Pharmacode — format provenance and usability
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This file records where the Pharmacode symbology comes from, what governs
it, and the basis on which this project implements and redistributes it.

It is an ENGINEERING INVENTORY, NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Items marked [TO VERIFY]
have not been independently confirmed by the author.


ORIGIN
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Devised by Laetus GmbH for pharmaceutical packaging control. [LEGAL
REVIEW] Unusual among linear symbologies: it encodes an integer directly
in a bijective base-2 form rather than digit by digit, and carries no
check digit at all.


SPECIFICATION
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No ISO/IEC standard exists for Pharmacode. It is documented by
Laetus and reproduced in industry literature. [LEGAL REVIEW]

Specification TEXT is copyrighted by its publisher. The SYMBOLOGY it
describes is not — an encoding scheme is a system, not a work of
authorship. This project implements the symbology; it does not reproduce,
redistribute or excerpt any specification document.


PATENT STATUS
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No live patent encumbrance is known; the format dates from the 1970s.
[LEGAL REVIEW]


TRADEMARK
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"Pharmacode" is associated with Laetus GmbH; whether a live trademark
subsists has NOT been confirmed. [LEGAL REVIEW] This is among the least
certain entries in this directory — treat it with corresponding caution.

A trademark does not restrict implementing a symbology. It restricts
branding — how a product names and presents itself.


IMPLEMENTATION BASIS IN THIS PROJECT
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Pharmacode is implemented here from published descriptions of the format,
which are systems and facts rather than works of authorship. No source
code or constant table from any other barcode implementation is copied or
shipped. Public technical material and independent implementations may be
consulted for engineering review or black-box verification; provenance is
recorded in NOTICE.md.


CONCLUSION
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On the basis of the references below, Pharmacode is understood to be freely
implementable and redistributable, and this project's implementation of it
is distributed under the MIT License with no additional restriction.

References relied upon:
  - Laetus published description of Pharmacode [LEGAL REVIEW]

This is an engineering assessment, not legal advice. Items marked
[TO VERIFY] have not been independently confirmed by the author. If your
use is commercially sensitive, obtain your own legal review.