CA3194616A1 - System and method for generating and selling licensed merchandise - Google Patents

Abstract

A non-transitory, computer readable medium stores instructions executable by a processor of a server to a) store a database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise. identification information of a registered artist can be entered to permit completion of a license agreement previously signed by the registered designer. Digital computer files that represent the design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise can be uploaded into the database. An image of the uploaded article is shown on a computer screen. An article of unfinished merchandise can be selected. The size and location of the design on the selected article of unfinished merchandise can be determined and reviewed, and accepted or rejected. The submitted design can be reviewed and either accepted or rejected by the artist or by the computer system based on predetermined criteria.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING AND SELLING LICENSED
MERCHANDISE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to systems and methods for generating and selling licensed merchandise, and more particularly to systems and methods for generating and selling licensed merchandise for artists, such as music artists, and designers of artwork, are properly compensated for licensed works.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Many e-commerce sites exist on the Internet that sell unlicensed merchandise with songs written and performed by music artists, images of or related to the music artists in digital form and on merchandise. accordingly, typically, sale of such merchandise is in contravention of copyright law.

[0003] Artistic designers often generate unauthorized artistic designs of known music artists, and do not have a licensing deal with the music artists and do not pay the music artists any royalties.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[0004] Artists, such as music artists, do not have control over licensing of unauthorized merchandise having their copyrighted designs thereon, which the music artists rely on for deserved sales volumes.

[0005] The most relevant known prior art document will now be discussed.

[0006] One of the most relevant known prior art documents is Indian patent document IN201941017459A published October 5, 2019, to Chandrasen, and entitled Networking and Marketing Application For Independent Music Professional Entities And Consumers. This document relates to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the music industry, designed to empower every individual and entity connected to the music and performance industry across the globe to operate independently, to be able to directly reach out to and make their products & services available to their customers, fans and to the public, and actively integrate the audience into the cycle of creation, promotion and consumption greatly reducing the time, effort and costs of production, promotion while adding much value to the consumer. Designed to address issues related to artist revenues, that points to a large disconnect between different streams in the industry, it includes all possible entities related to the music industry and its consumers in its core functionality, to create and increase opportunities for all kinds of talent in the music and performance industry in one place.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[0007] Another one of the most relevant known prior art documents is United States Patent No. 8,417,585 B2, issued April 9, 2013, to Durham III et al., and entitled Search Methods For Creating Designs For Merchandise. This document discloses systems and methods for creating designs that can be imprinted on articles of merchandise. A wide range of designs may be selected by purchasers of customized merchandise, for one-off production or for production small or large quantity, without significantly compromising cost and speed of production. An online platform for selecting and combining designs in order to create customized merchandise that can be automatically manufactured. Searches of large design databases comprising uniquely identified design elements are enabled. The design elements can include one or more of fonts, colors, themes, shapes and images. Results of the searches can be selectively incorporated in customizable designs and can be embodied in merchandise.

[0008] Another one of the most relevant known prior art documents is United States Published Patent Application No. U520060265331 Al, published November 23, 2006, to Hughes et al., and entitled System And Method For Marketing Product.
This document discloses a network technique for distribution of proprietary products is disclosed. The technique includes a direct distribution marketing component whereby all participants in the network can participate as creators, distributors, or end users and share in revenue streams.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[0009] Another one of the most relevant known prior art documents is United States Published Patent Application No. US20130103596 Al, published April 25, 2013, to Hayes et al., and entitled Denominated Authenticating Royalty Collection and Enforcement Process. This document discloses a denominated authenticating royalty collection and enforcement system and process. The invention includes a data generation process including creation and assignment of a plurality of product category values. A process is provided to manufacture anti-fraud tags for merchandise.
One or more merchandise vendors for the merchandise are licensed under the process.
Royalties are collected from the licensed merchandise vendors. The process includes the steps of supplying secure tags and authenticating the supply of the secure tags.
Additionally, a procedure is provided for the public, licensees, licensor and others to visually authenticate that an appropriate royalty has been paid for a particular product or products.

[00010] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for generating and selling licensed merchandise.

[00011] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for generating and selling licensed merchandise on-demand.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00012] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for generating and selling licensed merchandise and for music artists to grow and engage their community of fans.

[00013] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for generating and selling licensed merchandise by providing a legitimate platform.

[00014] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for generating and selling licensed merchandise wherein artists, such as music artists, reserve full control over licensing.

[00015] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for permitting review of a finished merchandise mockup that has been generated by a server and displayed by a computer screen.

[00016] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for permitting acceptance or rejection of a finished merchandise mockup.

[00017] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for permitting entry of identification information so that a registered artist can be connected to a licensing agreement previously signed by a registered designer.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00018] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for permitting review of the submitted design by the identified artist.

[00019] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for receiving acceptance or rejection of a submitted design by an identified artist.

[00020] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for reviewing a digital computer file that represents a submitted design, and determining acceptance or rejection of the submitted design based on predetermined criteria.

[00021] Other objects, advantages, features, and characteristics of the present invention, as well as methods of operation and functions of the related elements of the structure, and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, the latter of which is briefly described herein below.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[00022] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel method of producing merchandise. The method comprises the steps of:

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 providing a computer system having (a) a database of files representing licensed designs for merchandise, and (b) software that permits management and searching of the database of files representing the licensed designs for merchandise;
receiving instructions regarding the licensed designs in the database; determining search parameters based on the instructions terms; using the search parameters to search the database and thereby produce a search match result; retrieving from the database, according to the search match result, a digital file representing the licensed design for subsequent use in creating a merchandise product; transmitting the digital file to a computer system associated with a merchandise production system; and, producing at least one physical merchandise product based on the database file.

[00023] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel non-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a server to: provide a portal for the uploading of designs and related data files into a computer system; receive the designs and related data files into the computer system; analyze the related data files with respect to a set of criteria to produce at least one storage parameter; and, store the designs in the database based on the at least one storage parameter.

[00024] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel non-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a server to: (a) store at least one database of files representing: registered Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 designers; licensable designs created by the registered designers; licensed designs created by the registered designers; registered music artists; (b) manage the licensable designs including: receiving the licensable designs created by the registered designers;
presenting the licensable designs to the registered music artists; receiving searches of the licensable designs by the registered music artists; transacting a license agreement for one of the licensable designs between one of the registered designers and one of the registered music artists; storing the transacted license agreement on the database in association with the licensed design; informing the registered designer and the registered music artist of the transacted license agreement.

[00025]
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel non-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a server to: (a) act as a tagging system by: receiving user information and generating related tags; receiving information related to a design and generating related tags; creating a listing of the designs for sale on the marketplace;
collecting tags and associated information; storing tags and associated information on a database;
and, subsequently using the tags for searching for listings in the marketplace, reviewing license request, choosing and flagging filters in auto licensing software, determining royalty distribution so funds are properly allocated, and creating ads and ad campaigns for listings.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00026] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel method of submitting created designs to be used in the production of finished merchandise. The method comprises the steps of a) signing into a computer system programmed to have (i) a database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise, and (ii) software that permits management and searching of the database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; b) uploading into the database a digital computer file that represents the design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; c) accessing a computer screen that shows images of articles of unfinished merchandise that are available to receive the created designs thereon to become the finished merchandise; d) selecting at least one article of unfinished merchandise that may subsequently receive the image thereon; e) determining the size and location of the design on the selected article of unfinished merchandise;
f) reviewing a finished merchandise mockup that has been generated by the server and displayed by the computer screen; g) accepting or rejecting the finished merchandise mockup; and h) repeating steps b) through g) until the desired finished merchandise mockups have been accepted.

[00027] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel method of submitting created designs to be used in the production of finished merchandise. The method comprises the steps of a) signing into a computer system programmed to have (i) a database of files representing the created designs to be used Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 in the production of the finished merchandise, and (ii) software that permits management and searching of the database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; b) entering artist selection information so that a registered artist can be connected to a license agreement previously signed by the registered designer; c) uploading into the database a digital computer file that represents the design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; d) accessing a computer screen that shows images of articles of unfinished merchandise that are available to receive the created designs thereon to become the finished merchandise; e) selecting at least one article of unfinished merchandise that may subsequently receive the image thereon; f) reviewing a finished merchandise mockup that has been generated and displayed by the computer screen;
g) accepting or rejecting the finished merchandise mockup; and h) repeating steps b) through g) until the desired finished merchandise mockups have been accepted.

[00028]
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel method of submitting created designs to be used in the production of finished merchandise. The method comprises the steps of a) signing into a computer system programmed to have (i) a database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise, (ii) software that permits management and searching of the database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise, (iii) a database representing registered designers, and (iv) a database representing registered artists; b) entering sign-in Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 information regarding a submitting designer whose information is in the database; c) uploading a digital computer file that represents a submitted design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; d) entering artist selection information; e) reviewing the submitted design; f) accepting or rejecting the submitted design; and g) creating a license agreement based on acceptance by the identified artist, wherein the license agreement sets forth the identified artist, the submitting designer and the submitted design.

[00029]
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel method of submitting created designs to be used in the production of finished merchandise. The method comprises the steps of a) signing into a computer system programmed to have (i) a database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise, (ii) software that permits management and searching of the database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise, (iii) a database representing registered designers, and (iv) a database representing registered artists; b) entering sign-in information regarding a submitting designer whose information is in the database; c) uploading a digital computer file that represents a submitted design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; d) entering artist identification information; e) reviewing the submitted design; f) accepting or rejecting the submitted design; g) determine acceptance or rejection of the submitted design based on predetermined criteria; and i) creating a license agreement based on acceptance of the submitted Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 design based on predetermined criteria, wherein the license agreement sets forth the identified artist, the submitting designer and the submitted design.

[00030] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel non-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a server to: a) store a database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; b) receive a digital computer file that represents a submitted design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; c) permit access to a computer screen that shows images of articles of unfinished merchandise that are available to receive the created designs thereon to become the finished merchandise; d) permit selection of at least one article of unfinished merchandise that may subsequently receive the image thereon; e) permit determination of the size and location of the design on the selected article of unfinished merchandise; f) permit review of a finished merchandise mockup that has been generated by the server and displayed by the computer screen; g) permit acceptance or rejection of the finished merchandise mockup; and h) repeating steps b) through g) until the desired finished merchandise mockups have been accepted.

[00031] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel non-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a server to: a) store a database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; b) receive artist selection Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 information so that a registered artist can be connected to a license agreement previously signed by the registered designer; c) receive a digital computer file that represents a submitted design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise;
d) permit access to a computer screen that shows images of articles of unfinished merchandise that are available to receive the created designs thereon to become the finished merchandise; e) permit selection of at least one article of unfinished merchandise that may subsequently receive the image thereon; f) permit review of a finished merchandise mockup that has been generated and displayed by the computer screen; g) permit acceptance or rejection of the finished merchandise mockup;
and h) repeating steps b) through g) until the desired finished merchandise mockups have been accepted.

[00032]
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel non-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a server to: a) store a database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of finished merchandise; b) store a database representing registered designers; c) store a database representing registered artists; d) receive identification information from a submitting designer whose information is in the database; e) receive a digital computer file that represents a submitted design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; f) receive artist identification information; g) permit review of the submitted design by the identified artist; h) receive acceptance or rejection of the submitted design by the identified artist; and i) create a Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 license agreement based on acceptance by the identified artist, wherein the license agreement sets forth the identified artist, the submitting designer and the submitted design.

[00033]
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a novel non-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a server to: a) store a database of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of finished merchandise; b) store a database representing registered designers; c) store a database representing registered artists; d) receive identification information from a submitting designer whose information is in the database; e) receive a digital computer file that represents a submitted design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise; f) receive artist identification information; g) review the digital computer file that represents the submitted design; h) determine acceptance or rejection of the submitted design based on predetermined criteria; and i) create a license agreement based on acceptance of the submitted design based on predetermined criteria, wherein the license agreement sets forth the identified artist, the submitting designer and the submitted design.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00034] The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the apparatus according to the present invention, as to its structure, organization, use and method of operation, together with further objectives and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following drawings in which a presently known embodiment of the invention will now be illustrated by way of example. It is expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. In the accompanying drawings:

[00035] Figure 1 is a flow chart of the system and method according to the present invention, specifically showing various aspects of merchandise ordering and production;

[00036] Figure 2 is a flow chart of the system and method according to the present invention, specifically showing additional aspects of merchandise ordering and production;

[00037] Figure 3 is a flow chart of the system and method according to the present invention, specifically showing various aspects of automatic uploading of designs;

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00038] Figure 4 is a flow chart of the system and method according to the present invention, specifically showing various aspects of presenting designs to music artists for approval;

[00039] Figure 5 is a flow chart of the system and method according to the present invention, specifically showing various aspects of the tagging system;

[00040] Figure 6 is a flow chart of the system and method according to the present invention,;

[00041] Figure 7 is a flow chart of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00042] Figure 8 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00043] Figure 9 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00044] Figure 10 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00045]

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00046] Figure 11 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00047]

[00048] Figure 12 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00049] Figure 13 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00050] Figure 14 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00051] Figure 15 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00052] Figure 16 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00053] Figure 17 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00054] Figure 18 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention;

[00055] Figure 19 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention; and,

[00056] Figure 20 is a screenshot of the system and method according to the present invention.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS AND ELEMENTS
100 method 102 merchandise 110 computer system 120 database of files 122 portal 130 software 140 box for uploading of designs 142 receive the designs 144 analyze the designs 148 royalty payments stored Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 150 instructions to purchase the merchandise 152 receive instructions regarding the licensed designs 154 determine search parameters based on the instructions terms 156 search parameters are used to search the database 158 retrieve according to the search match result, a digital file representing the licensed design 160 royalty payment amounts calculated (Box 160) 170 computer system associated with a merchandise production system 180 registered music artists can review licensing requests from designers 182 registered music artists and registered designers can review sales, earnings and analytics 184 review and customize merchandise store page layouts and information 186 review generated ads and manage their campaigns 200 non-transitory, computer readable medium 210s 210 computer system 212 portal 220 designs and related data files are received into the computer system 222 designs and related data files are received into the computer system 224 related data files are analyzed 226 at least one storage parameter 230 designs are also categorized 232 graphic representation of the designs may be made available Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 234 remote computer 236 royalty payment percentages for the contributor of the design 238 database information related to the relevant artist 300 non-transitory, computer readable medium 310 computer system 320 database of files representing at least, registered designers 322 licensable designs 324 licensed designs 326 registered designers, and registered music artists 330 receiving the licensable designs 332 presenting the licensable designs to the registered music artists 334 registered music artists can approve or deny licensing request 336 receive searches 340 transacted license agreement 400 non-transitory, computer readable medium 410 computer system 420 receiving user information and generating related tags 422 receiving information related to a design and generating related tags 424 creating a listing of the designs for sale on the marketplace 426 collecting tags and associated information 428 storing tags and associated information on a database 430 creating ads and ad campaigns for listings Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 500 computer readable medium 502 processor 504 server 505 software that permits management and searching of the database of files 506 database 507 finished merchandise 507a design(s) 507m setting the margin on a product 508a registered designer 508b signed-in registered designer 509a registered artist 509b selected registered artist 510 computer system 511 portal(s) 512 database representing registered designers 514 designer identification information is received 514a designer identification information 516 database representing registered artists 518 artist identification information is received 518a artist identification information 519 artist selection information 520 database of files representing the created designs Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 521 uploading of created design 522 digital computer file 523 submitted design 524 computer screen 525 analysis for various features 526 unfinished merchandise 526a images of articles of unfinished merchandise 526b finished merchandise mockup 526c comments 527 review of a finished merchandise mockup 528 license agreement 530 registered designer signing into a computer system 532 selection of at least one article of unfinished merchandise 534 registered designer selects a registered artist 536 submitted design by the selected artist 538 license agreement created 540 uploading into the database 542 accessing a computer screen 544 selecting at least one article of unfinished merchandise 546 determining the size and location of the design 550 accepting or rejecting the finished merchandise mockup 552 submitted design may also be analyzed for various features Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 554 tags 556 entering artist selection information 558 entering sign-in information regarding a submitting designer 560 customer(s) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT

[00057] One of the main features of the present system according to the present invention is that copyright owners are paid their due royalties. The copyright owners maybe music artists that have copyrights associated with songs or images.
Also, the copyright owners may be designers who have copyright associated with images that they have created. The designs created by designers might have something to do with the music artists registered in the computer database. In other words, a designer might do a drawing of a music artist and present the design to the music artist, through the present system, in an attempt to make a royalty deal, as will be discussed in greater detail subsequently. Alternatively, designs created by the designers maybe completely freelance designs that have nothing to do with the music artists in the database and no legal connection what else, in which case the designers are the only ones who would receive royalties from the sales of merchandise with these designs thereon.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00058] Reference will now be made to Figures 1 and 2, which show a method 100 of producing merchandise 102. The method 100 of producing merchandise 102 comprises the following steps.

[00059] A computer system 110 is provided that has (a) a database of files representing licensed designs for merchandise. These designs are created by designers, who typically owned the copyright, and are subsequently participle on various types of merchandise, including plaques, shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, hats, and so on. The products for sale are typically categorized by type of product.

[00060] The computer system also has (b) software 130 that permits management and searching of the database of files 120 representing the licensed designs for merchandise. A portal 122 is provided for the uploading of designs in the computer system, as indicated by box 140. The next steps are to receive the designs (box 142), to analyze the designs (box 144) and store the designs in the database.
Royalty allocation amounts in terms of amounts due to music artists and due to designers for each type of merchandise and each specific design are stored in the database 148.

[00061] One fundamental purpose of the present invention is merchandise sales.
In order to purchase merchandise, a user, who may be registered in the database, but does not need to be registered in the database, may sign into the system and provide instructions to search the system for one or more desired designs, and one or more Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 items of desired merchandise, and then provide instructions (box 150) to purchase the merchandise 102 with the design(s) 104 thereon. At that point, the user becomes a potential purchaser. Accordingly, the software of the computer system is programmed to receive instructions (box 152) regarding the licensed designs in the database. The instructions might comprise a purchase instruction, including payment information.

[00062] Once the instructions have been received, the software in the computer system can determine search parameters (box 154) based on the instructions terms.
The search parameters are used (box 156) to search the database and thereby produce a search match result, or in other words find and identify the desired merchandise and desired design(s).

[00063] The computer system is also programmed to retrieve (box 158) from the database, according to the search match result, a digital file representing the licensed design for subsequent use in creating a merchandise product. The digital file may be transmitted to the potential purchaser for verification and transaction.

[00064] Once the purchase is transacted, the digital file and related information may be transmitted to a computer system 170 associated with a merchandise production system so that at least one physical merchandise product 102 based on the database file can be produced. The production of at least one physical merchandise product based on the database file can then be done.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00065] Once the specific merchandise is produced and shipped, the appropriate royalty payment amounts can be calculated (Box 160) based on the sale of the products. Further, the computer system can initiate royalty payments to the listed parties based on the royalty payment amounts.

[00066] As can be seen in Figure 2, a registered designer can do many things including upload designs (box 140). Further, registered music artists can review licensing requests from designers (box 180). Registered music artists and registered designers can review sales, earnings and analytics (box 182), can review and customize merchandise store page layouts and information (box 184), and review generated ads and manage their campaigns (box 186).

[00067] Reference will now be made to Figure 3, which shows how users are able to upload any design and automatically have it listed and available to purchase various types of merchandise including an assortment of print-on-demand products, such as plaques, shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, hats, and so on.

[00068] The present invention provides a non-transitory, computer readable medium 200 storing instructions executable by a processor of a server in a computer system 210 to do the steps discussed below.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00069] A portal 212 is provided for the uploading of designs and related data files (box 220) into a computer system 210. The designs and related data files are received into the computer system 210 (box 222). The related data files are analyzed (box 224) with respect to a set of criteria to produce at least one storage parameter 226. The designs are stored in the database (box 228) based on the at least one storage parameter 226. The designs are also categorized by type of product that can be produced and by artist, genre of design, and the like (box 230). A graphic representation of the designs may be made available (box 232) for display on a remote computer 234. Royalty payment percentages for the contributor of the design can be calculated (box 236) and the royalty payment percentages can be linked to database information related to the relevant artist (box 238).

[00070] Reference will now be made to Figure 4, which shows how designers are able to present designs to music artists for approval.

[00071] The present invention provides a non-transitory, computer readable medium 300 storing instructions executable by a processor of a server in a computer system 310 to do the steps discussed below.

[00072] The computer system 310 is programmed to store database of files representing at least, registered designers 320, licensable designs 322 created by the Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 registered designers 320, licensed designs 324 created by the registered designers, and registered music artists 326.

[00073] The computer system 310 is also programmed to manage the licensable designs, for subsequently turning the licensable designs into licensed designs, including receiving the licensable designs (box 330) created by the registered designers and presenting the licensable designs to the registered music artists (box 332).
The registered music artists can (boxes 334) approve or deny licensing requests, can message the registered designers, can collaborate with the registered designers, and can request revisions from the registered designers, all via the computer system 310.

[00074] In the event that the registered designer and the registered music artist are one and the same, the transacted license agreement is automatically generated.

[00075] The computer system 310 is also programmed to receive searches (box 336) of the licensable designs by the registered music artists, so that registered music artists can find the most suitable licensable designs and negotiate and transact a license agreement for one of the licensable designs. The license agreement would be between one of the registered designers and one of the registered music artists. The registered music artists can also request original design work from the registered designers.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00076] Once the license agreement is transacted, the transacted license agreement 340 is stored on the database in association with the licensed design. The computer system 310 can then inform the registered designer and the registered music artist of the transacted license agreement. Subsequently to a design being licensed and stored in the computer system 310, the licensed design on the database can be presented for inclusion on a physical product for sale.

[00077] In another aspect of the present invention, as seen in Figure 5, there is a non-transitory, computer readable medium 400 storing instructions executable by a processor of a server that is part of the computer system 410, to act as a tagging system by:
= receiving user information and generating related tags (box 420);
= receiving information related to a design and generating related tags (box 422);
= creating a listing of the designs for sale on the marketplace (box 424);
= collecting tags and associated information (box 426);
= storing tags and associated information on a database (box 428); and, = subsequently using the tags for searching for listings in the marketplace, reviewing license request, choosing and flagging filters in auto licensing software, determining royalty distribution so funds are properly allocated, and creating ads and ad campaigns for listings (box 430).

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00078] Reference will now be made to Figures 6 through 20 to illustrate a further aspect of the present invention. In brief, the present invention is used to receive and store designs by designers registered in a computer system 510, permit selection of the designs with artists registered in the computer system 510, permit acceptance by the selected artists of the designs, generate and present finished merchandise mockups 526b of finished merchandise 507 for subsequent sale by the computer system via the internet 508. A portal 511 is provided for the many activities of the various designers, as indicated by labelled box 519, 521, 530, 532, 534, 540, 542, 544, 546, 550, 552, 556, and 558, artists 509a, and customers 560.

[00079] In another aspect, the present invention comprises a non-transitory, computer readable medium 500 storing instructions executable by a processor 502 of a server 504 to do the following as described below. The various data and information and the like that are received and/or used and/or processed and/or stored, and so on, by the present invention may be stored on the aforesaid non-transitory, computer readable medium 500 and/or may be stored on another suitable storage medium.
The server, the processor, and the non-transitory, computer readable medium 500 may be considered to be part of an overall computer system 510.

[00080] A database (box 512) representing registered designers is stored on the aforesaid non-transitory, computer readable medium 500 and/or may be stored on another suitable storage medium. Designer identification information is received (box Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 514) from the submitting designers and is stored in the database 506. The designer identification information 514a may be entered into a computer input screen such as that shown in Figure 8. This represents the initial sign-up procedure for designers, so that they may become registered designers 508 within the computer system 510.
Part of the designer identification information comprises designer sign-in information (also known as log-in information), which would typically be a username and a password.
The designer sign-in information is entered by and received from a registered designer 508a whose information is stored in the computer system each time the registered designer 508a wants to access the computer system and perhaps submit a design, check on royalty payments, view registered artists, view license agreements, and so on.

[00081]
Also, a database (box 516) representing registered artists is stored.
Figure 9 shows artist identification information 518a saved in the database representing registered artists 516. This information can also be edited (see Figure 16).
The artist identification information is received (arrow 518) from the artists as they sign up to become registered artists 509a, and is stored in the database 510. This represents the initial sign-up procedure for artists, so that they may become registered artists 509a within the computer system 510. The artist sign-in information is entered by and received from a registered artist 509a whose information is stored in the computer system 510 each time the registered artist 509a wants to access the computer system 510 and perhaps verify a submitted design 523 that has being submitted by the Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 registered designer 508a, check on royalty payments, view registered artists or registered designers, view license agreements, and so on.

[00082] A database (box 520) of files representing the created designs are stored to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507. A digital computer file 522 that represents a design maybe uploaded (box 521) by the registered designer 508a (see Figure 11), who is signed in, and therefore is received by the server 504 so as to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507. The digital computer file 522 then represents a submitted design 523.

[00083] After a registered designer 508a has signed in, access by the designer of the submitted design 523 is permitted to a computer screen 524 that shows images 526a of articles of unfinished merchandise 507u (see Figure 6). The unfinished merchandise 526 is available to receive the created designs thereon to become the finished merchandise 507, or in other words design product (see box 523A in Figure 7).
Selection (box 532) of at least one article of unfinished merchandise 526 that may subsequently receive the image thereon is permitted (also see box 532 in Figure 7) by clicking on an appropriate,nd box or the like on the computer screen 524. The submitted design 523 may also be analyzed (box 525) for various features. The analysis 525 may include determination of the size and location of the design on the selected 526a image of an article of unfinished merchandise 507u is permitted by moving the design and resizing the design using a computer mouse, or a touch screen, Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 or any other suitable means (see Figures 12, 13 and 14). The size and location of the design on the selected 526a image of an article of unfinished merchandise 507u are represented by parameters including the image of the product template, image of the uploaded design, pixel percentage spacing from the top to bottom of the uploaded design, the pixel percentage spacing from left to right of the uploaded design, and the angle of the image is oriented at. Review (box 527) of a finished merchandise mockup 526b that has been generated by the server and displayed by the computer screen 524 (Figure 13 and Figure 14) is permitted by the registered designer 508a and the selected artist(s) 509b. The finished merchandise mockup 526b is also saved (see box 526s) in the server 504.

[00084]
The registered designer 508a may also select (box 534) a registered artist from the database 516 representing registered artists. Once the registered artist is selected, the finished merchandise mockup 526b can be matched to the registered artist 509a.

[00085]
In order to complete the task of preparing a finished merchandise mockup 526b of finished merchandise 507 for subsequent sale by the computer system, a finished merchandise mockup 526b is displayed on the computer screen 524 and acceptance or rejection of the finished merchandise mockup 526b by the registered designer 508a is permitted by clicking on an appropriate,nd (box 536) or the like on the computer screen 524.
Typically, the acceptance or rejection of the finished Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 merchandise mockup 526b by the registered designer 508a is performed by the registered designer 526 of the created design at the time of uploading (see box 521 in Figures 6 and 7) the digital computer file 522 that represents the design, such that it is received into the database 520. Also typically, the acceptance or rejection of the finished merchandise mockup 526b by the designer is performed by the selected registered artist 509b in the database subsequent to the time of uploading into the database 520 the digital computer file 522 that represents the design.

[00086] The analysis 525 of the design may also include checking for unacceptable content such as profanity, nudity, violence, and so on.

[00087] The submitted design 523 may also be categorized (box 536). The categorization may include the discernment of attributes or characteristics of the design such as music genre, whether there are pictures, whether there are drawings or other representations, whether there are words or characters or numbers, and so on.

[00088] The above discussed steps are repeating until the desired finished merchandise mockups 526b have been accepted.

[00089]

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 As can be readily seen in Figure 15, registered artists 509a can provide feedback to the register designers 508a regarding their designs by viewing the finished merchandise mockups 526b and leaving comments 526c.

[00090] In the illustrated embodiments, the digital computer file that represents the design is tagged. The tags 554 may include information about the registered artist, information about the registered designer, information about the genre of the design, and information about the theme of the design.

[00091] The present invention also permits review (box 536) of the submitted design 523 by the selected artist 509b. The server 504 can receive acceptance or rejection of the submitted design 523 by the selected artist. There is also the possible sub-step of receiving a request for alteration from the selected artist. If the submitted design 523 is accepted by the selected artist, a license agreement 528 can be created (box 538) based on the acceptance by the selected artist. The license agreement 528 sets forth the selected artist, the submitting designer and the submitted design 523.
The license agreement 528 may be made available on the server 504 to the registered artist 509a and the registered designer 509b or may be forwarded to the registered artist 509a and the registered designer 508a.

[00092] The digital computer file 522 that represents the submitted design may also be reviewed and accepted or rejected by the computer system 510. The Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 acceptance or rejection of the submitted design 523 may be determined based on predetermined criteria. This step may be performed automatically. A license agreement 528 may be created based on acceptance of the submitted design 523 based on predetermined criteria. The license agreement 528 may set forth the selected artist, the submitting designer and the submitted design 523.

[00093] In order that the registered designers 508 and the registered artists 509a are each properly compensated according to any license agreement, the royalty payments due are determined (box 538) and also stored on the server 504. In one embodiment, it is contemplated that the royalty split this set at 80/20 (80%
for the registered artist 509a and 20% for the registered designer 508). This royalty split can also be used as a basis to work from, and the registered artist 509a can also revise the royalty split, and also choose the margin / price of each article of finished merchandise 507 by setting the margin on a product (arrow 507m in Figure 14).

[00094] In another aspect, the present invention comprises a method of submitting created designs to be used in the production of finished merchandise 507. The method comprising the steps of:
a) a registered designer 508a signing into (box 530) a computer system 510 programmed to have (i) a database 520 of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507, and (ii) software 505 that permits management and searching of the database of files representing the created Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507;
b) the signed-in registered designer 508b uploading (box 540) into the database 520 a digital computer 522 file that represents the design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507;
c) the signed-in registered designer 508b accessing (box 542) a computer screen 524 that shows images of articles of unfinished merchandise 526 that are available to receive the created registered designs thereon to become the finished merchandise 507;
d) the signed-in registered designer 508b selecting (box 544) at least one article of unfinished merchandise 526 that may subsequently receive the image thereon;
e) the signed-in registered designer 508b determining (box 546) the size and location of the design on the selected article of unfinished merchandise 507u;
f) the signed-in registered designer 508b reviewing (box 527) a finished merchandise mockup 526b that has been generated by the server 504 and displayed by the computer screen 524; and, 9) the signed-in registered designer 508b or the selected registered artist 509b or the computer system itself accepting or rejecting (box 550) the finished merchandise mockup 526b.

[00095] Steps b) through g) immediately above would be repeated until the desired finished merchandise mockups 526 have been accepted.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00096] The submitted design 523 may also be analyzed (box 552) for various features. The analysis may include determination of the size and location of the design on the selected article of unfinished merchandise 507u is permitted by moving the design and resizing the design using a computer mouse, or a touch screen, or any other suitable means. The size and location of the design on the selected article of unfinished merchandise 507u are represented by parameters including the image of the product template, image of the uploaded design, pixel percentage spacing from the top to bottom of the uploaded design, the pixel percentage spacing from left to right of the uploaded design, and the angle of the image is oriented at. Review of a finished merchandise mockup 526b that has been generated by the server 504 and displayed by the computer screen 524 is permitted by the signed-in registered designer 508b and the selected registered artist(s) 509b.

[00097] As set forth above, in order that the registered designers 508 and the registered artists 509a are each properly compensated according to any license agreement, the royalty payments due are determined and also stored on the server. In one embodiment, it is contemplated that the royalty split this set at 80/20 (80% for the registered artist 509a and 20% for the registered designer 508a). This royalty split can also be used as a basis to work from, and the registered artist can also revise the royalty split, and also choose the margin / price of each article of finished merchandise 507.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

[00098] The step g) accepting or rejecting (box 550) the finished merchandise mockup 526b, may be performed by the signed-in registered designer 508b at the time of uploading (box 550) into the database 520 the digital computer file 522 that represents the design, or may be performed by a registered artist 509a in the database subsequent to the time of uploading (box 550) into the database the digital computer file 522 that represents the design.

[00099] The size and location of the design on the selected article of unfinished merchandise 507u may be represented by parameters including the image of the product template, image of the uploaded design, pixel percentage spacing from the top to bottom of the uploaded design, the pixel percentage spacing from left to right of the uploaded design, and the angle of the image is oriented at. The digital computer file 522 that represents the design may be tagged. The tags 554 may include information about the registered artist, information about the registered designer 508a, information about the genre of the design, and information about the theme of the design.

[000100] In order that the registered designers 508 and the registered artists 509a are each properly compensated according to any license agreement 528, the royalty payments due are determined and also stored on the server 504. In one embodiment, it is contemplated that the royalty split this set at 80/20 (80% for the registered artist and 20% for the registered designer 508). This royalty split can also be used as a basis to Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 work from, and the registered artist can also revise the royalty split, and also choose the margin / price of each article of finished merchandise 507.

[000101] In another aspect, the present invention comprises submitting created designs to be used in the production of finished merchandise 507, the method comprising the steps of:
a) a registered designer 508a signing into (box 530) a computer system 510 programmed to have (i) a database 520 of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507, and (ii) software 505 that permits management and searching of the database 520 of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507;
b) the signed-in registered designer 508b entering (box 556) artist selection information 519 so that a registered artist can be connected to a license agreement 528 previously signed by the signed-in registered designer 508b;
c) the signed-in registered designer 508b uploading into the database a digital computer file that represents the design to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507;
d) the signed-in registered designer 508b accessing a computer screen 524 that shows images of articles of unfinished merchandise 526 that are available to receive the created designs thereon to become the finished merchandise 507;
e) the signed-in registered designer 508b selecting at least one article of unfinished merchandise 507u that may subsequently receive the image thereon;

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 f) the signed-in registered designer 508b reviewing a finished merchandise mockup 526b that has been generated and displayed by the computer screen 524;
and, 9) the signed-in registered designer 508b or a registered artist 509 or the computer system 510 itself accepting or rejecting the finished merchandise mockup 526b.

[000102] Steps b) through g) immediately above would be repeated until the desired finished merchandise mockups 526 have been accepted.

[000103] In another aspect, the present invention comprises a method of submitting created designs to be used in the production of finished merchandise 507, the method comprising the steps of:
a) a registered designer 508a signing into (box 530) a computer system 510 programmed to have (i) a database 520 of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507, (ii) software 505 that permits management and searching of the database 520 of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507, (iii) a database 512 representing registered designers, and (iv) a database 516 representing registered artists;
b) the signed in registered designer 508a entering (box 558) sign-in information regarding a submitting designer 508b whose information is in the database 512 representing registered designers;

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 C) the signed-in registered designer 508b uploading (box 540) a digital computer file that represents a submitted design 523 to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507;
d) the signed in registered designer 508a entering (box 556) artist selection information 519 so that a registered artist 509a can be connected to a license agreement 528 previously signed by the registered designer 508a;
e) the signed-in registered designer 508b or the selected registered artist 509b or the computer system 510 itself reviewing the submitted design 523, possibly as part of the finished merchandise mockup 526b:
f) the signed-in registered designer 508b or the selected registered artist 509b or the computer system 510 itself accepting or rejecting (box 550) the finished merchandise mockup 526b; and, g) creating a license agreement 528 based on acceptance by the selected artist 509b, wherein the license agreement 528 sets forth the selected artist, the submitting designer and the submitted design 523.

[000104] The present invention may also include the possible sub-step (box 562) of receiving a request for alteration from the selected artist.

[000105] In another aspect, the present invention comprises a method of submitting created designs to be used in the production of finished merchandise 507, the method comprising the steps of:

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 a) a registered designer 508a signing into (box 530) a computer system 510 programmed to have (i) a database 520 of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507, (ii) software 505 that permits management and searching of the database 520 of files representing the created designs to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507, (iii) a database 512 representing registered designers, and (iv) a database 516 representing registered artists;
b) the signed in registered designer 508a entering (box 558) sign-in information regarding a submitting designer 508b whose information is in the database 512 representing registered designers;
c) the signed-in registered designer 508b uploading (box 540) a digital computer file that represents a submitted design 523 to be used in the production of the finished merchandise 507;
d) the signed-in registered designer 508b entering (box 556) artist selection information 519 so that a registered artist 508b can be connected to a license agreement 528 previously signed by the registered designer 508a;
e) the signed-in registered designer 508b or the selected registered artist 509b or the computer system 510 itself reviewing the submitted design 523, possibly as part of the finished merchandise mockup 526b:
f) the signed-in registered designer 508b or the selected registered artist 509b or the computer system 510 itself accepting or rejecting the submitted design 523, wherein the acceptance or rejection of the submitted design 523 may be based on Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 predetermined criteria; and, g) creating a license agreement 528 based on acceptance of the submitted design 523 based on predetermined criteria.

[000106] The license agreement 528 sets forth the selected artist, the submitting designer and the submitted design 523. The step of creating a license agreement 528 may be performed automatically.

[000107] In order to sell finished merchandise 507, a user, who may be registered in the database, but does not need to be registered in the database, may sign into the computer system 510 and provide instructions to search (box 560) the system for one or more desired designs from the database of files representing the created designs (sse figure , and one or more items of desired merchandise, and then provide instructions (box 562) to purchase the merchandise 507 with the design(s) 507a thereon. At that point, the user becomes a potential purchaser. Accordingly, the software of the computer system 510 is programmed to receive instructions (box 564) regarding the licensed designs in the database. The instructions might comprise a purchase instruction, including payment information (arrow 564a on Figure 17).

[000108] Once the instructions have been received, the software in the computer system can determine search parameters (box 566) based on the instructions terms.
The search parameters are used (box 568) to search the database and thereby produce Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 a search match result, or in other words find and identify the desired merchandise and desired design(s).

[000109] The computer system is also programmed to retrieve (box 569) from the database, according to the search match result, a digital file representing the licensed design for subsequent use in creating a merchandise product. The digital file may be transmitted to the potential purchaser for verification and transaction.

[000110] Once the purchase is transacted, the digital computer file 522 and related information may be transmitted to a computer system 570 associated with a merchandise production system so that at least one physical merchandise product 507 based on the digital computer file 522 can be produced. The production of at least one physical merchandise product 507 based on the digital computer file 522 can then be done.

[000111] Once the specific merchandise is produced and shipped (see Figures 18, 19 and 20), the appropriate royalty payment amounts can be calculated (Box 572) based on the sale of the products. Further, the computer system 510 can initiate royalty payments to the listed parties based on the royalty payment amounts.

[000112] Other variations of the above principles will be apparent to those who are knowledgeable in the field of the invention, and such variations are considered to be Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 within the scope of the present invention. Further, other modifications and alterations may be used in the operation of the present invention, without departing from the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims.

[000113] Other variations are within the spirit of the present invention.
Thus, while the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, a certain illustrated embodiment thereof is shown in the drawings and has been described above in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

[000114] The use of the terms "a" and "an" and "the" and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms "comprising", "having", "including", and "containing" are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,") unless otherwise noted. The term "connected" is to be construed as partly or wholly contained within, attached to, or joined together, even if there is something intervening. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30 incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein.
All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., "such as", "for example") provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

[000115]
Illustrated embodiments of this invention are described herein. Variations of those illustrated embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventor expects skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventor intends for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

Date Recite/Date Received 2023-03-30

Claims (19)

CLAIMS:

1. A
non-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a server to:
(a) store at least one database of files representing:
registered designers;
licensable designs created by said registered designers;
licensed designs created by said registered designers;
registered music artists;
(b) manage said licensable designs including:
receiving said licensable designs created by said registered designers;
presenting said licensable designs to said registered music artists;
receiving searches of said licensable designs by said registered music artists;
transacting a license agreement for one of said licensable designs between one of said registered designers and one of said registered music artists;
storing the transacted license agreement on said database in association with said licensed design;
informing said registered designer and said registered music artist of the transacted license agreement.

Date Reçue/Date Received 2023-03-30

2. A non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 1, further comprising presenting said licensed design on said database for inclusion on a physical product for sale.

3. A non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 1, wherein, in the event that said registered designer and said registered music artist are one and the same, said transacted license agreement is automatically generated.

4. A non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said registered music artists can approve or deny licensing requests.

5. A non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said registered music artists can message said registered designers.

6. A non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said registered music artists can collaborate with said registered designers.

7. A non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said registered music artists can request revisions from said registered designers.

8. A non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said registered music artists can request original design work from said registered designers.

Date Reçue/Date Received 2023-03-30

9. A non-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a server to:
a) store a database of files representing said created designs to be used in the production of said finished merchandise;
b) receive a digital computer file that represents a submitted design to be used in the production of said finished merchandise;
c) permit access to a computer screen that shows images of articles of unfinished merchandise that are available to receive said created designs thereon to become said finished merchandise;
d) permit selection of at least one article of unfinished merchandise that may subsequently receive said image thereon;
e) permit determination of the size and location of said design on the selected article of unfinished merchandise;
f) permit review of a finished merchandise mockup that has been generated by said server and displayed by said computer screen;
9) permit acceptance or rejection of said finished merchandise mockup; and, h) repeating steps b) through g) until the desired finished merchandise mockups have been accepted.

10. The non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 9, further comprising the step of:

Date Reçue/Date Received 2023-03-30 analyze the submitted design.

11. The non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 9, further comprising the step of:
categorize the submitted design.

12. The non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 9, further comprising the step of:
determines and store royalty payments.

13. The non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 9, wherein step g) permit acceptance or rejection of said finished merchandise mockup, is performed by the designer at the time of uploading into said database said digital computer file that represents said design.

14. The non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 9, wherein step g) permit acceptance or rejection of said finished merchandise mockup, is performed by an artist registered in said database subsequent to the time of uploading into said database said digital computer file that represents said design.

15. The non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 9, wherein in step e), the size and location of said design on the selected article of unfinished Date Reçue/Date Received 2023-03-30 merchandise are represented by parameters including the image of the product template, image of the uploaded design, pixel percentage spacing from the top to bottom of the uploaded design, the pixel percentage spacing from left to right of the uploaded design, and the angle of the image is oriented at.

16. The non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 9, wherein said digital computer file that represents said design is tagged, and wherein said tags include information about the registered artist, information about the registered designer, information about the genre of the design, and information about the theme of the design.

17. A non-transitory, computer readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor of a server to:
a) store a database of files representing said created designs to be used in the production of said finished merchandise;
b) receive artist selection information so that a registered artist can be connected to a license agreement previously signed by the registered designer;
c) receive a digital computer file that represents a submitted design to be used in the production of said finished merchandise;
d) permit access to a computer screen that shows images of articles of unfinished merchandise that are available to receive said created designs thereon to become said finished merchandise;

Date Reçue/Date Received 2023-03-30 e) permit selection of at least one article of unfinished merchandise that may subsequently receive said image thereon;
f) permit review of a finished merchandise mockup that has been generated and displayed by said computer screen;
9) permit acceptance or rejection of said finished merchandise mockup; and, h) repeating steps b) through g) until the desired finished merchandise mockups have been accepted.

18. The non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 17, wherein step g) permit acceptance or rejection of said finished merchandise mockup, is performed by the designer at the time of uploading into said database said digital computer file that represents said design.

19. The non-transitory, computer readable medium according to claim 17, wherein step g) permit acceptance or rejection of said finished merchandise mockup, is performed by an artist registered in said database subsequent to the time of uploading into said database said digital computer file that represents said design.

Date Reçue/Date Received 2023-03-30