An
EAN-13 barcode (originally
European Article Number, but now renamed
International Article Number even though the abbreviation
EAN has been retained) is a 13 digit (12 data and 1 check) barcoding standard which is a
superset of the original 12-digit
Universal Product Code (UPC) system developed in 1970 by
George J. Laurer. The EAN-13 barcode is defined by the standards organization
GS1.