supplied sequentially, as indicated by the arrow E. A disc is then printed with the indicia corresponding to the code of the pack then present at the code reader B. The disc at the printer D and the pack at the code reader B are then transferred to a station F, at which the coded disc is inserted in the correspondingly coded pack. The pack containing the disc is then forwarded to a delivery station, as indicated by the arrow G. The customer will accordingly be supplied with packaged discs, with each disc marked with indicia corresponding to the security code incorporated in the pack which contains that particular disc. The disc manufacturer can thus visit the outlets of the customer, armed with a code reader, to check whether the packs are those which, according to information obtained from the memory C, are those which have been supplied to that particular customer. At the same time, of course, they can check whether the discs in those packs are marked with the correct codes.

It will accordingly be appreciated that the present invention makes the distribution of counterfeit discs very liable to detection and thus has a substantial deterrent effect.

Claims

Claims:

1. A compact disc packaged within a pack which incorporates at least one security feature facilitating the identification of genuine compact discs, the at least one security feature being selected from the group comprising security paper, security paper laminated to board, security paper bonded to board, board incorporating a security feature, and board formed from a plurality of layers bonded together with at least one of the layers including a security facility.

2. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 1 , in which the pack comprises first and second sheets hingedly connected together and a third sheet sandwiched between the first and second sheets, the third sheet being formed with an aperture which acts as a compartment to receive the disc, the second sheet acting as a closure for one side of the compartment and the first sheet serving to hold the disc in the compartment while allowing removal of the disc from the compartment, said third sheet being formed from board which has strength and rigidity characteristics greater than the board from which the first and second sheets are formed.

3. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 2, in which the second sheet is hingedly connected to a fourth sheet which acts as a cover for the pack.

4. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which said third sheet incorporates a or the security feature.

5. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 4, in which said security feature comprises randomly distributed metal fibres contained within the board forming said third sheet.

6. A compact disc and pack as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, in which a or the security feature comprises at least one metallic strip.

7. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 6, in which the at least one metallic strip is stitched into paper from which the card forming the pack is made.

8. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 6, in which the at least one metallic strip is in the form of a continuous strip embedded in the card from which the pack is made.

9. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 6, in which the at least one metallic strip is contained in a sheet of paper which is laminated with a layer of board.

10. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 6, in which the at least one metallic strip is marked or embossed with insignia.

11. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 6, which includes two or more metallic strips formed from different metals.

12. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the card from which the pack is made includes a sheet of paper which is impregnated with a fluorescing dye.

13. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 1 , in which the pack is formed from a number of layers of card appropriately bonded together and one or more of the layers of card is embossed with projections.

14. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 1 , in which the printed surfaces of the pack are printed with information concerning the contents of the disc and a hologram is applied to the raw board from which the card is produced, either prior to or after printing.

15. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 1 , which contains informative or instructional material in the form of a booklet produced from paper having a security feature.

16. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 15, in which the security feature is in the form of a watermark, metallic strip, heat-responsive strip or a logo made using a fluorescing dye.

17. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 1 , which includes a clear or semi-opaque patch or window.

18. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 1 , in which the security feature is or includes a heat-responsive strip.

19. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 1 , in which the security feature is a fabric strip.

20. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 19, in which the fabric strip is contained in a sheet of paper which is laminated with a layer of board.

21. A compact disc and pack as claimed in Claim 20, in which the fabric strip is stitched into the paper from which the card is made.

22. A method of packaging a disc, which method includes providing a pack which contains a security code, applying indicia to the disc corresponding to the security code, and placing the disc within the pack.

23. A method as claimed in Claim 22, in which the code is a randomly generated code, which code is readable electronically such that, when a disc manufacturer is packaging the discs he has produced, the packs are fed sequentially to a code reader which interprets the code.

24. A method as claimed in Claim 23, in which the code reader is linked to an indicia-applying means such that, when the code of a pack is read, the indicia-applying means is operated to cause the application of indicia corresponding to that particular code to the specific disc which will be placed in the pack.

25. A method as claimed in Claim 24, in which the code reader is linked to a memory so that a record is kept of the codes which have been read.

26. The combination of a disc and a pack, the pack including a security code and the disc having indicia applied to it which corresponds to the code.

27. The combination claimed in Claim 26, in which the pack is formed from board and the code is created by the incorporation of random metal fibres or other media in the board.

28. The combination claimed in Claim 27, in which the indicia applied to the disc comprise letters and/or numbers corresponding to the code created by the random metal fibres or other media.