Methods, systems, and products for content blocking

• US 8,935,722 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2012
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Matz, William R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton, Brian T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lewis, Jonathan V
• Application Number:
  US13/365,294
• Publication Number:
  US 20120136965A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/34
• 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 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

Methods, systems, and products block objectionable content and substitute alternative content. A preferred tag is retrieved from memory. An alternative tag, associated with alternative content, is also retrieved from the memory. When the preferred tag matches the alternative tag, then the alternative content is substituted for the objectionable content.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining content, received by a device, is objectionable;

blocking, by the device, the content from presentation;

retrieving, by the device, preferred tags associated with a profile;

retrieving, by the device, an alternative tag associated with alternative content;

comparing, by the device, the preferred tags to the alternative tag;

setting, by the device, an initial value of a score to zero;

incrementing, by the device, the score in response to one of the preferred tags matching the alternative tag;

comparing, by the device, the score to a threshold value;

determining, by the device, that the profile contains no more of the preferred tags to compare to the alternative tag and that the score is less than the threshold value;

retrieving, by the device, another alternate tag associated with another alternative content and comparing the another alternate tag to the preferred tags;

resuming, by the device, incrementing the score in response to the another alternative tag matching any of the preferred tags;

comparing, by the device, the score to the threshold value; and

processing, by the device, the another alternative content for display in substitution of the content.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising retrieving a field of the alternative tag.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising retrieving the field of a preferred tag of the preferred tags.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein comparing the preferred tags to the alternative tag comprises comparing the field of the alternative tag to the field of the preferred tag.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising replacing the content with the another alternative content in response to the score exceeding the threshold value.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising combining the score of both the alternative content and the another alternative content.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising incrementing the score when a field of the another alternate tag matches a field of the preferred tag.

8. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing code that when executed causes the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

receiving objectionable content at a device;

blocking the objectionable content from presentation based on a score;

retrieving preferred tags associated with a profile;

retrieving an alternative tag associated with alternative content;

comparing the preferred tags to the alternative tag;

associating the score with the alternative content;

incrementing the score in response to one of the preferred tags matching the alternative tag;

comparing the score to a threshold value;

determining all of the preferred tags have been compared to the alternative tag and the score is less than the threshold value;

retrieving another alternate tag associated with another alternative content and comparing the another alternate tag to the preferred tags;

resuming incrementing the score in response to the another alternative tag matching any of the preferred tags;

comparing the score to the threshold value; and

processing, based on the score, the another alternative content for display in substitution of the objectionable content.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the code further causes the processor to retrieve a field of the alternative tag.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the code further causes the processor to retrieve the field of a preferred tag of the preferred tags.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the code further causes the processor to compare the field of the alternative tag to the field of the preferred tag.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein the code further causes the processor to replace the objectionable content with the another alternative content in response to the score exceeding the threshold value.

13. The system according to claim 8, wherein the code further causes the processor to successively compare a field of the another alternate tag to the field of a preferred tag of the preferred tags.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the code further causes the processor to increment the score when the field of the another alternate tag matches the field of the preferred tag.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the code further causes the processor to combine the score of both the alternative content and the another alternative content.

16. A memory storing instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

determining content is objectionable;

retrieving preferred tags associated with a profile;

retrieving an alternative tag associated with alternative content;

comparing the preferred tags to the alternative tag;

associating a score with the alternative content;

incrementing the score in response to one of the preferred tags matching the alternative tag;

comparing the score to a threshold value;

determining all of the preferred tags have been compared to the alternative tag and the score is less than the threshold value;

retrieving another alternate tag associated with another alternative content and comparing the another alternate tag to the preferred tags;

resuming incrementing the score in response to the another alternative tag matching any of the preferred tags;

comparing the score to the threshold value;

determining the score after resumption satisfies the threshold score; and

processing, based on the score, the another alternative content for substitution of the content.

17. The memory according to claim 16, further comprising instructions for retrieving a field of the alternative tag.

18. The memory according to claim 17, further comprising instructions for retrieving the field of a preferred tag of the preferred tags.

19. The memory according to claim 16, further comprising instructions for successively comparing a field of the another alternate tag to the field of a preferred tag of the preferred tags.

20. The memory according to claim 19, further comprising instructions for replacing the objectionable content with the another alternative content in response to the score exceeding the threshold value.