Applied DNA gets patent for cotton fibres tagging

Applied DNA has received a Notice of Allowance for its US Patent Application No. 14/572,552 (US 2016/0168781 A1) entitled ‘Method and Device for Marking Fibrous Materials’. Applied DNA is a leading global provider of molecular technologies that enable supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology, and product genotyping.

The allowed claims cover methods of DNA-tagging cotton fibres while they travel through the forced air systems found at cotton gins, and later authenticating the DNA-tagged cotton fibres to prove their provenance and/or authenticity all the way to finished goods. DTS units have tagged over 300 million pounds of cotton to-date.

The allowed patent application, which is expected to be issued as a US patent in the next few months, extends the company’s patent protection for its proprietary DNA Transfer System (DTS), a key component of its CertainT platform for cotton. The company also holds United States Patent 9,963,740 on its DTS and has several related international patent applications pending, according to a media statement by Applied DNA.

“The extension of our patent protection to cover our method of DNA-tagging cotton demonstrates our commitment to broadly protect our CertainT platform and ensure our ability to deliver supply chain security and authenticity to current and future CertainT customers. Despite the downturn in global economic activity that has impacted the global textile supply chains we serve, supply chain certainty and social responsibility remain fundamental to the textile industry’s long-term strategy. We believe the COVID-19 pandemic has increased consumer awareness of the need for authenticity in such textiles as those used in personal protective equipment. When economic activity within the industry ramps, we believe that our CertainT platform is well-positioned to address the critical issues of traceability and authenticity in our traditional home textiles base, as well as new apparel opportunities currently being explored,” James Hayward, president and CEO of Applied DNA said.

“The key to the CertainT platform for cotton is the ability to cost-effectively tag cotton in very large quantities while concurrently collecting data that informs the supply chain down to each individual bale, the date, time, location of tagging, the type of cotton being tagged, among others, through the use of our DTS to give brand owners the assurance that their cotton, their brand, and their supply chains are secure through to their end-customers. In addition, our DTS can be permanently or temporarily installed in essentially any gin, allowing the company to tag cotton worldwide, with DTS units already installed in the US, Egypt, and Australia,” MeiLin Wan, vice president of textile sales at Applied DNA said.