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NFL Great Emmitt Smith Teams with INCITS to Develop Item Authentication Standards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Patrick Morris
(202) 626-5742 or pmorris@itic.org

NFL Great Emmitt Smith Teams with INCITS to Develop Item Authentication Standards

Interested Parties Welcome at January 12-13, 2005 Meeting

Washington, DC, January 10, 2005 - The InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) has established a new Technical Committee (INCITS/E22) -Item Authentication and announced the first meeting on January 12-13, 2005 at INCITS headquarters in Washington, DC. The proposal for a new technical committee was initiated by NFL star Emmitt Smith, whose work with Prova Group, Inc.
on sports memorabilia authentication has led to his decision to pursue global item authentication standards.

As established by INCITS, the committee's work is intended to develop an international methodology and process for using RFID technology, multi-media technology and information technology to assist a wide variety of industries in the prevention of fraud. The goal of INCITS/E22's work is to develop standards to authenticate and validate a valued item, and establish an information technology recording and report structure for tracking and creating a valid chain of custody for each item entered into the IT structure.

Emmitt Smith commented on the positive response by INCITS and the initiation of a new Technical Committee: “Through my work with Prova, I have chosen RFID technology to guarantee that my authentic signature is protected from fraud and I have encouraged other athletes and celebrities to support the authentication of memorabilia. The next step in the process of significantly curbing the ever-growing gray market of fraudulent activity in sports memorabilia and other valuables and collectibles is to develop a formal information technology standard on item authentication. I thank INCITS for their willingness to coordinate this important work, encourage all interested parties to
participate, and look forward to working with the INCITS technical committee.”

Patrick Morris, the Executive Director of INCITS stated, "INCITS is thrilled that Mr. Smith chose our organization to initiate work on item authentication, and it is our expectation that there are many industries, government agencies, and individuals who will be interested in participating in the development of these standards. Standards to authenticate valuable items will be of great benefit in the international work against fraud and will highlight the important role that information technology plays in recording and tracking items in a system for chain of custody.”

The first meeting of the INCITS/E22 – Item Authentication will be held on January 1213, 2005 at the offices of the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) in Washington, DC. The meeting address is 1250 Eye St NW, Suite 200, Washington DC 20005. Rick Heimann of Prova will serve as the convener for first meeting of the new Technical Committee, and participation is open to all materially affected parties. Technical experts who wish to attend should contact Jennifer Garner at jgarner@itic.org; media inquires should be directed to Patrick Morris at pmorris@itic.org. Additional details on the meeting as they become available will be posted on the INCITS web site (www.incits.org).


About INCITS
The mission of the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) is to promote the effective use of Information and Communication Technology through standardization in a way that balances the interests of all stakeholders and increases the global competitiveness of the member organizations. INCITS serves as the U.S. Technical Advisory Group for ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1, which is responsible for international standardization in the field of information technology. INCITS and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) are jointly accredited by, and operate under rules approved by, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). These rules are designed to ensure that voluntary standards are developed by the consensus of directly and materially affected interests. For further information, please contact INCITS, 1250 Eye St. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005 (www.incits.org).


©2005 Information Technology Industry Council