Patent ID: 8453253

Claim:
A method of operating a controller device of an electronic cutting machine, the method comprising: writing a controller device identifier to memory of a cartridge storing content used in connection with the electronic cutting machine, the controller device identifier uniquely identifying the controller device from other controller devices; writing a cartridge identifier to memory of the controller device, the cartridge identifier uniquely identifying the cartridge from other cartridges; and permitting communication between the controller device and the cartridge; initiating a cutting operation on the controller device for cutting a design on the electronic cutting machine, the design including content associated with at least one cartridge; allowing execution of the cutting operation after verifying cartridge ownership, wherein verifying cartridge ownership includes: identifying each cartridge associated with the content of the design; obtaining the cartridge identifier for each identified cartridge; and searching the memory of the controller device for the cartridge identifier of each identified cartridge; and wherein execution of the cutting operation is allowed after each cartridge identifier of each identified cartridge is located in the memory of the controller device and after selling a usage right for each identified cartridge having a cartridge identifier absent from the memory of the controller device.