WO2000067192A1

WO2000067192A1 - Commercial intruments and method of generation thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2000067192A1
Application number: PCT/AU2000/000398
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stephen Young
Original assignee: Stephen Young
Priority date: 1999-05-03
Filing date: 2000-05-02
Publication date: 2000-11-09
Also published as: AUPQ009599A0; GB2364274A; GB0126192D0

Abstract

The invention takes advantage of the human capacity to recognise a pattern that impinges upon the sensory inputs of a person required to authenticate a commercial instrument and provides a method for generating a series of commercial instruments which includes: a) providing first data relevant to a first commercial instrument to be generated; b) manipulating the first data in accordance with predetermined rules associated with said series to generate a pattern which is sensorially recognisable to an informed person; c) incorporating the pattern into a corresponding first commercial instrument; and d) repeating steps (a) to (c) for each further data relevant to a corresponding further commercial instrument in said series. The first data and further data preferably includs one or more of the following; texte; image; logos; maps; texture maps; symbols; barcode; typefaces and photographic imagery. The predetermined rules may include format and layout instruments and pattern generating instructions.

Description

COMMERCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND METHOD OF GENERATION THEREOF

DESCRIPTION Field of Invention The present invention relates to commercial instruments, and more particularly to series of commercial instruments having customised or personalised appearances.

The invention has been developed primarily for use as with tickets, vouchers, coupons or the like, or their electronic equivalents, and will be described hereinafter with reference to these applications. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this field of use.

Background of Invention With recent advances in printing and copying technology, it has become relatively easy to produce reasonable quality facsimiles of various commercial instruments, such as vouchers, coupons, tickets and the like. In many cases, such commercial instruments include data associated with one or more of the parties to the commercial instruments. For example, in the case of a ticket for a theatre event, the ticket can include information relating to the show to be attended, the date for which the ticket is reserved, and the purchaser^" s name.

For those unscrupulous enough to wish to forge such commercial instruments, it is usually a relatively easy matter to scan the ticket in a computer graphics system and, using a manipulation program, to then amend the information before printing onto suitable paper or cardboard. In this way, the ticket can easily be customised into the name of a different person, or for a different event. Furthermore, in the case of gift vouchers and the like, the amount by the gift voucher can also relatively easily be amended.

Various attempts have been made to reduce the incidence of fraudulent copying. One way has been to add characteristics which are difficult to reproduce by simple copying, such as reflective holograms or water marks, or to use special substrate materials which are themselves difficult to reproduce. Unfortunately, such solutions 3Egtf^latively expensive in terms of cost per commercial instrument. - -

Other solutions have relied on the use of identification serial numbers or bar codes which can be scanned to verify authenticity Unfortunately, such systems require expensive machinery for scanning, or at lease require that an operator manually enters digits or letters into a computer for cross checking Again, this makes increasing the security of commercial instruments relatively expensive Whilst such levels of security may be justified for some instrument (e g bank cheques, bearer bonds, stock certificates, etc ) which may have a relatively high value, the expense and level of security may be extravagant for lower value instruments such as shopping coupons, tickets and some gift vouchers Further, with advances m office automation many traders may desire to create and pπnt their own instruments without engaging an external pπnting company or the like

It is an object of the invention to provide a commercial instrument and method of manufacturing a series thereof which help resist forgery whilst ensuring relatively easy verification of the authenticity of the commercial instruments Summary of Invention

The present invention, in its vaπous embodiments, takes advantage of the human capacity to quickly, and with a relatively high degree of accuracy, recognise a pattern that may impinge upon the sensory inputs of a person required to authenticate the commercial instrument in question This is to be contrasted with computerised or automated arrangements for authentication which, although able to recognise patterns to varying degrees of accuracy, are constrained in their use by equipment cost and to limited, if any, modification of the instrument to be authenticated Automated authentication arrangements may however be used in concert with (or to supplement) embodiments of the present invention According to a general aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for generating a seπes of commercial instruments, the method including the steps of

(a) providing first data relevant to a first commercial instrument to be generated, (b) manipulating the first data in accordance with predetermined rules associated with said series to generate a pattern which is sensoπally recognisable to an informed person,

(c) incorporating the pattern into a corresponding first commercial instrument, and

(d) repeating steps (a) to (c) for each further data relevant to a corresponding further commercial instrument in said seπes

Typically, the incorporation of the pattern involves the pπnting or rendering of a visually recognisable pattern to form a pπnted commercial instrument Preferably, the first data and further data includes one or more data types selected from among the following, text, image, logos, maps, texture maps, symbols, barcode, typefaces, and photographic imagery The predetermined rules may include format and layout instruments as well as pattern generating instructions

In another configuration, the commercial instrument may be formed by an audibly recognisable pattern incorporating the data unique to the instrument concerned The pattern in such an application may include the voice of a human person reciting the data applicable to the specific instrument

Brief Description of Drawings Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be descπbed, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig 1 is a plan view of a partially pre-pπnted substrate for use m generating a commercial instrument according to a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig 2 shows data for use with the substrate of Fig 1 in producing the embodiment shown in Fig 1 , Fig 3 is a plan view of a commercial instrument generated using the substrate of

Fig 1 and the data of Fig 2,

(Fig 4 is a flow chart showing a method of generating a series of commercial instruments according to the preferred embodiment, Figs 5 to 7 are plan views of various alternative embodiments of commercial instruments,

Fig 8 is a schematic representation of a computer system with which embodiments of the present invention may be produced, and Fig 9 is a flow chart of a further embodiment

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments Referring to Fig 1, there is shown a partially pre-pπnted substrate 100 for use in generating a commercial instrument to one embodiment of the invention Whilst pre- pπnting of the substrate 100 may be desirable in some applications, it is not essential for implementing the invention In the present case, the pre-pnntmg is limited to an image of a fish 102 in the top left hand corner 104 of the pre-pπnted substrate 100 It will be appreciated that other forms of pπnting can also be used, including background imagery, motifs, logos, symbols, feint water marks and the like, all of which can add further to the secuπty of the final product In the embodiment shown, the pre-pπnted substrate 100 takes the form of a gift voucher 300 for use in a tropical fish shop ("Bill Hookem Fish Shop")

Turning to Fig 2, first data 200 in the form of personal details of the intended recipient of the gift voucher 300 are shown The personal details include the person's name 302 (Karen M Home) and address 304 (66 Bicycle Street, NSW 2043) As shown in Fig 3, the first data 200 is manipulated in accordance with predetermined rules to generate an overall pattern which is visually recognisable to an average human eye In the case shown in Fig 3, name data 302 of the first data 200 appears represented according to a first pattern on the left hand side 306 of the laminar substrate 100 The words "Bill Hookem Fish Shop" appear on the right hand side 308 represented also according to the first pattern The data 302 has been manipulated into a pattern formed by a seπes of interlocking sinuate lines of text 310, the name data 302 being displaced hoπzontally with each subsequent line The address data 304 of the first data 200 is seen to have been manipulated according to a second pattern to form a chain link pattern 312 extending vertically across the laminar substrate 100 The personal data 200 is also printed in a non-manipulated form in the central area 314 of the voucher 100 which forms another component of the overall pattern The inclusion of a non-manipulated version of the data is option, and is desirable in some applications The substrate 100 and matter pπnted thereon together form the voucher 300 that has a value pπnted in the bottom left comer 316 and the top right comer 318 In this case, the value ($10) is also repeated 314a in the central area 314 adjacent the name data 302 and address 304

The gift voucher 300 also includes an oval-shaped image 320 of the recipient It will be appreciated that in many cases such an image will not be required, particularly where it is difficult for the purchaser to obtain an image of the person for whom the voucher is purchased

Further gift vouchers generated in the same seπes (not illustrated) for Bill Hookem Fish Shop include the same patterns generated using the specific name and address details provided by further purchasers (e g Bill Bloggs instead of Karen Home) The oπginal gift voucher 300 and subsequently produced gift vouchers together form a set, which has as its linking feature particular visually recognisable patterns such as the sinuate lines of text 210 and the chain link pattern 212 However, in each case, the personal data 200 upon which the patterns are based will vary

It will be appreciated that in any given set the situation may aπse that more than one voucher is purchased for one recipient However, as a whole, the set includes a plurality of vouchers for the same commercial purpose (in this case a $ 10 gift voucher at a particular shop) customised for the individual purchasing them or for whom they are purchased

As to the issue of authentication, the shop or location associated with the issuing of the vouchers 300 does so with knowledge of the patterns to be imparted thereon, those patterns including the overall layout of the voucher 300, the positioning of individual vidual components thereon, as well as the specific patterns used to present the patterned text as seen Thus shop assistants, in this case at Bill Hookem Fish Shop, are in a position to, upon visual inspection of the vouchers 300, determine their authenticity and honour them as the case requires. The advantage of the issuing authority lies in being able to modify the rules used to produce the various patterns, thus ensuring the series of vouchers are uniquely identifiable from other vouchers produced by the same issuing authority (the Bill Hookem Fish Shop) or someone else. As such the arrangement facilitates the authority printing its own vouchers which may be of differing monetary or temporal value, for example to the effect that "THIS VOUCHER ENTITLES (NAME) TO A 10% DISCOUNT FOR ALL GOODS PURCHASED BEFORE 03 MAY 1999".

Turning to Fig. 4, there is shown a flow chart illustrating a basic method 400 of implementing an embodiment of the invention. The method 400 starts at step 402 and then initial data is supplied in step 404. The data supplied in step 400 can be of any suitable type, and will usually be associated with either a transaction that the commercial instrument represents, or one or more of the parties to the commercial transaction. The data is then manipulated in step 406 on the basis of rules 408 that relate to visual manipulations applied to the data supplied in step 404. The rules can include such things as expressions for producing geometric paths or mathematical descriptions of such geometric paths. The data is manipulated in accordance with the rules 408 to generate a pattern that is visually recognisable to the human eye. It will be appreciated that the readability may be lessened, and perhaps greatly so, by certain types of data manipulation falling within the scope of the present invention. However, it is at least desirable that the data manipulation result in manipulated data that is still readable to some extent.

Once that data has been manipulated, it is either stored in storage means (step 410) such as computer memory, or printed (step 412) onto a substrate for immediate use. Such printing can take place using a standard printer, such as a laser or ink-jet printer. The manipulated data can optionally be transmitted to another computer, where printing or storage can take place. Alternatively, rather than pπnting the data onto a substrate, the commercial instrument generated on the basis of the data can be data can be rendered to a video display screen (step 414), where it can be viewed. Subsequent commercial instruments in a particular series will share visually recognisable patterns generated as a result of manipulation of the data.

At any time after manipulation of the data in step 406, the manipulated data can be transmitted to a remote point for storage, rendering to a video display or printing.

The remote point can, for example, take the form of a computer, passive terminal or printer, the data being transmitted by telephone line or a data communication network such as a LAN, WAN or the Internet.

The method of Fig. 4 is preferably practised using a conventional general- purpose computer system 800, such as that shown in Fig. 8 wherein the method steps may be implemented a software, such as an application program executing within the computer system 800. In particular, the steps of method are effected by instructions in the software that are carried out by the computer. The software may be divided into two separate parts; one part for carrying out the methods of the particular embodiment, and another part to manage the user interface between the latter and the user. The software may be stored in a computer readable medium, including the storage devices described below, for example. The software is loaded into the computer from the computer readable medium, and then executed by the computer. A computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on it is a computer program product. The use of the computer program product in the computer preferably effects an advantageous apparatus for creating a commercial instrument in accordance with the embodiments of the invention.

The computer system 800 comprises a computer module 801, input devices such as a keyboard 802 and mouse 803, output devices including a printer 815 and a display device 814. A Modulator-Demodulator (Modem) transceiver device 816 is used by the computer module 801 for communicating to and from a communications network 820, for example connectable via a telephone line 821 or other functional medium. The modem 816 can be used to obtain access to the Internet, and other network systems, such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN).

The computer module 801 typically includes at least one processor unit 805, a memory unit 806, for example formed from semiconductor random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM), input/output (I/O) interfaces including a video interface 807, and an I/O interface 813 for the keyboard 802 and mouse 803 and optionally a joystick (not illustrated), and an interface 808 for the modem 816. A storage device 809 is provided and typically includes a hard disk drive 810 and a floppy disk drive 811. A magnetic tape drive (not illustrated) may also be used. A CD-ROM drive 812 is typically provided as a non-volatile source of data. The components 805 to 813 of the computer module 801, typically communicate via an interconnected bus 804 and in a manner which results in a conventional mode of operation of the computer system 800 known to those in the relevant art. Examples of computers on which the embodiments can be practised include LBM-PC's and compatibles, Sun Sparcstations or alike computer systems evolved therefrom.

Typically, the application program of the preferred embodiment is resident on the hard disk drive 810 and read and controlled in its execution by the processor 805. Intermediate storage of the program and any data fetched from the network 820 may be accomplished using the semiconductor memory 806, possibly in concert with the hard disk drive 810. In some instances, the application program may be supplied to the user encoded on a CD-ROM or floppy disk and read via the corresponding drive 812 or 811 , or alternatively may be read by the user from the network 820 via the modem device 816. Still further, the software can also be loaded into the computer system 800 from other computer readable medium including magnetic tape, a ROM or integrated circuit, a magneto-optical disk, a radio or infra-red transmission channel between the computer module 801 and another device, a computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card, and the Internet and Intranets including email transmissions and information recorded on websites and the like. The foregoing is merely exemplary of relevant computer readable mediums Other computer readable mediums may be practised without departing from the scope and spiπt of the invention

The method of Fig 4 may alternatively be implemented in dedicated hardware such as one or more integrated circuits performing the functions or sub functions of the method Such dedicated hardware may include graphic processors, digital signal processors, or one or more microprocessors and associated memoπes

Specifically, where the computer system 800 is operated by the issuing authoπty, commercial instruments may be generated directly based upon predetermined mles stored with the system 800 For example, for any one seπes, only a select few of the mles may be applied to provide the desired unique pattern Where the instmment is a pπnted document, such may be reproduced directly via the pπnter 815 The display 814 may facilitate selection of the specific mles for the series to provide a certain recognisable pattern The display may also be used to assist in authentication through display of a stored version of a previously pπnted instrument Further, the system 800 may be configured as an Internet server so that a user who may access the system 800 via the network 820 may generate their own instrument which may be pπnted at the user's remote location Such may be appreciated where the user wishes to purchase or reserve goods available from the authoπty operating the system 800 so that the instrument pπnted at the user's location represents a veπfiable receipt for the transaction Such may be appropπate so as to facilitate the later collection of goods or services from the issuing authoπty Theatre and concert tickets for example may be sold and delivered in this fashion This contrasts current arrangements where tickets purchased over the Internet using electronic credit and payment are required to be collected pnor to gaining access to the particular venue

In pπnted embodiments, manipulation of the data can take place by either treating the data as a collection of components, such as splines or curve segments for text, or as an image Furthermore, data provided in the form of, say, text, can be converted to sub-components or even to an image format pnor to manipulation The types of manipulation which can be applied to components and subcomponents of the data include position (absolute and relative to adjacent components), orientation (absolute and relative to adjacent components), size, colours, and motion (for animated data)

Each manipulation can be considered a substitution of one component for another For example, a new component can be generated by applying a filter or other operation to the oπginal component Such operations can include vaπous distortions to the shape of the component, changing the distribution or colours, merging images, and other manipulations currently found in image editing software

A new component can also be selected from a repository of images An example of the latter would be the replacement of a local authoπty "coat of arms" image, based on the postcode of one of the parties noted m the instrument Other examples include the replacement of an astrological star sign image based upon the date of birth of one of the parties to the commercial instrument, or the replacement of any image based on a party having a given name In any case, the nature of the operation or selection is defined by the predetermined mles descπbed above It will also be appreciated that the manipulation applied to the first data can be recursive in nature

Parts of each component may themselves be treated as components, down to the level of a bit, pixel, vector, spline, curve segment or any other rudimentary component An example of this is the treatment of text elements, in which a section of text, a character, or even a part of a character can be treated as an image component Manipulations can include modification to the position, oπentation, size and colour of individual characters Substitute components can be taken from predetermined collections of images (known as "character sets^' ) Another example of this replacement is the replacement of a specific character with a trademark Components can also be combined to form larger recognisable components For example, text patterns can be used to draw pictures, or small images can be used to outline a larger symbol or text element

Any component can have parts that are manipulated in a manner that enables recognition or authentication of the instmment by a user Rudimentary image components such as pixels, curve segments, or vector elements grouped by proximity, colour or in other ways can be selected and treated as image components Such groupings can include recognisable shapes For example, the elliptical sections within the characters 6, 8, 9 and 0 can be replaced with trademarks or other images Blocks of solid colour withm trademarks and logos, for example, can be replaced with data in the form of text patterns generated by the manipulations descπbed above

Parts of the components can be selected arbitraπly for manipulation Such selections can be used to make watermarks, "jigsaw puzzles", mosaics and other recognisable patterns within the components Components can also be manipulated for the purpose of changing the instrument so that properties of the instmment as a whole can be used for authentication Such properties include the ratio of white to non-white areas, the number of discrete image components greater than a certain size, or other properties recognisable by a human user A further embodiment 900 seen in Fig 9 creates an image by seπally combining a seπes of image components

Step 902 involves collecting data for new image components or a new image manipulation This data is provided to the software for each image component

(a) source text, image or other data from which manipulation and (25) placement is to be performed,

(b) the nature of the manipulation to be performed, from which an image component will result,

(c) X coordinate for placement of the manipulated image component,

(d) Y coordinate for placement of the manipulated image component (e) width of manipulated image component when placed,

(f) height of manipulated image component when placed

Should the manipulation be the first for the image, it will usually only define its size This can be viewed as the "canvas" upon which the other image components will be placed

Step 904 involves converting text components to images Should the source data of (a) be text, m this embodiment the following data will also have been provided at the data collection step 902

(g) the character set as a bit map of all possible characters and orientations to be used in manipulating the text,

(h) the dimensions of individual characters within the set, (1) a pattern that descπbes how the text is to be manipulated The pattern is a series of digits organised as points of origin relative to the coordinates descπbed in (c) and (d), followed by a seπes of digit pairs The first part of each digit pair descπbed the direction of the pattern and the second part described the oπentation with which an image of the appropπate character is placed in the pattern

The appropπately oπented character is copied from the character set bit map descπbed in (g) The portion of the character set bit map to be copied is determined from the oπentation digit, the ASCII code for the character, and the character's dimensions descπbed in (h) Alternate configurations may use "path fitting" and other more sophisticated algoπthms currently seen in vector-based drawing programs (e g Corel Draw)

Step 906 performs manipulations and/or places the new component m image The image component is combined with the existing image In the current embodiment, several big-wise operations can be used when combining the images

(a) fading the image using the component as a template - the component is bitwise inverted and combined with the image using big-wise OR, (b) reversing the image using the component - the dimensions of the component are used to bit-wise invert a section of the image,

(c) placing the component as a transparent image - the component is combined with the image using bit-wise AND. Step 908 serves the completed image. In the current embodiment, the completed image is served as a bit map which may be printed and or displayed. The bit map may alternatively be encoded upon a portable memory means (e.g. PCMCIA card), as an "electronic ticket".

It will be appreciated that, although some embodiments of the invention are intended to provide a means of visually authenticating a commercial instmment, it is also desirable that the manipulation applied to the data results in a pattern which is also machine recognisable. Such an embodiment provides an additional level of authentication based on the pattern generated by the data manipulation. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that the various embodiments described above can also be used in conjunction with other forms of security, such as holograms, barcodes and watermarks.

Figs. 5 to 7 show further exemplary embodiments of the invention. Fig. 5 shows a prepaid envelope 500 for mailing to a particular address (PO Box 178, NSW 2088, Australia). In this case, the "mail to" address is reproduced along the right hand side 502 of the envelope 500, whilst the purchaser to which the envelope has been issued is reproduced in an interlocking "U"-shaped pattern 504.

Fig. 6 shows a membership card 600 for an organisation named "KIDS 'R' US". The name (SMD Young), membership number (A1043) and expiry date (060699) of the particular member are reproduced in multiple rows of sinuate lines 602 on the card 600. It will be noted that each respective sinuate line is also horizontally displaced from the one above it by a single character, such that an "inverse" hand 604 placed vertically through the centre of the sinuate lines results in the membership number and name being reproduced. It will be noted that, in this case, there is provided a barcode 606 to enable easier identification of the card by a suitable barcode reader where available.

Finally, Fig. 7 shows an admission ticket 700 to a venue known as "Chunky Moves" on the date 06/06/99. The name (Ashley Trotter) and driver's licence number of the purchaser are manipulated into a plurality of horizontally extending simuate lines 702.

Further embodiments, not illustrated in the drawings, relate to situations where the commercial instmment is provided in a form that is sensorially recognisable in some form other than an image. An example of such a form is an audible commercial instmment. Where the present invention is embodied as a audible instmment, the data components may be annunciated by spoken words, or in some other form for example sung or recited in a poetic style. In this regard the style of voice and its method of presentation form the pattern applied to the data necessary to make the instmment sensorially recognisable to an informed person. For example, the above described printed voucher 300 may be formed as an audible voucher, where the voucher details are recited in a voice or style recognisable by staff at Bill Hookem Fish Shop. This may involve reciting the details in a famous voice such as that of Winston Churchill. Another series of vouchers (e.g. having a value of $20) could be recited in the voice of John F Kennedy. Other forms may include the simple recitation of the details in any voice, accompanied by music that is easily recognisable but not readily replicable.

The audible instrument may be formed within the computer system 800 when supplemented with appropriate facilities (not illustrated). The instrument may be realised in a cassette tape recording or a memory card recording of the audible instrument.

The preferred embodiments of the invention provide a means by which each commercial instmment is a series thereof can contain unique information in a relatively difficult to emulate form, whilst providing sufficient pattern similarity that the instmments can be visually confirmed as being at least prima facie genuine. Although the invention has been described with reference to a number of specific examples, it will be appreciated that the invention can be embodied in many other forms.

Claims

COMMERCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND METHOD OF GENERATION THEREOF

Vaπous exemplary aspects of the invention are set out in the following numbered paragraphs

1 A method for generating a seπes of commercial instruments, the method (5) including the steps of

(a) providing first data relevant to a first commercial instmment to be generated,

(b) manipulating the first data in accordance with predetermined mles associated with said seπes to generate a pattern which is sensoπally recognisable to an informed person,

(c) incorporating the pattern into a corresponding first commercial instmment, and

2 A method according to paragraph 1 wherein the pattern is visually recognisable

3 A method according to paragraph 2 wherein the commercial instrument is a pπnted document and the pattern is pπnted upon a substrate to form the document

4 A method according to paragraph 3 wherein the first data and further data includes one or more data types selected from among the following text, image, logos, maps, texture maps, symbols, barcode, typefaces, and photographic imagery

5 A method according to paragraph 3 or 4 wherein the predetermined mles may include format and layout instmctions as well as pattern generating instmctions 6 A method according to paragraph 1 wherein the pattern is audibly recognisable

7 A method according to paragraph 6 wherein said first and further data is presented by annunciation and said pattern is represented by a form of annunciation of said first data

8 A method according to paragraph 7 wherein said pattern is formed by a recitation of said first and further data by a voice recognisable to said informed person

9 A method according to paragraph 8 wherein said commercial instmment is formed by an audio recording medium encoded with said annunciation

10 A method according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 9 wherein said informed person is associated with an issuing authoπty responsible for establishing said predetermined mles for said seπes

11 A method of generating a seπes of commercial instmments, the method including the steps of (a) providing first data relevant to a first commercial instmment to be generated,

(b) manipulating the first data in accordance with predetermined mles associated with said series to generate a pattern which is sensoπally recognisable to an informed person, (c) incorporating the pattern into a corresponding first commercial instmment, and

(d) repeating steps (a) to (c) for each further data relevant to a corresponding further commercial instrument in said seπes 12 A method according to paragraph 11, wherein the first data and further data includes one or more data types selected from among the following text, image, logos, maps, texture maps, symbols, barcode, typefaces, and photographic imagery

13 A method according to paragraph 12, further including the step of converting any non-image data, such as text data, into image data pnor to step (b)

14 A method according to any one of paragraphs 11 and 13, wherein the first and further data includes data specific to the commercial instmment' s type

15 A method according to any one of paragraphs 11 to 14, wherein the first data and further data includes unique identification data related to one or more of the parties to the commercial instmment

16 A method according to any one of paragraphs 1 1 to 15, wherein the first data and further data includes personal information, such as a name, address or telephone number

17 A method according to any one of paragraphs 11 to 16, wherein the commercial instrument takes the form of one of the following tickets, vouchers, coupons, token currencies, membership or loyalty cards, postage stamps, and certificates, including electronic equivalents or replacements thereof

18 A method according to any one of paragraphs 11 to 17, wherein the pattern includes sinuate, undulating, interlocking, overlapping, tessellated or recurring aspects

19 A commercial instmment forming part of a series thereof, the commercial instmment including a substrate, a pattern disposed on or in the substrate, the pattern being visually recognisable by an average human eye and common to a plurality of commercial instruments within the series thereof, wherein the pattern is generated by manipulating data in accordance with predetermined mles, the data being related to one or more parties associated with the commercial instmment

20 A method of forming a commercial instmment substantially as descπbed herein with reference to any one of the embodiments, particularly where that embodiment is illustrated in the drawings

21 A commercial instmment formed using the method according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 18 or 20