Identifying Manufacturer and Date of Manufacture of a CD-R and CD-RW

A computer disc was suspected as having been produced in the summer of 2002, rather than the dates displayed for the files on the disc that indicated the disc was used (burned) on May 21, 1999. The forensic document examiner was asked to: remove the stick-on label that obscured the information underneath; identify the manufacturer or distributor from the information imprinted on the disc; then make contact with the manufacturer/distributor to determine the dates of manufacture and distribution of this particular disc to prove or disprove the disc was burned in 1999. Research into the manufacture and distribution of a CD-R and CD-RW revealed that it is possible to identify the manufacturer of compact discs by using special software. The label was removed without damage to the disc and the information it contained. Contact was made with the manufacturer and distributor of the CD-R. It was learned that the disc was in existence as the time the information was purportedly burned on it.