Tracking Content in Communication Networks
First Claim
1. A method of tracking content in messages distributed between subscribers on a communications network, the method including:
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collecting message content transmission information sent or received by a subscriber;
examining the collected content transmission information to identify discrete content items;
comparing identified discrete content items with predetermined content items;
determining if an identified discrete content item is the same as or substantially similar to a predetermined content item and/or determining if an identified discrete content item has been previously sent to or received by a subscriber or application;
storing the result of the comparison and/or determination, andgenerating an event triggering signal if it is determined that an identified discrete content item is the same as or substantially similar to a predetermined content item, and/or if it is determined that an identified discrete content item has been previously sent to or received by a subscriber.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to methods of, and systems for, tracking content in communication networks by collecting content transmission information from the network. The collected content transmission is examined to identify discrete content items, and these are compared to predetermined content items. The result of the comparison is stored on a database, and if an identified discrete content item is the same as or substantially similar to a predetermined content item and/or if an identified discrete content item has been previously sent to or received by a subscriber or application, an event signal is triggered.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of tracking content in messages distributed between subscribers on a communications network, the method including:
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collecting message content transmission information sent or received by a subscriber; examining the collected content transmission information to identify discrete content items; comparing identified discrete content items with predetermined content items; determining if an identified discrete content item is the same as or substantially similar to a predetermined content item and/or determining if an identified discrete content item has been previously sent to or received by a subscriber or application; storing the result of the comparison and/or determination, and generating an event triggering signal if it is determined that an identified discrete content item is the same as or substantially similar to a predetermined content item, and/or if it is determined that an identified discrete content item has been previously sent to or received by a subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 26)
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17. A method of tracking content in messages distributed between subscribers on a communications network, the method including:
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collecting message content information from the network; examining the collected message content information to identify discrete content items; comparing a characteristic signature of identified discrete content items with a characteristic signature of predetermined content items; determining if a characteristic signature of an identified discrete content item is the same as or substantially similar to a characteristic signature of a predetermined content item and/or determining if an identified discrete content item has been previously sent to or received by a subscriber; storing the result of the comparison and/or determination, and generating an event triggering signal if it is determined that a characteristic signature of an identified discrete content item is the same as or substantially similar to a characteristic signature of a predetermined content item, and/or if it is determined that an identified discrete content item has been previously sent to or received by a subscriber.
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18. A method of tracking content transmitted on a communications network, the method including:
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collecting content transmission information sent or received by a subscriber or application; reassembling the collected content transmission information to identify discrete content items; and determining and storing a characteristic signature for each content item with an associated content item transmission information in a database. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification