Method and systems for checking that purchasable items are compatible with user equipment

• US 8,620,769 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2011
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: UV Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Yates, Doug
• Primary Examiner(s): ZIMMERMAN, MATTHEW E
• Application Number:
  US13/074,707
• Publication Number:
  US 20110179454A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,008 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26.1, 705/27.1, 705/26.7, 705/14.49, 705/14.64
• US Class Current: 705/26.7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25808 Management of client data terminal profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/303
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence

Abstract

The disclosed technology provides systems and methods for delivering a media program and purchase opportunities related to the media program to user equipment. A media program and its related merchandise information can be located at a distribution facility. The distribution facility can tailor the purchase opportunities it provides to the user equipment based on the user equipment'"'"'s equipment category. When user equipment receives purchase opportunities, the user equipment can select the opportunities based on which types of merchandise are supported by the user equipment. The user equipment and/or a distribution facility may be able to determine the location of the user equipment. When the distribution facility provides merchandise information for physical merchandise to the user equipment, the merchandise information can be selected to include physical merchandise that are available for purchase at stores that are, for example, near the location of the user equipment.

Claims

1. A method for providing purchase opportunities for purchasable items related to a media program, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a user equipment;

determining, using a processor, a category of the user equipment;

identifying a purchasable item wherein the identifying is based at least in part on the category of user equipment and wherein the purchasable item is related to a media program; and

communicating a purchase opportunity for the identified purchasable item to the user equipment, wherein the user equipment determines whether the purchasable item is supported by the user equipment, and wherein the user equipment discards the purchase opportunity if the purchasable item is determined to be not supported by the user equipment, and does not discard the purchase opportunity if the purchasable item is determined to be supported by the user equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the purchasable item includes at least one of:

application-specific merchandise, electronic merchandise, and physical merchandise.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the purchasable item includes electronic merchandise and the electronic merchandise includes at least one of:

a ring tone, a wallpaper, a screen saver, a user interface skin, a video program, a video game, and a soundtrack.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a user equipment identifier associated with the request, wherein the category of user equipment is determined based on the user equipment identifier.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the category of user equipment is mobile user equipment.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the mobile user equipment supports a telephone application, and wherein the purchase opportunity includes an opportunity to purchase a ring tone for the telephone application, wherein the ring tone is related to the media program.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to the request, communicating the media program together with the purchase opportunity to the user equipment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying a purchasable item comprises:

providing categories of user equipment, wherein each of the categories of user equipment is associated with a purchasable item related to the media program; and

accessing a purchase opportunity for the purchasable item associated with the category of user equipment for the user equipment which issued the request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein each of the categories of user equipment is based on applications that are supported by the user equipment in that category.

10. A system for providing a purchase opportunity for a purchasable item related to a media program to different categories of user equipment, the system comprising:

a communication circuit configured to;

receive a request from a user equipment, and

communicate a media program and a purchase opportunity for a purchasable item related to the media program to the user equipment; and

a processor circuit that executes machine instructions to;

determine a category of user equipment for the user equipment,

identify a purchasable item, wherein the identifying is based at least in part on the category of user equipment and wherein the purchasable item is related to the media program, and

provide a purchase opportunity for the identified purchasable item to the communication circuit for transmission to the user equipment, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine whether the purchasable item is supported by the user equipment, and wherein the user equipment is configured to discard the purchase opportunity if the purchasable item is determined to be not supported by the user equipment, and is configured to not discard the purchase opportunity if the purchasable item is determined to be supported by the user equipment.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the purchase opportunities include information for application-specific merchandise related to the media program.

12. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a storage containing categories of user equipment and purchase opportunities for purchasable items, wherein the purchasable items are associated with the categories of user equipment.

13. A system for presenting purchase opportunities for purchasable items through an interactive program guide, the system comprising:

a storage containing a plurality of purchase opportunities for purchasable items, wherein the purchasable items are related to a television program and wherein the purchasable items are associated with categories of user equipment;

a communication circuit configured to communicate purchase opportunities;

a processor that executes machine instructions to identify purchasable items based on their applicability to one category from the categories of user equipment; and

an interactive program guide that provides an indication to a user equipment that purchase opportunities for the identified purchasable items related to the television program are available, wherein the user equipment is configured to determine whether the identified purchasable items are supported by the user equipment, and wherein the user equipment is configured to discard the indication if the purchasable items are determined to be not supported by the user equipment, and is configured to not discard the purchase opportunity if the purchasable item is determined to be supported by the user equipment.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the interactive program guide is located on user equipment.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the interactive program guide is a networked interactive program guide.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the networked interactive program guide is configured to:

receive the one category of user equipment from a first user equipment in communication with the networked interactive program guide; and

provide the purchase opportunities for the identified purchasable items to a second user equipment in communication with the networked interactive program guide, wherein the second user equipment is associated with the one category of user equipment.

17. A method for presenting purchase opportunities for a plurality of purchasable items through an interactive program guide, the method comprising:

accessing a plurality of purchase opportunities for the plurality of purchasable items, wherein the plurality of purchasable items are related to a television program and wherein the plurality of purchasable items are associated with categories of user equipment;

identifying, using a processor, purchasable items from the plurality of purchasable items based on their applicability to one category from the categories of user equipment; and

providing, to a user equipment, an indication that purchase opportunities for the identified purchasable items related to the television program are available through an interactive program guide, wherein the user equipment determines whether the identified purchasable items are supported by the user equipment, and wherein the user equipment discards the indication if the purchasable items are determined to be not supported by the user equipment, and does not discard the purchase opportunity if the purchasable item is determined to be supported by the user equipment.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the interactive program guide is located on user equipment.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the interactive program guide is a networked interactive program guide.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

providing, from a first user equipment to the networked interactive program guide, the one category of user equipment from the categories of user equipment; and

communicating, to a second user equipment in communication with the networked interactive program guide, the purchase opportunities for the identified purchasable items associated with the one category of user equipment.