Method and system for custom manufacture and delivery of a data product

Abstract

A system for selling, manufacturing and distributing a custom digital data product from retail stores, over the Internet, over the telephone, or by electronic means (e.g., fax, e-mail, and the like) wherein a customer is provided (e.g., by electronic mail verification) order tracking information. After a customer selects a "set" of sound recordings or data from a library or catalog of such recordings or data and payment or credit is received or verified, an image of the "set" is assembled from a storage or "disk" farm. The image is preferably assembled at a manufacturing facility, e.g., a CD-ROM burner farm, where the product is then made. Every data object on the product may have a code associated therewith for later reference. The disk and burner farms communicate via a high speed communications subsystem to facilitate continuous processing. Upon assembly and manufacture, the product is packaged and shipped. Throughout the manufacture and distribution, the customer may track the process by activating a hyperlink in one or more e-mail confirmation messages provided by the service provider, or by entering order/tracking numbers from retail terminals or by telephone, or the like.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.