Patent ID: 8635146

Claim:
A computer software product that includes a non-transitory storage medium readable by a processor, the non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a set of instructions for performing sports share trading, the set of instructions comprising: (a) a first set of instructions which, when loaded into main memory and executed by the processor, causes the processor to provide a web site accessible to users via the Internet; (b) a second set of instructions which, when loaded into main memory and executed by the processor, causes the processor to display on the web site indicia of athletes for trading in a closed market; (c) a third set of instructions which, when loaded into main memory and executed by the processor, causes the processor to publish on said web site tiers of performance levels of the athletes; (d) a fourth set of instructions which, when loaded into main memory and executed by the processor, causes the processor to assign a predetermined number of shares in each of the athletes, thereby introducing scarcity in the closed market, the shares representing virtual stakes in the careers of the athletes; (e) a fifth set of instructions which, when loaded into main memory and executed by the processor, causes the processor to accept the users' selections from among the indicia to formulate trade orders of up to the predetermined number of shares in the athletes; (f) a sixth set of instructions which, when loaded into main memory and executed by the processor, causes the processor to assign on a one-to-one basis an asset token for each of the shares; (g) a seventh set of instructions which, when loaded into main memory and executed by the processor, causes the processor to formulate the trade orders of the shares in the athletes; (h) an eighth set of instructions which, when loaded into main memory and executed by the processor, causes the processor to post the trade orders on the web site; (i) a ninth set of instructions which, when loaded into main memory and executed by the processor, causes the processor to execute the trade orders on behalf of the users when at least one purchase-side bid price of the trade orders matches at least one sell-side ask price of the trade orders, the prices being determined by scarcity of the shares in combination with buy-sell pressure caused by the users; and (j) a tenth set of instructions which, when loaded into main memory and executed by the processor, causes the processor to maintain detailed accounting records including the asset tokens, the users, and the trade orders, accounts of the users being settled with real money.