Patent ID: 8135637

Claim:
A system for allowing a user to participate in an auction, the system including: a computer system; and a pen sensing device, wherein the computer system, in response to a request from the user, is configured to: (i) determine information relating to the auction; (ii) generate a plurality of tags, each tag encoding a position of the tag on a surface to be printed upon; (iii) determine a layout defining an arrangement for the tags and the information relating to the auction; and (iv) print on a printer the tags and the information relating to the auction on the surface using the layout, wherein at least some of the tags are spatially coincident with at least part of the information relating to the auction on the surface; (v) receive indicating data from a pen sensing device; and, (vii) determine, from the indicating data and the layout, at least one criterion relating to the auction; and wherein the pen sensing device includes: (a) an image sensor for capturing images of at least some of the tags when the pen sensing device is placed in an operative position relative to the surface; and (b) a processor configured to: (bi) identify at least some of the tags from one or more of the captured images; (bii) decode at least some of the tags; and (biii) generate the indicating data using at least some of the decoded tags.