Patent ID: 7376594

Claim:
A method for distributing pictures over a network, whereby a supplier computer, a web shop computer and a customer computer are connected to a network, whereby a supplier makes a plurality of pictures available over the network and enables the purchase via a web shop, the method comprising the following steps: saving digital data representing the pictures of the supplier in a storage device of the supplier computer; assigning at least one hyperlink to the digital data, whereby the said at least one hyperlink is used for initiating an order method for ordering at least one picture and which references or includes information which references the web shop computer and a web-based script for creating an order form; establishing a connection between the customer computer and the supplier computer via the network; reading out the data saved in the storage device of the supplier computer and displaying of the appropriate pictures and the at least one assigned hyperlink on a display device of the customer computer; activating the hyperlink by the customer for ordering at least one picture; in response to the activation of the hyperlink, establishing of a connection between the customer computer and the web shop computer via the network for initiating the order method, executing the web-based script to create an order form and creating a shopping basket; executing the order method and sending of a confirmation query from the web shop computer to the customer computer, including reference data which represent the at least one ordered picture; receiving the confirmation query by the customer computer and sending a confirmation message from the customer computer to the web shop computer for the case where the corresponding order is to be executed; in response to a positive confirmation by the customer establishing a connection between the web shop computer and the supplier computer via the network; reading out those digital data, which represent the at least one ordered picture, by the web shop computer from the storage device of the supplier computer; and preparing the read-out picture data according to the picture format desired by the customer.