History of Barcode GTIN EAN UPC

It all began in the United States, among the largest countries in the world in terms of size and population, whose constitution starts with three words, “We the people.” Written in bold, in addition to representing a dimension of population, it also implies the dimension of consumption!

We are in 1787, and as early as 1859, the first “supermarkets” and “self-service” were already making their appearance. Large-scale production, high market demand, and the need to automate cashier operations in supermarkets. Large stores where customers could do their shopping by themselves, with the cashier capable of tallying the bill in a few seconds. IBM, the company operating in the data processing field at the time, found the solution.

It is an intriguing and very interesting story that began in the 1960s when the National Association of Food Chains, an association of supermarkets and grocery stores in the United States, sought a solution to speed up checkout procedures. In reality, some studies began as early as 1949 by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver. However, it was only in March 1973 that Engineer George Joseph Laurer, who worked at IBM, the American company that produced “data processing” systems before the existence of the first true computers, put his own career at stake and, with the help of his then fifteen-year-old son, essentially invented what is still in use today: the U.P.C. | UPC | Universal Product Code.

The most curious thing is that both IBM and the inventor didn’t even attempt to patent the new system, precisely to not hinder its implementation or discourage its use. An admirable idea that aligns with the current world of sharing, but unfortunately didn’t prevent the introduction of financial rules that effectively hinder more straightforward access to sales systems that use this standard.

And so, in 1974, the first product with a barcode was sold: a pack of “Wrigley’s” fruit-flavored chewing gum in a “Marsh” store in Troy, Ohio (USA), and many companies followed suit. There were so many requests that it became necessary to regulate and coordinate this new sales system, with the maintenance of registers and regulations, initially in the United States and gradually throughout the rest of the world. It took about 10 years for the establishment of the Uniform Code Council, Inc. or “

UCC,” a non-profit American company based in Delaware (USA) known today as GS1 (gs1.org). Many companies were authorized by UCC|GS1 to use Barcodes and to utilize the invention to great benefit for commerce in general. But this idyll ended when UCC|GS1 began to demand that registered companies pay membership fees and annual renewal fees.

UCC|GS1, in violation of usage rules, triggered the reaction of all those companies that were already using the codes for free: a “class-action” worth $3,895,000, millions of dollars!The judgment of December 15, 2003 (Supreme Court of Spokane County, Washington (USA) – Civil Action No. 03-203796-1) not only determined the reimbursement of undue amounts but also decided that prefixes issued before August 28, 2002 would remain under the same original usage conditions, without expiration dates, membership fees, and renewal fees.

In the meantime, the use of Barcodes spread worldwide, and in 2005, the UCC became GS1, operating based in Brussels, Ixelles (Belgium), and other representative offices worldwide, always through non-profit companies.

In 2005, the Uniform Code Council, Inc., or UCC, became GS1 US.
Under its sponsorship, GS1 US oversees three wholly-owned subsidiaries: EPCglobal US, RosettaNet, and UCCnet. GS1 US manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) for the United Nations Development Programme. EPCglobal, Inc. is a joint venture of GS1 US and GS1 (formerly EAN International). GS1 US-based solutions include business processes, XML standard, EDI transaction system, and the EAN Barcode Identification Standard. The UCC system is currently used by affiliated companies worldwide. GS1 US is headquartered in Lawrenceville, NJ, USA.