Re: Dear Prudence: Do I have to pay for codes??

["William J. Kammerer" <wkammerer@foresightcorp.com>]

Dave Welsh says "...the rules of real UN/EDIFACT says codes have to be
free to use."

Sounds good, Dave - but I don't think there's any such rule.

But the good news is that codes are free to use - e.g., Send the package
to me via (the SCAC) RDWY, or Roadway Express.  You've been diagnosed
with (ICD-9) 003.2, or salmonella poisoning .  I live in (ISO 3166-2)
US-OH, otherwise known as Ohio.  My ZIP code is 43221-3859 (the east
side of NW Blvd between Barrington and Waltham in Columbus, Ohio). I'll
pay you in (ISO 4217) USD, or greenbacks .  I'll arrive at (IATA) LAX
(Los Angeles International Airport) tomorrow at (ISO 8601) 15:27:46-05.
I bought (UPC) 043100057482, or a spiral notebook.  I speak only (ISO
639-2) eng, or English. An (NRF) size 10906 (Extra-Large) tank-top would
be way too big for Todd Boyle.

Notice that I'm not worrying too much about paying royalties for the use
of any of these codes.  But I bet if you bought a big directory on
CD-Rom of any of these code sets they would cost money and be
copyrighted.

But generally you don't need a directory - for example, I have no need
for every ZIP code in the U.S. if all I'm going to do is regurgitate the
code on a printed label for the mailman.  And I have no need to do
anything with a UPC except copy it from a catalog and send it to my
vendor.

But I imagine Nordstrom's Dave Welsh is real concerned with UPCs and NRF
size and color codes. And I would bet that Nordstrom deals with someone
like QRS and pays them money for the codes!!! And not only that - they
probably insist that their suppliers (mostly SMEs) use these very same
codes.

William J. Kammerer
FORESIGHT Corp.
4950 Blazer Pkwy.
Dublin, OH USA 43017-3305
+1 614 791-1600

Visit FORESIGHT Corp. at http://www.foresightcorp.com/
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