There are also committees that regulate barcode structure and label format, the first 5 ? 6 digits signify the registered manufacturer, shipper, or regulatory organization that associated to the product.
Comittees like EAN.UCC (European Article Numbering, Uniform Code Council) you mean?
In EAN-13:
- The first two digits (or three in some cases) are for country code
- There are 7 and 9 digit company codes if I recall correctly, which leaves 10000 or 100 unit spaces for products within company.
- Since the last digit is for checksum
See:
for more info... or I could do it ;)