Methods for transmitting multimedia files and advertisements

• US 8,055,781 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2009
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tamiras Per Pte Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Media Patents S.L.
• Inventors: Fernandez, Alvaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Quang N.
• Application Number:
  US12/431,738
• Publication Number:
  US 20090240786A1
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/224, 709/229, 709/231, 709/232, 709/238, 709/246, 725/34, 725/88, 370/390, 386/68, 455/466
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

The invention is directed to a method of transmitting a file having an advertising portion and a requested portion different from the advertising portion. The method includes receiving a request to transmit the file, via a streaming protocol allowing non-sequential access, transmitting the advertising portion of the file, receiving a request to transmit a portion of the requested portion of the file prior to completing transmitting the advertising portion of the file, completing the transmission of the advertising portion of the file, and transmitting the requested portion of the file.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing a first digital file in a server comprising digital data having one or more obligatory advertising portions comprising a first type of content and one or more requested portions comprising a second type of content which is different than the first type of content;

receiving in the server by a multimedia player a play request for the digital data;

detecting in the server the type of the multimedia player;

generating or accessing a second digital file in the server based on the type of the multimedia player, the second digital file comprising supplemental digital data comprising one or more display messages readable by the multimedia player;

upon receiving a message from an unauthorized type of multimedia player to transmit the digital data, the server sends a message to the unauthorized multimedia player acknowledging receipt of the message and does not transmit the first digital file; and

transmitting at least a portion of the second digital file to the multimedia player.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the server is a streaming server and detects the type of multimedia player by reading a header of a message received from the multimedia player.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein the streaming server and multimedia player exchange messages via the Real Time Streaming Protocol and the type of multimedia player is detected by the streaming server by reading a header called “

User-Agent”

in the message.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein information about unauthorized types of multimedia players are stored in a database of the server.