TECHNOLOGY THAT WOULD IMPROVE HIGH SECURITY SCREENING PATENT OBTAINED BY LERNER & GREENBERG, P.A.
Article Date: 8-26-2003

Security Machines Can Detect Fake Fingerprints

Manfred Beck, a patent agent with Lerner & Greenberg, P.A., successfully obtained a patent from the United States Patent Office for technology that would strengthen security identification and authorization machines by not only analyzing finger and handprints, but determining if the skin is alive (U.S. Patent 6,597,945).

"As companies and governments require a more high-tech approach for protection against intruders and terrorists, this development will prove to be a vital requirement in fingerprint and hand­-scanning devices," said Beck. "However, it is essential to make sure the person with this fingerprint is alive. This new method would prevent someone from gaining access to secured areas by using cut-off fingers or prosthetics to manipulate identification machines."

The technology invented by Stephan Marksteiner with Infineon Technologies AG, could be installed in a finger or handprint sensor that uses one or more electric conductors. Placing the skin on the conductor sends electrical frequencies to a processor that would determine if the skin is real, fake or dead by measuring the electric impedance of the skin's surface.

"Living human skin has a distinct layer structure and the layers of the skin have different electric conductivities," added Beck. "These would be used to determine a person's 'characteristic curve' that would be stored as part of their profile in the system. During the identification process, access would only be granted after a comparison of a person's print and their 'characteristic curve.'"

With this patent, Infineon will be able to modify the technology for a wide variety of security products such as fingerprint scanners and will be able to prevent competitors from using the technology that has been patented for Infineon.

Lerner & Greenberg, P.A. advises clients in key issues of intellectual property law, such as patents, trademarks, unfair competition, licensing, trade secrets, international patents and dispute resolution, as well as issues concerning the Internet and domain names. Lerner & Greenberg, ranked among the top 25 patent firms in the country by Intellectual Property Today magazine, is based in Hollywood, Fla. You can learn more about the firm at www.patentusa.com.

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