Patent ID: 8140436

Claim:
An automated method of verifying work creatorship claims by users, the method comprising: by a computer system that provides network-based access to an electronic catalog that comprises representations of works created by creators, said electronic catalog including functionality for users to purchase copies of the works: receiving, by a server of said computer system, a creator verification request submitted by a user via a creator verification user interface, said creator verification request identifying a work selected by the user from the electronic catalog, and identifying a third party verifier designated by the user; processing the creator verification request at least partly by automatically sending a request for the designated third party verifier to verify that the user is a creator of the work; receiving, in connection with the creator verification request, a reply from the third party verifier, said reply verifying that the user is a creator of the work; in response to the reply, updating an account of the user to reflect that the user is verified as a creator of the work and exposing to the user a content submission interface that enables the user to post content to the electronic catalog as a verified creator of the work; receiving content submitted by the user with the content submission interface; and incorporating the submitted content into a page of the electronic catalog with a designation that the content is from a creator of the work, said page being associated with the work and being accessible to a plurality of users.