Method and apparatus for secure transactions in an interactive television ticker
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, comprising:
- presenting a ticker having a screen interface on a portion of a display screen capable to display a television program, the ticker comprising a focus area and a plurality of advertisements being automatically scrolled into and out of the focus area, the ticker further comprisinga ticker user interface (UI) to generate the focus area and a scroll region that presents the plurality of advertisements and to provide a navigation control to select that advertisement presented within the scroll region;
a ticker application program interface (API) in communication with the ticker UI to control presentation of a security indicator by the ticker UI and to provide the plurality of advertisements to the ticker UI; and
a security application in communication with the ticker API to establish a secure connection between the ticker API and a remote location, the security application being configured to instruct the ticker API to control the ticker UI to present the security indicator if the secure connection is established, the security application further being configured to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged between the ticker API and the remote location;
automatically scrolling an advertisement for an item into the focus area of the ticker;
if a user responds to the advertisement by activating a specifically-designated control on a user input device when the advertisement is within the focus area, initiating a transaction related to the item with the user within the screen interface of the ticker; and
securely conducting at least a portion of the transaction with the user within the screen interface of the ticker.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A user can perform secure transactions via an interactive television ticker. While viewing an advertisement scrolling in the ticker, the user can select that advertisement to initiate an on-line transaction. That resulting transaction can be performed within the ticker. A visual indicator (such as an icon) can be displayed in the ticker to indicate to the viewer that the transaction is secure, so as to allow confidential information to be safely exchanged. Security can be provided by way of a security application integrated with software of the ticker or by way of another security component with which the ticker software communicates.
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Citations
45 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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presenting a ticker having a screen interface on a portion of a display screen capable to display a television program, the ticker comprising a focus area and a plurality of advertisements being automatically scrolled into and out of the focus area, the ticker further comprising a ticker user interface (UI) to generate the focus area and a scroll region that presents the plurality of advertisements and to provide a navigation control to select that advertisement presented within the scroll region; a ticker application program interface (API) in communication with the ticker UI to control presentation of a security indicator by the ticker UI and to provide the plurality of advertisements to the ticker UI; and a security application in communication with the ticker API to establish a secure connection between the ticker API and a remote location, the security application being configured to instruct the ticker API to control the ticker UI to present the security indicator if the secure connection is established, the security application further being configured to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged between the ticker API and the remote location; automatically scrolling an advertisement for an item into the focus area of the ticker; if a user responds to the advertisement by activating a specifically-designated control on a user input device when the advertisement is within the focus area, initiating a transaction related to the item with the user within the screen interface of the ticker; and securely conducting at least a portion of the transaction with the user within the screen interface of the ticker. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 20)
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15. An article of manufacture, comprising:
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a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon to; display a ticker having a screen interface with a full-screen presentation of a television program filling substantially all of a television display screen, the ticker comprising a ticker user interface (UI) to generate a focus area and a scroll region for presentation of advertisements and to provide a navigation control to select that advertisement presented within the scroll region; a ticker application program interface (API) in communication with the ticker UI to control presentation of a security indicator by the ticker UI and to provide the advertisements to the ticker UI; and a security application in communication with the ticker API to establish a secure connection between the ticker API and a remote location, the security application being configured to instruct the ticker API to control the ticker UI to present the security indicator if the secure connection is established, the security application further being configured to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged between the ticker API and the remote location; present an advertisement for a product within the screen interface of the ticker by automatically scrolling the advertisement through he scroll region of the ticker; responsive to a user activating a specifically-designated button on a user input device, initiate a transaction related to the presented advertisement within the screen interface of the ticker; presenting the security indicator along with the ticker immediately upon activation of the specifically-designated button to indicate that the transaction will be secure, wherein the security indicator persists throughout the transaction; and securely conducting at least a portion of the transaction within the screen interface of the ticker. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 21)
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22. A ticker for a video casting system, the ticker comprising:
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a focus area; a plurality of selectable items, wherein at least one of the items comprises an advertisement that is presented along with a video image; at least one scroll region along which the plurality of selectable items are to be automatically scrolled, the at least one scroll region passing through the focus area, the scroll region being displayed along a bottom side of a display screen; a navigation control to select an advertisement currently presented within the focus area to initiate a transaction related to the presented advertisement within the focus area; a ticker user interface (UI) to generate the focus area and the scroll region that presents the advertisement and to provide the navigation control to select that advertisement presented within the scroll region; a ticker application program interface (API) in communication with the ticker (UI) to control presentation of the indicator by the ticker UI and to provide the selectable items to the ticker UI; and a security application in communication with the ticker API to establish a secure connection between the ticker API and a remote location, the security application being configured to instruct the ticker API to control the ticker UI to present the indicator if the secure connection is established, the security application further being configured to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged between the ticker API and the remote location; and a security indicator to indicate that at least a portion of the initiated transaction is secure, wherein the indicator is displayed immediately upon activation of the navigation control and persists throughout the transaction. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. An apparatus, comprising:
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a means for receiving a trigger representing a purchase opportunity for an item in connection with a television program; a means for presenting a ticker having a screen interface on a portion of a display screen capable to display the television program, the ticker comprising a focus area and a plurality of items being automatically scrolled into and out of the focus area, the plurality of items including the first item associated with the trigger, the ticker comprising a ticker user interface (UI) to generate the focus area and a scroll region for presentation of the plurality of items and to provide a navigation control to select that item presented within the scroll region; a ticker application program interface (API) in communication with the ticker UI to control presentation of a security indicator by the ticker UI and to provide the plurality of items to the ticker UI; and a security application in communication with the ticker API to establish a secure connection between the ticker API and a remote location, the security application being configured to instruct the ticker API to control the ticker UI to present the security indicator if the secure connection is established, the security application further being configured to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged between the ticker API and the remote location; a means for scrolling an item into the focus area of the ticker; a means for initiating a transaction related to the presented item within the focus area of the ticker, if user response to the presented item is detected while the item is within the focus area; and a means for securely conducting at least a portion of the transaction within the screen interface of the ticker. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. An apparatus for a video casting system, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one communication interface to receive a trigger representing an advertisement; a ticker software program comprising a ticker user interface (UI) to generate a focus area and a scroll region for presentation of advertisements and to provide a navigation control to select that advertisement presented within the scroll region; and a ticker application program interface (API) in communication with the ticker UI to control presentation of a security indicator by the ticker UI and to provide the advertisement to the ticker UI; a security application in communication with the ticker API to establish a secure connection between the ticker API and a remote location, the security application being configured to instruct the ticker API to control the ticker UI to present the security indicator if the secure connection is established, the security application further being configured to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged between the ticker API and the remote location; a storage medium coupled to the communication interface to store the ticker software program and the security application; a processor, coupled to the storage medium and to the communication interface, to cooperate with the ticker software program to automatically cycle the advertisement through the scroll region of a ticker; and an output section to superimpose the ticker over a full-screen presentation of a received television program image, the full-screen presentation filling substantially all of a television display screen, the ticker being configured to allow a transaction related to the advertisement to be securely conducted within the scroll region based on execution of the security application by the processor in response to activation of a specifically-designated button on a remote control device. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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34. A video casting system, comprising:
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a source of ticker data; and an apparatus coupled to the source, the apparatus including; at least one communication interface to receive the ticker data; a ticker software program comprising a ticker user interface (UI) to generate a focus area and a scroll region for presentation of the ticker data and to provide a navigation control to select that ticker data presented within the scroll region; and a ticker application program interface (API) in communication with the ticker UI to control presentation of a security indicator by the ticker UI and to provide the ticker data to the ticker UI; a security application in communication with the ticker API to establish a secure connection between the ticker API and a remote location, the security application being configured to instruct the ticker API to control the ticker UI to present the security indicator if the secure connection is established, the security application further being configured to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged between the ticker API and the remote location; a storage medium coupled to the communication interface to store the ticker software program and the security application; a processor, coupled to the storage medium and to the communication interface, to cooperate with the ticker software program to automatically scroll the ticker data through the scroll region of a ticker, the scroll region intersecting the focus area; and an output section to provide the ticker to a display screen capable to display the ticker with a substantially full-screen presentation of a received television program image, the full-screen presentation filling substantially all of a television display screen, the ticker being configured to allow a transaction related to the ticker data to be securely conducted within the scroll region based on execution of the security application by the processor in response to activation of a specifically-designated button on a remote control device when the ticker data is within the focus area. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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38. A method usable in a video casting system, the method comprising:
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superimposing a ticker having a screen interface over a portion of a display screen capable to display a television program received from the video casting system, the ticker comprising a focus area and plurality of items being automatically scrolled into and out of the focus area, the ticker further comprising a ticker user interface (UI) to generate the focus area and a scroll region that presents the plurality of items and to provide a navigation control to select that item presented within the scroll region; a ticker application program interface (API) in communication with the ticker UI to control presentation of a security indicator by the ticker UI and to provide the plurality of items to the ticker UI; and a security application in communication with the ticker API to establish a secure connection between the ticker API and a remote location, the security application being configured to instruct the ticker API to control the ticker UI to present the security indicator if the secure connection is established, the security application further being configured to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged between the ticker API and the remote location, wherein the display screen comprises part of a television for the video casting system, wherein a client terminal for the television is coupled to the display screen, wherein the video casting system includes a plurality of sources, which provide ticker data to be displayed as items for the ticker, the plurality of sources being communicatively coupled to a plurality of broadcast centers, wherein at least one of the broadcast centers is coupled to a server capable to provide the ticker data from the sources to the client terminal, and wherein the video casting system is capable to provide the ticker data to the client terminal via different communication channels, including at least one of a plurality of television broadcast channels, an out-of-band channel, and a communication channel with a communication network; scrolling an item into the focus area of the ticker; if a user responds to the presented item while in the focus area by activating a specifically-designated control on a user input device, initiating a transaction related to the presented item with the user within the screen interface of the ticker; securely conducting at least a portion of the transaction with the user within the screen interface of the ticker; and presenting the security indicator along with the ticker during the portion of the transaction to indicate that the portion of the transaction is secure immediately upon the user responding to the presented item. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A video casting system, comprising:
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a source of ticker data including; a feed server to receive a plurality of feeds of ticker data and having a feed engine to manipulate the ticker data received from the feeds; a production server coupled to the feed server to receive the ticker data manipulated by the feed engine, and coupled to a database having tables for the manipulated ticker data received from the feed server, the production server being capable to change a format of the manipulated ticker data to a format compatible with client terminals configured to present a screen interface on a display screen; and a distribution server to send the manipulated ticker data having the format compatible with the client terminals; and a client terminal coupled to the distribution server of the source, the client terminal including; at least one communication interface to receive an ATVEF trigger containing an advertisement sent from the distribution server; a ticker software program comprising a ticker user interface (UI) to generate a focus area and a scroll region for presentation of the ticker data and to provide a navigation control to select that ticker data presented within the scroll region; and a ticker application program interface (API) in communication with the ticker UI to control presentation of a security indicator by the ticker UI and to provide the ticker data to the ticker UI; a security application in communication with the ticker API to establish a secure connection between the ticker API and a remote location, the security application being configured to instruct the ticker API to control the ticker UI to present the security indicator if the secure connection is established, the security application further being configured to encrypt and decrypt information exchanged between the ticker API and the remote location a storage medium coupled to the communication interface to store the ticker software program and the security application; a processor, coupled to the storage medium and to the communication interface, to cooperate with the ticker software program to control presentation of the advertisement within the scroll region of a ticker, wherein the ticker software program is to automatically scroll the advertisement along the scroll region into and out of the focus area; and an output section to superimpose the ticker over a received television program image, the ticker being configured to allow a transaction related to the advertisement to be securely conducted within the scroll region based on execution of the security application by the processor, the security application being executed in response to user activation of a specifically-designated button on a remote control when the advertisement is within the focus area, the ticker being further configured to present the security indicator to indicate that the transaction is secure immediately upon a user responding to the advertisement. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45)
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Specification