Patent ID: 7844553

Claim:
A non-transitory computer-usable medium communicatively coupled to an online postage system configured to enable a user computer to print an international shipping label for use within an international postal system, the computer-usable medium having a sequence of instructions which, when executed on a processor, cause the processor to: generate a postage indicium in response to a request received from the user computer, wherein the postage indicium is a self-validating postage indicium unique within the international postal system, the unique self-validating postage indicium containing a character string unique to the international postal System and a digital signature derived from the unique character string; transmit the unique self-validating postage indicium to the user computer over a communications link; and enable the user computer to print an international shipping label having a plain text customs declaration form, the unique self-validating postage indicium, and a customs form tracking number printed thereon, wherein the plain text customs declaration form includes a field for providing a plain text description of contents for an international package onto which the international shipping label is to be placed, and wherein the customs form tracking number is unique within the international postal system and logically linked to the unique self-validating postage indicium and the plain text customs declaration form printed on the international shipping label.