Content distribution system and method

• US 8,682,794 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2013
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Quantum Stream, Inc. (XpresSpa Group, Inc. (f/k/a FORM Holdings Corp.))
• Original Assignee: I/P Engine, Inc. (XpresSpa Group, Inc. (f/k/a FORM Holdings Corp.))
• Inventors: Akadiri, Tayo
• Primary Examiner(s): Elisca, Pierre E
• Application Number:
  US13/971,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20130339149A1
• Time in Patent Office: 217 Days
• Field of Search: 705/50, 705/52, 705/57, 705/80
• US Class Current: 705/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture consistent with the present invention provide an electronic marketplace that matches units of content from secondary content providers with suitable vacancies from primary content providers. Vacancies may constitute, or be included in, any digital transmission containers, such as a television or radio programming, web pages, and the like. Specifically, the electronic marketplace automatically matches content offered by secondary content providers with vacancies offered by primary content providers thus filling the vacancies in these containers through a real-time content trading, placement, and distribution system. To do so, attributes associated with the vacancies and with units of secondary content are used to trade and match suitable vacancies with suitable content. This invention enables both secondary content owners and vacancy owners (primary content providers) to obtain the full commercial benefit of their secondary content and containers.

Claims

1. A method for providing advertisements for inclusion in a content stream, the method comprising:

defining a temporal location of a vacancy in the content stream, the vacancy associated with one or more attributes;

storing a plurality of advertisements on at least one server, each of the plurality of advertisements associated with one or more attributes;

selecting an advertisement to fill the vacancy by comparing the one or more attributes associated with the vacancy with the one or more attributes associated with one or more of the plurality of advertisements; and

transmitting the selected advertisement to a user device for presentation to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the advertisement is based on information obtained from a user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the information obtained from the user is obtained at a time or after a time that the vacancy is offered to the user device.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising determining at least some of the one or more attributes of the vacancy based on information received from the user device in response to a prompt presented to the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the prompt presented to the user is a prompt for the user to enter one or more search terms for a Web search.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more attributes associated the vacancy indicate at least one of:

a time qualifier of the vacancy, a date qualifier of the vacancy, and a classification of the vacancy.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the advertisement is based on results of a bidding process.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the content stream is a video stream.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising logging completed transactions.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises matching the one or more attributes associated with the vacancy with the one or more attributes associated with the one or more of the plurality of advertisements.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising tracking information related to the matching.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the one or more attributes of the vacancy at a time or after a time that data at a start position of the vacancy is transmitted to the user device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisement is a video advertisement.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more attributes of the vacancy indicate a time duration of the vacancy or a location of the vacancy within content stream.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining at least some of the one or more attributes of the vacancy based on information received from the user device in response to a prompt presented to the user.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising inserting the selected advertisement into the vacancy to form a merged content stream and transmitting the merged content stream, including the advertisement, to the user device for presentation to the user.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising inserting the advertisement into the vacancy at the user device.

18. A method for providing advertisements in a video stream, the method comprising:

defining a temporal location for each of a plurality of vacancies in the video stream, each of the plurality of vacancies associated with a corresponding one or more attributes;

storing information related to a plurality of advertisements, each of the plurality of advertisements associated with a corresponding one or more attributes;

for each vacancy in the plurality of vacancies, selecting an advertisement from the plurality of advertisements for insertion into the vacancy by matching the one or more attributes associated with the vacancy with the one or more attributes associated with one or more of the plurality of advertisements, wherein the selection is based on user feedback; and

transmitting the selected advertisement associated with each vacancy in the plurality of vacancies to a user device for presentation to a user.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the selection is further based on results of a bidding process.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more attributes associated with a vacancy includes at least one of:

a time qualifier of the vacancy, a date qualifier of the vacancy, and a classification of the vacancy.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising logging completed transactions.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising tracking information related to the matching.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the matching occurs in real time.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the user feedback is obtained from the user device.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the user feedback obtained from the user device for a vacancy in the plurality of vacancies is obtained at or after a time that data at a start position of the vacancy is presented on the user device.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein an advertisement from the plurality of advertisements is a video advertisement.

27. The method of claim of claim 26, wherein the user feedback obtained from the user device is obtained in response to a prompt presented to the user.

28. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more attributes associated with a vacancy in the plurality of vacancies indicate a time duration of the at least one vacancy or a location of the at least one vacancy in the video stream.

29. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

for a vacancy in the plurality of vacancies, inserting the selected advertisement for the vacancy into the vacancy to form a merged video stream, and

transmitting the merged video stream including the inserted advertisement, to the user device for presentation to the user.

30. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

for a vacancy in the plurality of vacancies, inserting the selected advertisement for the vacancy into the vacancy at the user device.

31. A method for displaying one or more advertisements during a video stream, the method comprising:

defining a temporal location for a vacancy in the video stream, the vacancy associated with one or more attributes;

storing a plurality of advertisements on a server;

selecting an advertisement from the plurality of advertisements for insertion into the vacancy based on;

(a) information obtained from a user of a user device, and (b) the one or more attributes of the vacancy; and

transmitting the selected advertisement to the user device for insertion into the vacancy.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein each advertisement in the plurality of advertisements is associated with a corresponding one or more attributes.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein selecting the advertisement from the plurality of advertisements further comprises matching the one or more attributes associated with the vacancy with one or more attributes associated with one or more of the plurality of advertisements.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising tracking information related to the matching.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the matching occurs in real time.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein the one or more attributes of the vacancy include at least one of:

a time qualifier of the vacancy, a date qualifier of the vacancy, and a classification of the vacancy.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein selection of the advertisement from the plurality of advertisements is further based on:

(c) results of a bidding process.

38. The method of claim 31, further comprising logging completed transactions.

39. The method of claim 31, wherein the information obtained from the user is obtained at or after a time that data at a start position of the at least one vacancy is transmitted to the user device.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the information obtained from the user is obtained in response to a prompt presented to the user.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the prompt presented to the user is a prompt for the user to enter one or more search terms for a Web search.

42. A computer device for providing content including advertising to a display, the computer device comprising:

a video interface configured to couple to the display;

a data interface configured to receive;

(a) a content stream including a vacancy associated with one or more attributes, and (b) a plurality of advertisements, each of the plurality of advertisements associated with one or more attributes; and

a processor configured to;

select an advertisement to fill the vacancy by comparing the one or more attributes associated with the vacancy with the one or more attributes associated with one or more of the plurality of stored advertisements;

insert the selected advertisement into the content stream in place of the vacancy to form a merged content stream; and

provide the merged content stream to the video interface for presentation on the display.

43. The computer device of claim 42, further comprising an input device and wherein the processor is configured to select the advertisement based on information obtained from a user via the input device.

44. The computer device of claim 43, wherein the information obtained from the user is obtained at a time or after a time that the vacancy is received by the computer device.

45. The computer device of claim 44, further comprising determining at least some of the one or more attributes of the vacancy based on information received from the user via the input device in response to a prompt presented on the display.

46. The computer device of claim 42, wherein the one or more attributes associated the vacancy indicate at least one of:

a time qualifier of the vacancy, a date qualifier of the vacancy, and a classification of the vacancy.

47. The computer device of claim 42, wherein the processor is configured to select the advertisement based on results of a bidding process.

48. The computer device of claim 42, wherein the content stream is a video stream.

49. The computer device of claim 42, wherein the processor is configured to log completed transactions.

50. The computer device of claim 42, wherein the processor is configured to perform the selecting by matching the one or more attributes associated with the vacancy with the one or more attributes associated with each of the plurality of advertisements.

51. The computer device of claim 50, wherein the processor is configured to track information related to the matching.

52. The computer device of claim 42, wherein the processor is configured to determine the one or more attributes of the vacancy at a time or after a time that data at a start position of the vacancy is transmitted to the user device.

53. The computer device of claim 42, wherein the selected advertisement is a video advertisement.

54. The computer device of claim 42, wherein the one or more attributes of the vacancy indicate a time duration of the vacancy or a location of the vacancy within content stream.

55. The computer device of claim 42, wherein the prompt presented on the display is a prompt for the user to enter one or more search terms for a Web search.

56. The computer device of claim 42, further comprising determining at least some of the one or more attributes of the vacancy based on information received from an input device in response to a prompt presented on the display.