Interactive product placement system and method therefor

• US 8,893,173 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2013
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AiBUY Holdco, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Cinsay Incorporated
• Inventors: Briggs, Christian, McBurnett, Heath, Galindo, Delfino Jr., Knuth, Freddy
• Primary Examiner(s): CORBO, NICHOLAS T
• Application Number:
  US14/091,219
• Publication Number:
  US 20140089966A1
• Time in Patent Office: 357 Days
• Field of Search: 725 32- 36
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/237 Communication with additional data server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2542 for selling goods, e.g. TV shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26603 for automatically generating descriptors from content, e.g. when it is not made available by its provider, using content analysis techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4725 using interactive regions of the image, e.g. hot spots details of information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94
• 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 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot

Abstract

A method for presenting advertisements for commercial products in video productions, whereby the commercial product is placed in the video production as an element of the video production. A viewer is enabled to interact with the video production to select the product. Information is then displayed about the selected product; and the viewer is enabled to purchase the selected product.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium having display logic stored thereon, the display logic configured when executed by at least one processing device to:

generate a user interface for a video that displays one or more products or services;

wherein the user interface is configured to;

display an extracted single frame or series of frames from the video in an overlay over the video during a display of the single frame or series of frames of the video under the overlay so that the single frame or series of frames in the overlay obscures the single frame or series of frames under the overlay; and

display one or more interactive items in the overlay during the display of the extracted single frame or series of frames, the one or more interactive items;

related to the one or more products or services; and

configured to allow a user to retrieve further information not previously displayed about the one or more products or services.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the user interface is configured to display the one or more interactive items as one or more partially transparent interactive items.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the user interface is configured to display at least some of the further information over the video.

4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the user interface is configured to allow a display of non-extracted frames of the video by being transparent in portions.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the one or more interactive items do not overlay the video.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the further information configured to allow the user to conduct a transaction that involves the user submitting information that is sent to a remote server.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the user interface is further configured to request the one or more interactive items from a remote server according to instructions received from the remote server or another remote server.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the one or more interactive items are selectively displayable.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the user interface is configured to selectively display the one or more interactive items upon triggering of a cue point.

28. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein:

the extracted single frame or series of frames from the video comprise multiple full frames of the video;

the user interface is configured to seamlessly display the multiple full frames in the overlay over the video during a display of the multiple full frames of the video under the overlay; and

the one or more interactive items comprise a clickable product or service displayed within the multiple full frames in the overlay.

29. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 28, wherein the user interface is further configured to extract the multiple full frames from the video upon triggering of a cue point.

30. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 28, wherein the one or more interactive items comprise a highlighted product or service displayed within the multiple full frames in the overlay.

10. A method of advertising, the method comprising:

transmitting or receiving code configured to generate a user interface for a video that displays one or more products or services;

wherein the user interface is configured to;

display an extracted single frame or series of frames from the video in an overlay over the video during a display of the single frame or series of frames of the video under the overlay so that the single frame or series of frames in the overlay obscures the single frame or series of frames under the overlay; and

display one or more interactive items in the overlay during the display of the extracted single frame or series of frames, the one or more interactive items;

related to the one or more products or services; and

configured to allow a user to retrieve further information not previously displayed about the one or more products or services.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user interface is configured to display the one or more interactive items as one or more partially transparent interactive items.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the user interface is configured to display at least some of the further information over the video.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the overlay allows a display of non-extracted frames of the video by being transparent in portions.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more interactive items do not overlay the video.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the further information is configured to allow the user to conduct a transaction that involves the user submitting information that is sent to a remote server.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

requesting the one or more interactive items from a remote server according to instructions received from the remote server or another remote server.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more interactive items are selectively displayable.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the user interface is configured to selectively display the one or more interactive items upon triggering of a cue point.

19. A system for advertising, the system comprising:

one or more computers configured to transmit or receive code configured to generate a user interface for a video that displays one or more products or services;

wherein the user interface is configured to;

display an extracted single frame or series of frames from the video in an overlay over the video during a display of the single frame or series of frames of the video under the overlay so that the single frame or series of frames in the overlay obscures the single frame or series of frames under the overlay; and

display one or more interactive items in the overlay during the display of the extracted single frame or series of frames, the one or more interactive items;

related to the one or more products or services; and

configured to allow a user to retrieve further information not previously displayed about the one or more products or services.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the user interface is configured to display the one or more interactive items as one or more partially transparent interactive items.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the user interface is configured to display at least some of the further information over the video.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the user interface is further configured to allow a display of non-extracted frames of the video by being transparent in portions.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more interactive items do not overlay the video.

24. The system of claim 19, wherein the further information is configured to allow the user to conduct a transaction that involves the user submitting information that is sent to a remote server.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein the user interface is configured to request the one or more interactive items from a remote server according to instructions received from the remote server or another remote server.

26. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more interactive items are selectively displayable.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the user interface is configured to selectively display the one or more interactive items upon triggering of a cue point.