technology, they applied for a patent on October 20, 1949, receiving Classifying Apparatus and Method on October 7, 1952, covering both linear barcode and circular bulls-eye printing designs.

Woodland was employed by IBM in 1951, and although Woodland and Silver wanted IBM to develop the technology, it wasn't commercially feasible, so they sold the patent in 1952 for $15,000 to Philco, which sold it to RCA