Method for protecting the authenticity of an object, item, document, packaging and/or a label from imitation, forgery and theft

A method for protecting authenticity of an object, item, document, packaging, or a label from imitation, forgery and theft, the method comprising:

• applying security marking onto a surface of the object, item, document, packaging, or label;
• and
• verifying authenticity of the object, item, document, packaging or label by reading the marking from the surface of the object, item, document, packaging, or label,
• wherein applying the security marking on the surface of the object, item, document, packaging, or label includes applying a graphic halftone visually encoded image keeping qualitative-quantitative data of the object, item, document, packaging, or label and containing a hidden verification hash code in the form of a digital watermark (DWM), square data cells of a cross-linked structure of the graphic halftone image with identical brightness values are revealed in an entire area inside a revealed square data cell, the revealed square data cells are conditionally divided into nine equal squares, a digital watermark (DWM) is applied by means of adjustment of the brightness of color components of a central square out of the nine squares of each revealed readable square data cell, identified on the basis of a durable read algorithm depending on the encoded qualitative-quantitative data of the object, item, document, packaging, or label with the use of encoding, hashing and information redundancy algorithms, thereafter a square-cross-linked mask is formed to store a base of the revealed readable square data cells, wherein reading the marking from the surface includes reading the applied digital watermark (DWM) and comparing the brightness of color components of the central square of the revealed readable square data cell against an arithmetic mean value of a brightness of components of eight neighbor squares surrounding the revealed readable square data cell.