System and methods for controlling advertisements on wireless device assets

• US 8,995,963 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2008
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Duggal, Nakul, Yashpal, Vikram, Agre, Daniel H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Agosta, Steve D
• Application Number:
  US12/023,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20090197577A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,616 Days
• Field of Search: 4554141- 4, 455/405, 455/406, 455/412.2, 455/418, 455/466, 370/312
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages

Abstract

Methods, systems, apparatus and computer program products are described for controlling content presented on user-controlled wireless device assets and/or features, such as ringtone, wallpaper, wireless device memory and the like. In present aspects, a user-requested control state change is undertaken from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-control state. In this regard, once the user has conceded control of the wireless device asset over to an advertiser or advertisement provider, the advertiser is allowed to provide advertisements to the designated wireless device asset for a predetermined period of time. From the advertiser or advertisement provider perspective present aspects provide for advertisements to be presented on novel platforms. Additionally, by gaining control over the wireless device asset the advertisers or advertisement providers are assured that their advertisements will be executed for the duration of the control period.

Claims

1. A method for providing advertisements, comprising:

receiving a notification from a wireless device of a user, the notification indicating at least one user-controlled wireless device asset of the wireless device having a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state,

wherein the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset relates to a feature or function of the wireless device,

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, and

wherein receiving a notification further comprises receiving user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user controlled wireless device asset; and

providing one or more advertisements to the wireless device for use by the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset indicated in the notification,

wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state, and

wherein providing one or more advertisements to the wireless device further comprises providing a ringtone advertisement to the wireless device that comprises at least one of an advertisement ringtone that is operable to be executed in place of a pre-existing wireless device ringtone, a visual advertisement that is operable to be visually displayed on the wireless device in conjunction with the execution of the pre-existing wireless device ringtone or an advertisement ringtone insertion that is operable to be periodically inserted during the execution of a wireless device ringtone.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the notification further comprises receiving the notification from the wireless device indicating the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset is a ringtone.

3. A method for providing advertisements, comprising:

receiving a notification from a wireless device of a user, the notification indicating at least one user-controlled wireless device asset of the wireless device having a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state,

wherein the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset relates to a feature or function of the wireless device,

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, and

wherein receiving a notification further comprises receiving user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user controlled wireless device asset; and

providing one or more advertisements to the wireless device for use by the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset indicated in the notification,

wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state, and

wherein providing one or more advertisements to the wireless device further comprises providing a wallpaper advertisement to the wireless device that comprises at least one of a wallpaper advertisement that is operable to be displayed on the wireless device in place of a pre-existing wireless device wallpaper or a wallpaper advertisement overlay that is operable to be displayed on the wireless device in conjunction with the pre-existing wireless device wallpaper.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving the notification further comprises receiving the notification from the wireless device indicating the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset is a wallpaper.

5. A method for providing advertisements, comprising:

receiving a notification from a wireless device of a user, the notification indicating at least one user-controlled wireless device asset of the wireless device having a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state,

wherein the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset relates to a feature or function of the wireless device,

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, and

wherein receiving the notification further comprises receiving user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user controlled wireless device asset; and

providing one or more advertisements to the wireless device for use by the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset indicated in the notification,

wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state, and

wherein providing one or more advertisements to the wireless device further comprises providing one or more advertisements collectively having a size less than or equal to a portion of wireless device memory.

6. The method of claim 5, receiving the notification further comprises receiving the notification from the wireless device indicating the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset is the portion of wireless device memory.

7. A method for a user-implemented control state change of wireless device assets of a wireless device of a user, comprising:

providing a notification of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state for at least one user-controlled wireless device asset of the wireless device of the user,

wherein the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset relates to a feature or function of the wireless device,

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, and

wherein providing a notification further comprises providing user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset;

receiving, by a receiver associated with the wireless device, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state; and

executing the one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset for the predetermined period of time,

wherein receiving, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements, further comprises receiving a ringtone advertisement comprising at least one of a ringtone advertisement insertion operable to be periodically executed during a pre-existing ringtone, a visual advertisement operable to be displayed in conjunction with the pre-existing ringtone or a ringtone advertisement replacement operable to be executed in the place of the pre-existing ringtone.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising receiving a request to change the control state of the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset of the wireless device from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state prior to providing the notification.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving the request further comprises receiving the request including an offer to compensate the user for agreeing to change the control state from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state for one or more of the wireless device assets.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein providing the notification further comprises providing the notification that includes a user-determined time period for the user-implemented control state change.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein providing the notification further comprises providing notification of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to a advertisement-controlled state for a wireless device asset defined as a ringtone.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein executing the advertisement associated with the one or more wireless device assets for a predetermined period of time further comprises preventing the user from overriding the execution of the advertisements for the predetermined time.

13. A method for a user-implemented control state change of wireless device assets of a wireless device of a user, comprising:

providing a notification of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state for at least one user-controlled wireless device asset of the wireless device of the user,

wherein the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset relates to a feature or function of the wireless device,

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, and

wherein providing a notification further comprises providing user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset;

receiving, by a receiver associated with the wireless device, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state; and

executing the one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset for the predetermined period of time,

wherein receiving, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements, further comprises receiving a wallpaper advertisement comprising at least one of a wallpaper advertisement overlay operable to be displayed in conjunction with pre-existing wallpaper or a wallpaper advertisement replacement operable to be displayed in the place of pre-existing wallpaper.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein providing the notification further comprises providing notification of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state for a wireless device asset defined as a wallpaper.

15. A method for a user-implemented control state change of wireless device assets of a wireless device of a user, comprising:

providing a notification of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state for at least one user-controlled wireless device asset of the wireless device of the user,

wherein the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset relates to a feature or function of the wireless device,

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, and

wherein providing a notification further comprises providing user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset;

receiving, by a receiver associated with the wireless device, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state; and

executing the one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset for the predetermined period of time,

wherein receiving, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements, further comprises receiving at least one of audio advertisements, video advertisements or multimedia advertisements, wherein the collective size of the advertisements is less than or equal to the portion of the wireless device memory.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein providing the notification further comprises providing notification of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to a advertisement-controlled state for a wireless device asset defined as the portion of wireless device memory.

17. At least one processor configured to provide user-designation of wireless device assets for advertisement allocation and provide advertisements to the designated wireless device assets, comprising:

a first module for providing a notification of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state for at least one user-designated wireless device asset,

wherein the at least one user-designated wireless device asset relates to a feature of a wireless device of a user,

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, and

wherein providing the notification further comprises providing the notification that includes a user-defined time period for the user-implemented control state change;

a second module comprising hardware for receiving, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements associated with the one or more user-designated wireless device assets, wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state,

wherein receiving, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements comprises receiving a ringtone advertisement comprising at least one of a ringtone advertisement insertion operable to be periodically executed during a pre-existing ringtone, a visual advertisement operable to be displayed in conjunction with the pre-existing ringtone or a ringtone advertisement replacement operable to be executed in the place of the pre-existing ringtone; and

a third module for executing the one or more advertisements associated with the one or more user-designated wireless device assets for a predetermined period of time.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising:

at least one instruction for causing a computer to provide a notification of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state for at least one user-designated wireless device asset,

wherein the at least one user-designated wireless device asset relates to a feature of a wireless device of a user, and

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, and

wherein providing the notification comprises providing user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset;

at least one instruction for causing the computer to receive, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset, wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state,

wherein receiving, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements comprises receiving a ringtone advertisement comprising at least one of a ringtone advertisement insertion operable to be periodically executed during a pre-existing ringtone, a visual advertisement operable to be displayed in conjunction with the pre-existing ringtone or a ringtone advertisement replacement operable to be executed in the place of the pre-existing ringtone; and

at least one instruction for causing the computer to execute the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for the predetermined period of time.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

means for providing a notification of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state for at least one user-designated wireless device asset,

wherein the at least one user-designated wireless device asset relates to a feature of a wireless device of a user,

wherein the advertisement-controlled state is a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset, and

wherein providing the notification comprises providing user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset;

means for receiving, in response to the notification, one or more advertisement associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset, wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state,

wherein receiving, in response to the notification, one or more advertisements comprises receiving a ringtone advertisement comprising at least one of a ringtone advertisement insertion operable to be periodically executed during a pre-existing ringtone, a visual advertisement operable to be displayed in conjunction with the pre-existing ringtone or a ringtone advertisement replacement operable to be executed in the place of the pre-existing ringtone; and

means for executing the one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for the predetermined period of time.

20. A wireless device configured for user control of wireless device assets of the wireless device, comprising:

a computer platform including at least one processor and a memory;

at least one user-designated wireless device asset operable for providing for at least one of presenting or storing advertisements and operable for changing a control state between a user-controlled state and an advertisement-controlled state,

wherein the at least one user-designated wireless device asset relates to a feature of the wireless device, and

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset;

an asset control module stored in the memory and executable by the at least one processor, the asset control module operable to notify a network entity of a change in a control state of at least one user-designated wireless device asset from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state based on user input,

wherein the asset control module is further operable to notify the network entity of user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user-designated wireless device asset;

an advertisement storage included in the memory and operable to receive, in response to the change in the control state, one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset, wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state,

wherein the advertisement storage is further operable to receive, in response to the change in control state, one or more ringtone advertisements comprising at least one of a ringtone advertisement insertion operable to be periodically executing during a pre-existing ringtone, a visual advertisement operable to be displayed in conjunction with the pre-existing ringtone or a ringtone advertisement replacement operable to be executed in the place of the pre-existing ringtone; and

an advertisement executor stored in the memory and executable by the at least one processor, wherein the advertisement executor is operable to execute the one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for the predetermined period of time.

21. The wireless device of claim 20, wherein the asset control module is further operable to receive a user-implemented request to change the control state of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset from the user-controlled state to the advertisement controlled state prior to providing the notification.

22. The wireless device of claim 20, wherein the asset control module is further operable to notify the network entity of a user-determined time period for the control state change.

23. The wireless device of claim 20, wherein the asset control module is further operable to notify the network entity of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state for a wireless device asset defined as a ringtone.

24. The wireless device of claim 20, wherein the advertisement executor is executable by the at least one processor to execute the one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset in response to the changing of the control state from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state, and wherein the at least one user-designated wireless device asset is operable for presenting the one or more advertisements executed by the advertisement executor during the advertisement-controlled state in response to the changing of the control state from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state.

25. A wireless device configured for user control of wireless device assets of the wireless device, comprising:

a computer platform including at least one processor and a memory;

at least one user-designated wireless device asset operable for providing for at least one of presenting or storing advertisements and operable for changing a control state between a user-controlled state and an advertisement-controlled state,

wherein the at least one user-designated wireless device asset relates to a feature of the wireless device, and

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset;

an asset control module stored in the memory and executable by the at least one processor, the asset control module operable to notify a network entity of a change in a control state of at least one user-designated wireless device asset from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state based on user input,

wherein the asset control module is further operable to notify the network entity of user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user-designated wireless device asset;

an advertisement storage included in the memory and operable to receive, in response to the change in the control state, one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset, wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state,

wherein the advertisement storage is further operable to receive, in response to the change in control state, one or more wallpaper advertisements comprising at least one of a wallpaper advertisement overlay operable to be displayed in conjunction with pre-existing wallpaper or a wallpaper advertisement replacement operable to be displayed in the place of pre-existing wallpaper; and

an advertisement executor stored in the memory and executable by the at least one processor, wherein the advertisement executor is operable to execute the one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for the predetermined period of time.

26. The wireless device of claim 25, wherein the asset control module is further operable to notify the network entity of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to an advertisement-controlled state for a wireless device asset defined as wallpaper.

27. The wireless device of claim 25, wherein the advertisement executor is executable by the at least one processor to execute the one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset in response to the changing of the control state from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state, and wherein the at least one user-designated wireless device asset is operable for presenting the one or more advertisements executed by the advertisement executor during the advertisement-controlled state in response to the changing of the control state from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state.

28. A wireless device configured for user control of wireless device assets of the wireless device, comprising:

a computer platform including at least one processor and a memory;

at least one user-designated wireless device asset operable for providing for at least one of presenting or storing advertisements and operable for changing a control state between a user-controlled state and an advertisement-controlled state,

wherein the at least one user-designated wireless device asset relates to a feature of the wireless device, and

wherein the advertisement-controlled state includes a state in which the user concedes execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset to an advertisement provider such that the user is prohibited from modifying the execution control of the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for a predetermined time, the predetermined time being a user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state associated with the at least one user-controlled wireless device asset;

an asset control module stored in the memory and executable by the at least one processor, the asset control module operable to notify a network entity of a change in a control state of at least one user-designated wireless device asset from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state based on user input,

wherein the asset control module is further operable to notify the network entity of user-determined advertisement parameters defining acceptable advertisements for the at least one user-designated wireless device asset;

an advertisement storage included in the memory and operable to receive, in response to the change in the control state, one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset, wherein each advertisement includes an associated timestamp operable to expire after the user-designated period of time for the advertisement-controlled state,

wherein the advertisement storage is further operable to receive, in response to the change in control state, one or more advertisements comprising at least one of audio advertisements, video advertisements or multimedia advertisements, wherein the collective size of the advertisements is less than or equal to the portion of the wireless device memory; and

an advertisement executor stored in the memory and executable by the at least one processor, wherein the advertisement executor is operable to execute the one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset for the predetermined period of time.

29. The wireless device of claim 28, wherein the asset control module is further operable to notify the network entity of a user-implemented control state change from a user-controlled state to a advertisement-controlled state for a wireless device asset defined as a portion of wireless device memory.

30. The wireless device of claim 28, wherein the advertisement executor is executable by the at least one processor to execute the one or more advertisements associated with the at least one user-designated wireless device asset in response to the changing of the control state from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state, and wherein the at least one user-designated wireless device asset is operable for presenting the one or more advertisements executed by the advertisement executor during the advertisement-controlled state in response to the changing of the control state from the user-controlled state to the advertisement-controlled state.