Systems and methods for distributing targeted multimedia content and advertising

• US 20020120564A1
• Filed: 02/26/2001
• Published: 08/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pika Media Co.
• Original Assignee: Pika Media Co.
• Inventors: Strietzel, Jonathan
• Granted Patent: US 6,950,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

A method of delivering content from a content delivery system to a user'"'"'s terminal over a communication link that provides users with flexibility in determining how to pay for content, one option being to receive targeted advertising with the content. Other options presented to the user involve various methods of paying for limited or unlimited access to the content. Therefore, the status in terms of whether access is free for each available content item relative to each user is tracked using a tracking database.

Claims

1. A method of delivering content from a content delivery system to a user'"'"'s terminal over a communication link, comprising:

receiving a request from a user of the content delivery system to download a content item to the user'"'"'s terminal over the communications link;

checking the status of the content item relative to the user in order to determine if access to the content item by the user is free;

in response to the status check, providing at least two payment options to the user if the results of the status check indicate that access to the content item is not free for the user, one of the payment options being the option to receive advertising with the content item in lieu of paying money to receive the content item;

receiving a payment option selection from the user;

preparing the content item for download in accordance with the selected payment option, wherein preparation of the content item for downloading includes appending a targeted advertisement to the content item when the user selects to receive advertising as the payment option; and

downloading the prepared content item from the content delivery system to the user'"'"'s terminal over the communications link.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein checking the status of the content item comprises performing at least one of the following:

determining if the user has previously purchased unlimited access to the content item;

determining if the user has previously paid to download the content item a predetermined number of times so that the current access is free;

determining if the content item is covered by a subscription purchased by the user;

determining if the user uploaded the content item; and

determining if the content item is a gift to the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisement is selected based on personal information relating to the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the other payment option provided to the user is to purchase unlimited access to the content item.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the other payment option provided to the user is to pay for a predetermined number of accesses to the content item.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the other payment option provided to the user is to purchase a subscription covering the content item.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the other payment option provided to the user is to purchase the item as a gift for another user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein checking the status of the content item comprises checking one or more status indicators in a tracking database, and wherein updating the status of the content item comprises updating the status indicators in the tracking database relative to the user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the status of the content item relative to the user comprises storing an indication that the user has purchased unlimited access to the content item, paid for a predetermined number of accesses to the content item, purchased a subscription, purchased the content item as a gift, or received advertising with the download of the content item.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising determining if the user is a registered user and, in the event that the user is not a registered user, registering the user, wherein registering the user comprises obtaining and storing personal profile information relating to the user.

11. A content delivery system comprising:

an advertising database configured to store a plurality of advertisements;

a content database configured to store a plurality of content items;

a tracking database configured to track a status of each of the plurality of content items relative to each of a plurality of users;

a content server configured to;

receive a request for a content item stored in the content database from one of the plurality of users,

check a status stored in the tracking database for the requested content item relative to the requesting user,

append an advertisement to the content item if required based on the status; and

download the content item and any appended advertisement to the requesting user.

12. The content delivery system of claim 11, wherein the content server is configured to:

provide the requesting user with payment options;

receive a payment option selection from the requesting user; and

update the status stored in the tracking database based on the payment option selection.

13. The content delivery system of claim 11, comprising a personal profile database configured to store a personal profile for each of the plurality of users, wherein the appended advertisement is selected based on information in the requesting user'"'"'s personal profile.

14. The content delivery system of claim 13, wherein the personal profiles include some combination of the following:

address information,

personal information,

product preferences,

user location,

user subscription information,

user buying habits,

user purchase information,

content item access history,

favorite chat room or rooms, and

online club memberships.

15. The content delivery system of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of users uses a terminal to access the content server and to download content items stored in the content database.

16. The content delivery system of claim 15, wherein the terminals are configured to use a graphical user interface when accessing the content server, and wherein the content server is configured to allow each of the plurality of users to customize the graphical user interface used by their respective terminals.

17. The content delivery system of claim 15, wherein the content server is configured to allow the terminals to browse an index of available content items and/or search for particular content items.

18. The content delivery system of claim 15, wherein the content server is configured to host online discussions, and wherein the terminals are configured to be used to participate in the online discussions.

19. The content delivery system of claim 15, wherein the content server is configured to allow each of the plurality of users to send messages from one terminal to another.

20. The content delivery system of claim 11, wherein the content server is configured to allow each of the plurality of users to create custom indexes of previously accessed content items and/or to create play lists.

21. The content delivery system of claim 11, wherein the content server is configured to allow each of the plurality of users to purchase subscriptions covering access to certain content items, and wherein the content server is configured not to associate a targeted advertisement with content items covered by a subscription.

22. The content delivery system of claim 11, wherein the default option when delivering content is to deliver advertisement with the content item, and wherein the requesting user can select an alternative payment option.

23. The content delivery system of claim 22, wherein the alternative payment option is for the requesting user to purchase unlimited access to the content item.

24. The content delivery system of claim 22, wherein the alternative payment option is for the requesting user to pay for a predetermined number of accesses to the content item.

25. The content delivery system of claim 22, wherein the alternative payment option is for the requesting user to purchase a subscription that covers the content item.

26. The content delivery system of claim 11, wherein the content server is configured to allow each of the plurality of users to purchase a content item as a gift for another user, and wherein the content server is configured to deliver the gifted content item to the appropriate user without associating a targeted advertisement.

27. The content delivery system of claim 11, wherein the content server is configured to track historical information related to content item access and purchases and to use the user profiles, current access information, and the historical information to make content item recommendations.

28. The content delivery system of claim 27, wherein the content server is configured not to attach a targeted advertisement when a content item is accessed as a result of a recommendation.

29. The content delivery system of claim 11, wherein the tracking database is configured to store status indicators indicating, for each of the plurality of users:

whether unlimited access to particular content items stored in the content database has been purchased,

whether a predetermined number of access to a particular content item has been purchased,

whether a particular content item is covered by a subscription,

whether a particular content item is a gift,

whether a particular content item is a recommendation, and

whether a sufficient amount of advertisement has been received relative to a particular content item.

30. The content delivery system of claim 29, wherein the content server uses the status indicators to determine if an advertisement should be appended to the content item when a particular content item is requested by one of the plurality of users.

31. A method of delivering content from a content delivery system to a user'"'"'s terminal over a communications link, comprising:

receiving a request from a user via the user'"'"'s terminal and the communications link for the content delivery system to download a content item to the user'"'"'s terminal;

processing the download request with the content delivery system, wherein processing the download request includes providing the user with at least two payment options, one of which includes the option to receive advertising with the content item instead of paying money to receive the content item;

receiving a payment option selection from the user'"'"'s terminal;

preparing the content item for download in accordance with the selected payment option, wherein preparation of the content item for download includes appending a targeted advertisement to the content item when the user selects to receive advertising as the payment option; and

downloading the prepared content item form the content delivery system to the user'"'"'s terminal over the communications link.

32. A method according to claim 31, wherein the download request further comprises the step of checking the status of the content item relative to the user in order to determine if the access to the content item is free to the user.