Patent ID: 7430543

Claim:
A method for using a computer system running a computer-aided-design (CAD) tool in generating one or more outputs, thereby activating at least one payment request in accordance with a contract associated with the use of the CAD tool in generating the one or more outputs, the method comprising: providing a first payment for the CAD tool in accordance with the contract, wherein the first payment is associated with user access to the CAD tool; using the CAD tool, wherein the computer system running the CAD tool includes criteria for requesting at least one additional payment for the CAD tool, each additional payment being associated with generating an output, the computer system being responsive to one or more trigger conditions corresponding to the criteria; and receiving a payment request for an additional payment when an output generated by the CAD tool satisfies a trigger condition, wherein the trigger condition adds a watermark to the output for identifying the output as having been produced by the CAD tool and disables a set of features of the CAD tool until the additional payment is made, and wherein the watermark includes at least one of non-functional data, a naming convention, a spacing convention, an ordering convention, and non-functional elements.