Delhi Court restrains US entity from selling '890' barcodes
GS1 India says the order follows a test purchase and verification that found a barcode sold by the website was registered to a different subscriber.
A Delhi court has restrained US-based Subdivisions Media, which operates www.buyabarcode.in, from selling or reselling 13-digit barcodes beginning with '890' in India. The court has also directed the suspension and blocking of the website.
The District Judge (Commercial Court)-03, South District, Saket Courts, New Delhi, passed an ex-parte ad-interim injunction on August 25, 2026, in the case GS1 India v. Subdivisions Media.
The court restrained the company from representing any affiliation, association or authorisation by GS1 India. It also directed domain registrar GoDaddy.com LLC to block and suspend www.buyabarcode.in and asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to instruct internet service providers to temporarily block access to the website.
The proceedings began after GS1 India identified the website offering 13-digit barcodes beginning with '890' without a licence or authorisation. GS1 India conducted a test purchase of one barcode from the website for Rs. 999.
Verification through GS1 India's 'Verified by GS1' platform showed that the barcode was recorded in the name of a different subscriber. The court took note of GS1 India's submissions regarding unauthorised use of its trademarks and representations that created an impression of affiliation or authorisation.
The court held that GS1 India had established a prima facie case of trademark infringement, passing off and tarnishment, with the balance of convenience in its favour and a likelihood of irreparable loss and injury without interim protection.
The court restrained the defendant and those acting on its behalf from using, selling, offering for sale, issuing or allocating 13-digit '890' barcode numbers in circumstances likely to cause confusion. It also restrained them from representing unauthorised barcodes as 'GS1 compliant' or claiming affiliation, association or authorisation by GS1 India.
Following directions from the Department of Telecommunications, internet service providers were instructed to temporarily block access to www.buyabarcode.in. Access to the website has subsequently been suspended and blocked.
The latest order follows a series of court rulings concerning the allocation and sale of '890' barcodes in India. In February 2026, the Delhi High Court reaffirmed GS1 India's position as the sole authorised body to allocate 13-digit Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) beginning with the '890' country prefix in India.
The High Court's February ruling followed the landmark GS1 India v. Global Barcodes SL & Ors. case, in which the court recognised GS1 India's exclusive rights over 13-digit GTINs beginning with '890' and permanently restrained the defendants from selling, offering for sale, allocating or advertising such barcodes.
The court has subsequently granted similar interim and permanent reliefs in cases involving unauthorised sellers and intermediaries, including directions to block websites involved in unauthorised barcode sales.
GS1 India said it operates under an exclusive licence to allocate GS1 company prefix numbers beginning with '890' in India. It said its certification trademark rights relating to these barcodes have been valid under the Trade Marks Act 1999 since 2004.
The organisation said the latest order follows the 2020 case against Global Barcodes SL and nine interim orders secured during 2024, 2025 and 2026 against unauthorised sellers operating in India and abroad.
The August 2026 order is the first involving a US-based entity and includes directions to a domain registrar and government ministries to block the website, according to GS1 India.
Commenting on the ruling, S. Swaminathan, CEO, GS1 India, said the organisation welcomed the court's recognition of its exclusive right to allocate barcodes beginning with '890'. He said GS1 India's product identification standards support the integrity of supply chains and help businesses and consumers rely on authentic and globally accepted identifiers.
Aditya Gupta, partner at Ira Law, said GS1 India's efforts to protect customers from unauthorised sellers of '890' barcodes had resulted in court recognition across several cases.
GS1 India has urged businesses to verify and source barcodes through the organisation, stating that barcodes obtained from unauthorised providers may not be globally verifiable and could be rejected by trading partners and e-commerce platforms.
