Stockholders' Equity of Identive Group, Inc. - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	6 Months Ended					6 Months Ended	13 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended									1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended					6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010	Jun. 30, 2012 Series A Preferred Stock	Jun. 30, 2012 Equity Incentive Plans 2011 and 2010	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Option and Incentive Plan	Jun. 30, 2011 2011 Employee Stock Purchase Plan	Jun. 30, 2012 2011 Employee Stock Purchase Plan	Jun. 30, 2012 2011 Employee Stock Purchase Plan	Jun. 30, 2012 Bluehill Plans	Jun. 30, 2010 Stock Incentive Plan 2010	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Incentive Plan 2010	Jun. 30, 2012 Directors Option Plan	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Option Plan 1997	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Option Plan 2000	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Option Plan 2007	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Option Plan 2011	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Option Plan 2011	Jun. 30, 2012 Share Bonus and Incentive Plans Employee	Jun. 30, 2011 Share Bonus and Incentive Plans	Jun. 30, 2012 Share Bonus and Incentive Plans	Jun. 30, 2011 Share Bonus and Incentive Plans	Jun. 06, 2011 Stock Incentive Plan 2011	Jun. 30, 2012 Warrant	Jun. 30, 2012 Bluehill ID	Jun. 30, 2012 Bluehill ID Stock Incentive Plan 2010	Jun. 30, 2012 Bluehill ID Noncontrolling Interest	Jun. 30, 2012 Hirsch Warrant	Jun. 30, 2012 polyright SA Contingent Consideration	May 31, 2011 Public Offering Common Stock	Jun. 30, 2012 Private Placement Warrant	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options	Jun. 30, 2011 Stock Options	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options	Jun. 30, 2011 Stock Options	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options Minimum	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options Maximum	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options Bluehill ID	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options1	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options 2	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options 3	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options 4
Preferred stock shares authorized	10,000,000		10,000,000	[1]		40,000
Preferred stock, par value	$ 0.001		$ 0.001	[1]		$ 0.001
Preferred stock, shares outstanding				[1]
Issuance of common stock in connection with capital raise, net of issuance costs (in shares)																																7,843,137
Issuance of common stock, price per share																																$ 2.55
Issuance of common stock in connection with capital raise, net of issuance cost			$ 18,212,000																													$ 18,200,000
Common stock issuance cost																																400,000
Common stock reserved for future issuance (in shares)	13,800,000						6,600,000	3,300,000	2,000,000	1,900,000	1,900,000	2,000,000	3,000,000												4,000,000	8,600,000	3,300,000		1,300,000	4,900,000	100,000		3,700,000							2,000,000
Employee stock purchase plan offering term									10 years
Annual increase in aggregate number of shares reserved for issuance under ESPP									750,000
Increase in the aggregate number of shares reserved for issuance under the ESPP as percentage of total shares outstanding									2.00%
Percentage of common stock purchase price of fair market value									85.00%
ESPP each offering period (in months)									6 months
Employee stock purchase plan offering, extended term											24 months
Common stock shares issued under ESPP											93,871
Unrecognized compensation expense										600,000	600,000																							1,100,000		1,100,000
Options to purchase shares of common stock that may be granted to executives, key employees and other service providers, including Chief Executive Officer																												2,000,000
Amount of non-qualified stock options to be received as percentage of participant's base salary													20.00%
Lock-up period from date of grant													24 months
Issuance of common stock in connection with stock bonus and incentive plans	241,000		1,462,000										900,000	200,000
Number of shares available for grant	8,706,213		10,114,332		7,542,277																				8,600,000
Stock options granted	1,286,110		820,716																1,300,000	1,600,000
Number of employee who left the Company																					1
Stock-Based Compensation Expense										50,000	76,000										(434,000)	312,000	(72,000)	433,000
Accrued compensation and related benefits	3,397,000		3,527,000	[1]																	100,000	400,000	100,000	400,000
Stock options plans expiration period																																						7 years	10 years
Percentage of stock options vesting each year																																									25.00%
Stock options vesting period																																									4 years	1 year	1 year	4 years
Percentage of stock options vesting per month																																										8.33%		8.33%
Percentage of stock options vesting after one year																																											100.00%
Stock options, outstanding number	3,269,947		2,266,822		1,810,188										300,000	300,000	300,000	1,200,000	1,600,000	1,600,000
Weighted-average grant date fair value per option for options granted																																		$ 1.20	$ 2.92	$ 1.33	$ 2.67
Stock options exercised			21,001																																16,539		21,001
Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon options exercised		$ 56,000																																	$ 44,543		$ 56,591
Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense, weighted average period of recognition																																				1 year 4 months 24 days

[1] The condensed consolidated balance sheet has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2011 but does not include all the information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements.