FORM-2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 OF 1970)
AND
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
(As Amended)
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10; rule 13)
"System and Method for Authenticating a Scanned Document"
ICICI Bank Limited., ICICI Bank Towers, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
The following specification particularly describes the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

Technical Field
The instant invention relates to a system and method for authenticating a document by identifying and verifying a hologram/watermark/logo from the document.
Background
Devices for examining and determining the authenticity of valuable documents and papers are well known in the art. Electronic scanning devices have been incorporated into the business and personal computing world, for example fax machines, scanners and retail point-of-sale printers incorporate scanners to scan checks to verify funds. With the rise in use of digital computing equipment and especially scanning equipment, it is less difficult to forge or imitate important documents of all kinds, including checks, currency, official documents and so forth. To avoid such imitations, document creators and designers incorporate several security features into their documents. For example, some documents have visible watermarks, security codes, other documents incorporate micro-printing, some use only specially printing media, and some have unique serial numbers, incorporate digitally-readable pattern codes such as bar codes or data matrices. As a consequence of such measure, the scrutinizing of the documents requires even finer and more complex detection and scanning facilities. The time and memory space required to perform a complete analysis of a give document and compare it with a master document are also increased accordingly. While many of these security features may deter forgery and unauthorized duplication, they do not fully prevent

someone from copying or otherwise producing illegitimate, even illegal documents.
Another security feature that may be employed to identify official documents is the use of phosphorus ink that is only visible under a special ultraviolet (UV) light source. This is similar to the technology used by some amusement parks to mark patrons with a UV image (by stamping the back of the patron's hand) and verifying the mark upon reentry to the park, for example, by using a UV lamp. When the patron's hand is placed under the UV lamp, the previously invisible stamp becomes apparent and may be verified by a park employee. Although invisible without the use of a UV light source, this security feature is still subject to copying when the technology is known and a single mark is used to identify a plurality of documents.
Going forward, automation of various manual verifications engrafted in the operational activities would be a major objective of each and every present industry in order to enhance efficiency and productivity by utilizing available system and devices more innovatively, productively, and to save cost on manpower and related expenditure. The back office operation of each and every industry is currently manpower intensive, which in turn leads to huge cost of operating expenses. In current scenario looking at available gadgets and technology, most of the work can be automated to reduce the turnaround time as well as operating cost. A few examples of automation in the area of operation are robots, manufacturing machineries for industrial sectors and ATM, cash acceptor, auto stamping for service industry.

Today there is no such machine or product arrangement present which could automatically identify and match the Ultraviolet Logo. Currently the UV logo verification happens only through the eye balls of the individuals which could be prone to error.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for a system and-method that would more precisely and automatically authenticate a scanned document. Additionally, such a system and method would employ one or more security features that are not readily apparent to potential imitators, as well as facilitate technology that is more accurate and reliable than conventional, error-prone manual verification.
Objects and Summary
The object of the present invention is to provide a system and method of authenticating a document by identifying and verifying a hologram/watermark/logo from the document.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method and a system to allow a user to store the basic image with unique footprints of ultraviolet (UV) logo along with requisite information to identify the same.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a means to capture a UV logo from the document as a part verification process by means of imaging, scanning or any other available means, which would produce, image lighting UV logo on it.

Yet another object of the instant invention to provide an apparatus that facilitates an interaction with main system as middle ware, storage of data, retrieval of data, generation and comparison of the captured data with stored basic image with unique footprints.
To achieve the afore-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides a system to authenticate a document, comprising of
• means for capturing an image of the document; and
• means for verifying the captured image through Hologram/watermark means to confirm presence or absence of hologram or watermark and if desired checking the confidence level of the verified results;
The present invention also provides a method for authenticating a document, comprising the steps of:
• capturing an image of the document; and
• verifying the captured image through Hologram/watermark means to confirm presence or absence of hologram or watermark and if desired checking the confidence level of the verified results;
Brief description of the drawings
The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components.

Fig. 1 illustrates an automated scanner to capture UV logo or image from the document according to the present invention.
Fig. 2 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating various modules for authenticating the image of the document according to the present invention.
Fig. 3 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method for detecting and verifying UV logo from the document according to the present invention.
Fig. 4 illustrates exemplary snapshots of the document to be authenticated for UV logo according to the present invention.
Detailed description
System and method for authenticating a document by identifying and verifying a hologram/watermark/logo from the document is described. The system and method is not intended to be restricted to any particular form or arrangement, or any specific embodiment, or any specific use, disclosed herein, since the same may be modified in various particulars or relations without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed invention herein shown and described. The system and/or method shown is intended only for illustration and disclosure of an operative embodiment and not to show all of the various forms or modifications in which this invention might be embodied or operated.
To help prevent counterfeiters, sensitive documents like travel documents, financial documents for example cheques, currency / bank notes, driver's licenses, passports etc. includes a UV watermark/hologram/logo that is visible

only under a UV-emitting light. Cheques, Currency / bank notes, passports issued by most countries usually contain UV sensitive inks and security threads. Visa stamps and stickers on passports of visitors contain large detailed seals invisible under normal light, but strongly visible under UV illumination. Cheques issued by many banks have UV sensitive watermarks, also, currency / bank notes of various countries have an image, as well as many multicolored fibers, that are visible only under ultraviolet light. The UV logo is printed or embedded on the document at the time, of manufacturing or converting or for using it for any means. The original footprint of the logo is stored in the system to compare it in later verification stage.
The above-mentioned documents can be authenticated by passing them through a scanner which captures the image of document using UV lamp or fluorescent lamp. The instant invention relates to integration of various devices and data transmission systems to achieve required result after verification. The captured image of the document can be verified through Hologram / Watermark Recognition Engine (HRE). HRE can confirm the presence and absence of UV hologram / water mark. It can also check the wavelength (nm) and indicates the confidence level. Unshielded exposure of the skin or eyes to mercury arc of fluorescent lamps which do not have a conversion phosphor is quite dangerous.
The document can be tampered or altered in one of the areas printed with UV ink, using chemicals and solvents or bleached to remove or modify handwriting and information on the instrument and in a high quality copy of the instrument (in this case no UV ink will be detected), the actual tampered area is highlighted and encircled in manual verification and gets auto verified in automated system.

The techniques described herein may be used in many different operating environments and systems. An exemplary environment mat is suitable for practicing various implementations is discussed in the following section with respect to the accompanying figures.
EXEMPLARY SYSTEM
The system envisaged consists of hardware and software components. The hardware will capture the UV image of the instrument using fluorescent light source and software will assist for UV verification and validation.
Fig. 1 illustrates an automated scanner to capture UV logo or image from the document according to the present invention.
The scanner comprises of a camera (102), Slot (104), connection port (106), front wall (108) and transporter (110). The document is inserted through the slot on the front side of the scanner and the image of the document is captured by the camera or UV or fluorescent lamp for UV logo/watermark/hologram embedded on said document. The connection port transfers the captured images to the front wall and the transporter positioned on the wall pushes the document forward for further processing. The captured image can be verified through Hologram / Watermark Recognition Engine (HRE) which confirms the presence and absence of UV hologram / water mark. It can also check the wavelength (nm) and will indicate the confidence level.
Fig. 2 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating various modules for authenticating the image of the document according to the present invention.

Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified module of executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.
Indeed, a module of executable code could be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network.
The modules are document feed module 202, image processing module 204 and image verification module 206. Depending upon the implementation the modules can be added, omitted, split into multiple modules, combined with other modules and/or replaced with like modules.
The document feed module controls the rate of feeding the document of which the image is to be captured. It also controls the location and speed of the document. The scanner comprises of an imbedded printer which can

acknowledge the scanning of the document and the captured image is transmitted to the image processing module through the transporter.
The image sent to the processing module can be tagged with unique identification number for future tracking purpose. It can further digitally process the captured image by performing operations such as modify, rotate, zoom etc.
The image verification module (Hologram Recognition Engine) is configured to facilitate auto / manual verification of captured UV image. The image verification module highlights or spots the errors/discrepancies on the screen using captured UV images against the original stored UV image and predefined parameters. The original image can be stored in a database local to the scanner or can reside in a remote server connected to the scanner through a communication network. The parameters can be placement of the UV, the glow or wavelength of UV ink. The variation of the UV logo and the tampering of the UV characters are also detected and verified by the verification module. The image is verified by the user and sent for automatic verification against set parameters and predefined tolerance limits.
Fig. 3 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method for detecting and verifying UV logo from the document according to the present invention.
The method is illustrated as a collection of steps in a logical flow graph, which represents a sequence of operations that can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The order in which the process is described is not intended to be constructed as a limitation, and any number of the

described steps can be combined in any order to implement the process, or an alternate process. Additionally, individual steps may be deleted from the process without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.
At 302, the document is inserted in the slot and at 304 the document image is captured and transmitted to the image processing module. At 306 the image is digitally processed and the image verification module verifies the image both manually and automatically against the already original stored UV image and the pre-defined parameters at 308. At 310, using the original stored image and parameters the image verification module (Hologram Recognition Engine) can determine if the processed UV image is authentic and within tolerance limits. If the processed UV image is correct, the document is accepted at 314 in different ways such as indicating acceptance to a user or transferring funds etc. However, if the processed image is not correct, the document is rejected and returned to the user.
Fig. 4a and 4b illustrates exemplary snapshots of the document to be authenticated for UV logo according to the present invention.
The snapshots indicate the cheque document with a UV logo that is authenticated using the automated scanner and method as described above.
The embodiments described above and illustrated in the figures are presented by way of example only and are not intended as a limitation upon the concepts and principles of the present invention. Elements and components described herein may be further divided into additional components or joined together to

form fewer components for performing the same functions. As such, it will be appreciated by,one having ordinary skill in the art that various changes in the elements and their configuration and arrangement are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.

We Claim:
1. A method of authenticating a document, comprising the steps of:
■ capturing an image of the document; and
■ verifying the captured image through Hologram/watermark means to confirm presence or absence of hologram or watermark and if desired checking the confidence level of the verified results;

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the document is a financial document, travel document or a document used for authentication purpose.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image is a hologram or logo embedded in the document.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image can be captured using a scanner said scanner comprising of camera, printer, ultraviolet fluorescent lamp, ultraviolet LEDs, ultraviolet laser or a compatible device thereof.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the verification step further comprises the steps of:

• detecting whether the captured image is altered in a region having the hologram or logo;
• validating the altered region manually by highlighting said region; and
• verifying the region automatically against said pre-defined parameters and/or tolerance limit.
6. A system for authenticating a document, comprising of:
• means for capturing an image of the document; and

• means for verifying the captured image through Hologram/watermark means to confirm presence or absence of hologram or watermark and if desired checking the confidence level of the verified results;
7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the document is a financial document, travel document or a document used for authentication purpose.
8. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the image is a hologram or logo embedded in the document.
9. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the means for capturing the image is a scanner said scanner comprising of camera, printer, ultraviolet fluorescent lamp, ultraviolet LEDs, ultraviolet laser or a compatible device thereof.
10. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the verification means further comprises of:

• means for detecting whether the captured image is altered in a region having the hologram or logo;
• means for validating the altered region manually by highlighting said region; and
• means for verifying the region automatically against said predefined parameters and/or tolerance limit.