Intellectual Property Frontal Authentication: A Computational Approach

The importance of authenticating intellectual property identification numbers (IPINs) cannot be overemphasized, especially in the sciences and academia. This study focuses on the textual intellectual properties such as the text books. Every text book is protected by a copyright, and is uniquely identified by a reference number known as the International Standard Book Number (ISBN). This unique identity is generated in line with an International Standard Organization (ISO) certified algorithm. Thus, it should be possible to detect cases of errors or fraud when such an identification number is presented. Frontal authentication refers to a first level computer-based investigative check to confirm that a particular intellectual property identity is valid. A timely confirmation using requisite computational tools is necessary, and should be achieved in an offline mode. A second level authentication goes beyond the frontal check by attempting to validate the actual ownership of the intellectual property. The experimental dataset used in this research is made up of text book data collected from the bookshelves of an academic library. The computational algorithm is based on the application of error coding techniques and number theoretical algorithms. An important research gap is that many of the existing online searchengine based implementations provide authentication on a single intellectual property basis, thus necessitating the proposed designed system to fill this gap by accommodating mass inquiries. This work finds key application as a housekeeping component of an e-library project.