OSRAM in fight against lamp fakes

The increasingly high incidence of fake OSRAM Xenon (HID) light sources has led the company to introduce a system that enables consumers to easily check them out. Aimed at drivers whose cars use these types of lamp, this new facility is called the Trust Program, and it is designed to ensure that drivers do not have to suffer from premature bulb failures or poor headlight beams.

Fake and counterfeited products, many of them from China, have been a serious and growing problem for years. Any counterfeit product is likely to be poor quality, but the problem is much more serious for electrical products because fakes – apart from not working well (or at all) - are often potentially or actually dangerous.

In this particular case, it is not so much the danger from electric shock or fire that is the problem – although this is often the case with other electrical counterfeits – but poor quality or early failing light, which pose obvious driving risks.

Two-step security check

OSRAM says that its headlight bulbs (‘light sources’ are called ‘bulbs’ for consumers) are continually being copied illegally by product pirates. So, to protect consumers from low-quality fakes, the company has launched its own Trust Program. This uses a two-step security check, enabling consumers to easily verify whether the lamps they have bought are OSRAM originals that have been manufactured in accordance with international quality and safety standards.

A massive problem for bona fide manufacturers – like OSRAM – is that even though the products (and their packaging) often look exactly right externally, there are massive differences between original products and cheaply produced fakes. This is true of most fakes of products from a broad range of manufacturers. We’ve even known of a circuit breaker, perfect in every detail visually, which had no proper contacts inside at all – just a pair of nails! Needless to say this was highly dangerous and entirely unfit for purpose.

To combat this serious problem, OSRAM’s Trust Program ensures, the company says, that drivers do not have to suffer from premature bulb failures or poor headlight beams. The Program’s purpose is to verify the authenticity of Xenon (HID) light sources, and it does this in the following way:

Firstly, the new security label on the packaging provides an initial indication as to whether the bulb is a fake or not. A code printed on the label uniquely assigns the packaging to a specific light source. The hologram on the security label and the integrated security strip make life difficult for would-be forgers and provide consumers with further evidence of authenticity.

Secondly, to eliminate all doubt, there is an Online Verification Tool. Consumers can go to the trust program website: www.osram.com/trust and enter the seven-digit code shown on the security label in the Online Verification Tool. 

Thirdly, or alternatively, they can scan the QR code printed on the packaging using their smartphones. This links directly to the Online Verification Tool. Clicking on the ‘Verify’ button will automatically display the light source data associated with the code. If this data is identical to the data for the purchased light source, the consumer can be 100% certain that he or she has bought an original OSRAM product. 

If, on the other hand, the system detects an anomaly, or even identifies the light source as a fake, the website will inform the consumer immediately and provide information on what to do next.

For more information on OSRAM’s Trust Program go to www.osram.com/trust.

For more information on counterfeiting generally, go to the new ‘Does It Comply’ website at: http://www.doesitcomply.co.uk. This, which also contains ‘Counterfeit Kills’, has Voltimum UK, BEAMA, GAMBICA and ACI involvement – among others – and both OSRAM and Philips Lighting are also partners in it.