Goals:
Please click the [ Mark Complete ] button at the bottom of this page when you’ve achieved the following goals:
- Explain why IBN members need to clearly understand the legitimacy of our barcodes and our operations, and why we need to be constantly alert to underhand challenges to that legitimacy.
To be clear, the barcodes that we trade are completely legitimate and valid.
If they were not, we’d face continual legal challenges, which we don’t.
However, the barcodes we trade predated and escaped regulation/monopolisation by the largest international body, GS1.
The challenge we face is that our barcodes’ practical status of “unregulated by GS1” is susceptible to being interpreted by the uninformed as “illegitimate”.
So, in our competitive global environment, we face the continual threat of GS1-associated competitors suggesting illegitimacy to our potential clients.
The issue of our barcode legitimacy is therefore something that we need to thoroughly understand, and to be able to very clearly articulate to our customers if the need arises.
We also need to be alert for any signs of anti-competitive behaviour from our competitors. We don’t tolerate such behaviour and rigorously address it via legal communications.