Public Transport in the Province of Bizkaia, Spain

PATENTING THE BARIK RECHARGEABLE INTEROPERABLE CONTACTLESS SMARTCARD

The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas – OEPM) has granted the Biscay Transport Consortium (CTB) a patent for the invention of the BARIK travelcard. This patent gives them the exclusive right, for a period of 20 years, to use and exploit the rechargeable process in Spain, for this contactless smartcard using mobile phone technology, a method which also ensures the security of the system. The application for recharging the BARIK smartcard is available on Google Play.

The invention is officially attributed to the three engineers Juan Luis Isasi (CTB), Xabi Elustondo (IDOM) and Dani Fernández (SMARTING), while ownership is held by the CTB.

The application process commenced two years ago, to ensure that no entity (bank or other) overtake us in the registration and private exploitation of this innovative concept, developed with public interest in mind. It has been a thorough process in which the authorities have examined the novelty of the invention, carrying a global scan to determine whether or not it was eligible for accreditation.

IDOM has been collaborating with the CTB since the initial design of the entire Ticketing or BARIK charging system, its implementation, the clearing house payment system, SAGB Administration and Management System, Hardware Security Module (HSM) and Secure Access Module (SAM), as well as providing support for its exploitation and continued expansion.

November 6, 2017