Are you a company that intends to do item-level tagging on consumer goods, but want to maintain trust with your customers?

Or perhaps you are a concerned citizen, worried about RFID tags on items you buy? Think they're spy chips?

Well, the IBM clipped tag may be the answer. And it is about to move from invention to production.

Marnlen RFID, based in Ontario, Canada, has licensed and will manufacture IBM's RFID Clipped Tag, which is a new type of RFID tag that enables consumers to tear off the antennae to reduce its read range.

Hawthorne, NY and Markham, ON - November 8, 2006: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it will license its acclaimed "Clipped Tag" technology to Marnlen RFiD, who will begin production of the tags and offer availability immediately. The Clipped Tag, developed at IBM's Watson Research Center, allows consumers to tear off the majority of an RFID tag's antenna, reducing the tag's read range to just a few inches, ensuring consumer privacy while maintaining the benefits of the technology, such as product authentication or recalls.

"IBM's Clipped Tag concept is an elegant way to promote the benefits of RFID while protecting privacy," said Andris Lauris, Vice President Business Development, Marnlen Management Ltd. "We're excited to be the first company in our industry to make the concept a reality."

Toronto-based Marnlen RFiD manufactures custom and standard RFID labels at its manufacturing facilities in Markham, Ontario where its high-speed RFID label converting equipment is in production.

IBM's clipped tag has made headlines because it puts control into the hands of consumers, who can choose to disable the antenna. You could say it puts trust back into the relationship between consumers and manufacturers/retailers.

Read the full RFID clipped tag press release.

Read my previous posting about IBM's RFID clipped tag.