Method and system for the discovery of cookies and other client information

• US 6,460,079 B1
• Filed: 03/04/1999
• Issued: 10/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Media Research, Inc. (Nielsen Holdings plc)
• Original Assignee: Nielsen Media Research, Inc. (Nielsen Holdings plc)
• Inventors: Blumenau, Trevor
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Application Number:
  US09/262,253
• Time in Patent Office: 1,307 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/223, 709/224, 709/245
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A client information discovery arrangement is provided to discover client information relating to access by the clients of a plurality of web sites. Each of the clients accesses a corresponding web page stored at a central facility. The web page contains a URL for each of the web sites and an ID uniquely identifying the corresponding client. Each client transmits, either to each of the web sites corresponding to the URLs of the web page or to the central facility, the ID of the corresponding client and the client information which are stored by the client and which correspond to each of at least some of the URLs. The client information may include cookies.

Claims

1. A system comprising first parties, second parties, and a third party interconnected in a network, wherein the first parties are web sites, wherein the second parties are clients of the web sites, wherein the third party is a central facility, and wherein the central facility is arranged to initiate discovery of client information from at least one of the first and second parties, and wherein the central facility stores a web page, and wherein the web page contains a URL of each web site and wherein the central facility is arranged to append to the URL of each web site an ID uniquely identifying each of the clients.

2. A system comprising first parties, second parties, and a third party interconnected in a network, wherein the first parties are web sites, wherein the second parties are clients of the web sites, wherein the third party is a central facility, and wherein the central facility is arranged to initiate discovery of client information from at least one of the first and second parties, wherein each web site stores a corresponding central facility sub-server and wherein the client information comprises cookies, and wherein the clients are arranged to transmit to the web sites any cookies which the clients have stored and which correspond to the web sites, wherein the clients are arranged to also transmit to the web sites IDs with the cookies, and wherein the IDs uniquely identify the corresponding clients.

3. A system comprising first parties, second parties, and a third party interconnected in a network, wherein the first parties are web sites, wherein the second parties are clients of the web sites, wherein the third party is a central facility, and wherein the central facility is arranged to initiate discovery of client information from at least one of the first and second parties, wherein the central facility stores a web page, and wherein the web page contains a URL of each web site, wherein the central facility is arranged to append to the URLs IDs uniquely identifying the clients.

4. A system comprising first parties, second parties, and a third party interconnected in a network, wherein the first parties are web sites, wherein the second parties are clients of the web sites, wherein the third party is a central facility, and wherein the central facility is arranged to initiate discovery of client information from at least one of the first and second parties, wherein the central facility stores a central facility sub-server corresponding to each of the web sites, wherein a domain name system at each of the web sites contains a name of the central facility sub-server corresponding to the web site, wherein the domain name system at the web sites contains an IP address for the central facility, and wherein the IP address for the central facility is linked to the names of the central facility sub-servers in the domain name system at the web sites.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the central facility stores a web page, and wherein the web page contains a URL of each web site.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the central facility is arranged to append to the URLs IDs uniquely identifying the clients.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein the client information comprises cookies, and wherein each client is arranged to access the web page and to respond to the URLs in the web page by transmitting to the central facility any cookies which the client has stored and which correspond to the received URLs.

8. The system of claim 4 wherein the client information comprises cookies, and wherein each client is arranged to transmit to the central facility any cookies which the client has stored and which correspond to the web sites.

9. A system comprising first parties, second parties, and a third party interconnected in a network, wherein the first parties are web sites, wherein the second parties are clients of the web sites, wherein the third party is a central facility, and wherein the central facility is arranged to initiate discovery of client information from at least one of the first and second parties, wherein each of the web sites stores a central facility sub-server, and wherein each of the central facility sub-servers is arranged to detect cookie/ID pairs transmitted to the corresponding web site by the clients, wherein the central facility stores a web page, and wherein the web page contains a URL of each web site and wherein the central facility is arranged to append to the URLs IDs uniquely identifying the clients.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the client information comprises cookies, and wherein each client is arranged to access the web page and to respond to the URLs in the web page by transmitting to the corresponding web sites the IDs and any cookies which the client has stored and which correspond to the received URLs.

11. A method of discovering client information relating to access by the clients of a plurality of web sites comprising the following steps:

a). accessing, by each of the clients, a web page stored at a central facility, wherein the web page contains a URL for each of the web sites; and

,

b). transmitting, from each client either to each of the web sites corresponding to the URLs of the web page or to the central facility, any client information which the client has stored and which correspond to the URLs, wherein the central facility stores a central facility sub-server corresponding to each of the web sites, wherein a domain name system at each of the web sites contains a name of the central facility sub-server corresponding to the web site, wherein the domain name system at the web sites contains an IP address for the central facility, and wherein the IP address for the central facility is linked to the names of the central facility sub-servers in the domain name systems at the web sites.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein step b) comprises the steps of (i) performing at least one name look-up request at each of the clients, (ii) receiving the IP address of the central facility in response to the name look-up request, and (iii) transmitting to the received IP address any client information which the client has stored and which correspond to the web site URLs.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the client information comprises cookies.

14. A method of discovering client information relating to access by the clients of a plurality of web sites comprising the following steps:

a). accessing, by each of the clients, a web page stored at a central facility, wherein the web page contains a URL for each of the web sites; and

,

b). transmitting, from each client either to each of the web sites corresponding to the URLs of the web page or to the central facility, any client information which the client has stored and which correspond to the URLs, wherein each of the web sites stores a corresponding central facility sub-server, wherein the web page contains an ID unique to a client that accesses the web page, wherein each of the clients transmits in pairs the ID contained in the web page and any client information which the client has stored and which corresponds to the web site URLs, and wherein each of the central facility sub-servers detects the cookie/ID pairs transmitted by the clients.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein step b) comprises the step of each client performing to at least one name look-up request.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the client information comprises cookies.