United States Patent (19)
`Angles et al.
`
`54 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DELIVERING
`CUSTOMIZED ADVERTISEMENTS WITHIN
`INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION
`SYSTEMS
`
`75 Inventors: Paul D. Angles, 1711 Purdue Ave. #11,
`Los Angeles, Calif. 90025; Douglas O.
`Blattner, Redondo Beach, Calif.
`73 Assignee: Paul D. Angles, Los Angeles, Calif.
`
`*
`
`Notice:
`
`This patent issued on a continued pros
`ecution application filed under 37 CFR
`1.53(d), and is subject to the twenty year
`patent term provisions of 35 U.S.C.
`154(a)(2).
`
`21 Appl. No.: 08/700,032
`22 Filed:
`Aug. 20, 1996
`51) Int. Cl. ............................. G06F 17/30; G06F 17/60
`52 U.S. Cl. ................................................. 705/14; 705/27
`58 Field of Search .......................................... 705/14, 27
`56)
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,053,955 10/1991 Peach et al. .............................. 705/14
`5,319,455 6/1994 Hoarty et al..
`5,321,604 6/1994 Peach et al. .............................. 705/14
`5,347,632 9/1994 Filepp et al..
`5,392,066 2/1995 Fisher et al..
`5,412,416 5/1995 Nemirofsky.
`5,446,919 8/1995 Wilkins.
`5,717,923 2/1998 Dedrick ..................................... 380/24
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`0811942A2 12/1997 European Pat. Off. ........ G06F 17/60
`0822535A2 2/1998 European Pat. Off. ........ G09F 27/OO
`WO 97/41673 11/1997 WIPO ............................ HO4L 29/06
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`“Online Marketing: C/NET Introduces Customized Web
`Advertising: Display Banners Tailored to User Demograph
`ics”, Internet Week, v 1, n 36, Phillips Business Information,
`Inc., ISSN: 1081–2474, wc: 216, Dec. 18, 1995.
`
`USOO5933811A
`Patent Number:
`11
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`5,933,811
`*Aug. 3, 1999
`
`“Broadvision: Broadvision Developing First Innovative
`Commerce Management System to Support Online Sales &
`Marketing Process ... ', Business Wire, Business Editors
`and Computer Writers, May 15, 1995.
`“Broadvision: Personalized Marketing and Selling on the
`Internet Unleashed by Broadvision . . . " Business Wire,
`Business Editors and Computer Writers, Jan. 22, 1996.
`Broadvision Uses Its On-line Marketing Database to
`Deliver Personalized World Wide Web Sites, Computergram
`International, n 878, p CGNO3210017, Newletter ISSN
`0268–716X (UK), Mar. 21, 1996.
`(List continued on next page.)
`
`Primary Examiner Allen R. MacDonald
`Assistant Examiner James W. Myhre.
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm- Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear
`LLP
`ABSTRACT
`57
`The present invention is a System and method for delivering
`customized electronic advertisements in an interactive com
`munication System. The customized advertisements are
`Selected based on consumer profiles and are then integrated
`with offerings maintained by different content providers.
`The preferred interactive communication System intercon
`nects multiple consumer computers, multiple content pro
`vider computers and multiple Internet provider computers
`with an advertisement provider computer. Whenever a con
`Sumer directs one of the consumer computers to access an
`offering existing in one of the content provider computers,
`an advertising request is sent to the advertisement provider
`computer. Upon receiving the advertising request, the adver
`tising provider computer generates a custom advertisement
`based on the consumer's profile. The custom advertisement
`is then combined with the offering from the content provider
`computer and displayed to the consumer. The advertisement
`provider computer also credits a consumer account, a con
`tent provider account and an internet provider account each
`time a consumer views a custom advertisement.
`Furthermore, the advertisement provider computer tracks
`consumer responses to the customized advertisements.
`
`17 Claims, 11 Drawing Sheets
`
`CONSUMER COMPUTER, - +
`CNSUMER
`BROWSER
`MODULE
`
`CONSUMER
`MEMBER
`CE
`
`ADWERTSN
`STORAGE
`MECM
`
`A - CONSUMER REGISTRATION
`(SEE FIG. 5)
`3 - CONTEN PROWER
`REGISTRATION (SEE FIG. 6)
`C - ONSUMER ACCESSES
`CONTENT PROVIDER
`(SEE FIG. 7)
`-LECTRNC PAGE SENT
`TO CONSUMER
`(SEE FIG. 7)
`- NSUMER MEMBER COE
`SENT TO AVERTISEMENT
`PROVIDER (SEE FIG, 7)
`F - CjSTOMi2E AWERTISEMENT
`SENT TO CONSUMER
`(SEE FIG 7)
`
`COMMUNCATION
`ME?
`
`CONEMT PROVIDER COMPUTER
`
`CONFENT
`SERVER
`MODULE
`
`EECTRNC
`PAGE
`AEWERTSNG
`INSERT :
`
`COMMUNICAON
`MODULE
`52 2
`
`AWERTISMNT ROWER COMUTER
`
`REGISTRATION
`MODULE
`
`ADVERTISING .
`
`a? CONTENT
`PROVIDER-6%
`SCRIPTS
`
`as
`
`A ze
`
`ADWERTISEMENT
`DATA3ASE
`
`ACCOUNTING
`DATABASE
`
`Twitter-Google Exhibit 1006
`
`

`

`5,933,811
`Page 2
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Doubleclick Network Officially Exceeds 10 Million Users;
`Clocks One of the Fastest Growth Rates in History of
`Measured Media, PR Newswire, p 0801NYTHO73, Aug. 1,
`1996.
`I PRO and Doubleclick Partner to Deliver NeXt Generation
`in Ad Targeting and Accountability, PR Newswire, p
`0963870SFTO06, Jun. 20, 1996.
`Poppe Tyson Partners with Atlanta Software Leader to Form
`Doubleclick The First Advertising Network for the Inter
`net, PR Newswire, p 09 10034NYM083, Feb. 5, 1996.
`Bellcore AdaptX Advertiser: New Software Solution for the
`Web Delivers Profitable, Measurable, Truly Interactive
`Advertising, BusinessWire, Business Editors and Computer
`Writers, Jun. 11, 1996.
`Bellcore Deploys Adaptive Web Software, Telecommunica
`tions Alert, v 13, in 127, United Communications Group,
`ISSN: 0742–5384, Jul. 1, 1996.
`Alpha Based Interactive Provides Hyper-Targeted Market
`ing Service, PR Newswire, p 1029908CLW036, Dec. 4,
`1996.
`Freeloader Releases Version 2.0; High-Bandwidth, Person
`alized Web Content Delivered Offline to PC Desktops with
`Redesigned Interface and Screen Saver, Business Wire,
`Business Editors and Computer Writers, Sep. 30, 1996.
`
`(No author listed), “The CyberGold Service", CyberGold
`Website, Jun. 25, 1996.
`(No author listed), “What is Hyper System?'", Hyper System
`Website, downloaded Jun. 4, 1996.
`Clark, Tim, “It May Pay to Look at Net Ads”, Interactive
`Week, Jun. 4, 1996.
`(No author listed), “Internet Access: Internet Marketing
`Revolution Begins in the U.S. this Sep.; Hyper System
`Promises New Cash Flow for Providers, Free Access for
`Users & A New Marketing Opportunity For Businesses”,
`Work-Group Report, Jun. 3, 1996.
`Von der Haar, Steven, “Hot Cafe Opens Ad Doors”, Inter
`active Week, May 28, 1996.
`(No author listed), “Broadvision Uses Its On-Line Market
`ing Database to Deliver Personalized World Wide Web
`Sites”, Apt Data Serrvices, Mar. 21, 1996.
`(No author listed), “About I/PRO”, I/Pro Website, down
`loaded May 8, 1996.
`Blankenhorn, Dana, “I/PRO Set to Track Web”, I/Pro Web
`Site, downloaded May 8, 1996.
`(No author listed), “InterCard Proposal”, Intercard Promo
`tional Materials, Dec. 22, 1995.-
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet 1 of 11
`Sheet1,0f11
`
`5,933,811
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet 2 of 11
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`5,933,811
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`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet 3 of 11
`377
`
`5,933,811
`
`START
`
`322
`
`CONSUMER REQUESTS
`ELECTRONIC PAGE
`FROM CONTENT PROVIDER
`
`
`
`CONTENT PROVIDER SENDS
`ELECTRONIC PAGE AND
`EMBEDDED ADVERTISEMENT
`REQUEST TO CUSTOMER
`
`CONSUMER EXECUTES ADVERTISEMENT
`REQUEST AND ESTABLISHES A
`COMMUNICATION LINK WITH THE
`ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`
`35
`
`
`
`
`
`ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER OBTAINS
`CONTENT PROVIDER MEMBER CODE
`AND CONSUMER MEMBER CODE
`
`37O
`
`
`
`AD VERTISING PROVIDER ACCESSES
`CONSUMER PROFILE AND SENDS
`CUSTOMZED ADVERTISEMENT
`TO CONSUMER
`
`372
`
`CONSUMER COMPUTER
`DISPLAY'S COMBINED PAGE
`
`572
`
`END
`
`A72 3
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet4 0f11
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`5,933,811
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`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet S of 11
`
`5,933,811
`
`2O7
`
`START
`CONSUMER
`REGISTRATION /
`
`as O2
`
`AC 25
`
`CONSUMER COMPUTER
`COMMUNCATES WITH
`AD VERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`COMPUTE R
`
`572
`
`
`
`CONSUMER ENTERS
`
`REGISTRAT ON
`DATA
`
`as 72
`
`
`
`CONSUMER COMPUTER
`STORES CONSUMER
`MEMBER CODE AND
`CONSUMER CONTROL
`MODULE
`
`572
`
`END
`
`36
`
`ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`ASSGNS CONSUMER
`MEMBER CODE
`
`bOs
`
`ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`STORES CONSUMER
`MEMBER CODE AND
`REGISTRATION DATA
`
`a 7.O
`
`
`
`ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`DOWNLOADS THE CONSUMER
`MEMBER CODE AND
`CONSUMER CONTROL
`MODULE
`
`CONSUMER
`COMPUTER
`
`ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`COMPUTER
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet 6 of 11
`
`5,933,811
`
`aO2
`
`START CONTENT
`PROVIDER REGISTRATION
`
`aO22
`
`CONTENT PROVIDER COMPUTER
`COMMUNCATES WITH THE
`AD VERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`COMPUTER
`
`
`
`
`
`CONTENT PROVIDER ENTERS
`REGISTRATION DATA
`
`A72 6
`
`aOa
`
`AD VERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`ASSGNS CONTENT
`PROVIDER MEMBER
`CODE
`
`as
`
`
`
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`STORES CONTENT PROVIDER
`MEMBER CODE AND
`REGISTRATION DATA
`
`a 77
`
`
`
`
`
`a 72
`
`AD VERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`CREATES CUSTOM
`CG SCRIPT
`
`CONTENT PROVIDER STORES
`REFERENCE TO CG
`SCRIPT
`
`a 7-2
`
`CONTENT PROVIDER CREATES
`HOME PAGES WITH
`REFERENCE INSERTS
`
`a 76
`
`END
`
`CONTENT PROVIDER
`COMPUTER
`
`ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`COMPUTER
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet 7 of 11
`
`5,933,811
`
`START
`
`7.
`
`consumer Accesses THE /16
`COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
`
`CONSUMER ACCESSES A
`CONTENT PROVIDER
`
`7O2
`
`2O6
`
`CONSUMER SENDS
`ADVERTISEMENT REQUEST
`TO ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`
`7s
`
`AD VERTISEMENT
`PROVIDER DETERMINES
`WHETHER CONSUMER IS
`A MEMBER
`
`772
`
`774
`
`ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER
`DELVERS CUSTOMZED
`ADVERTISEMENT TO CONSUMER
`(SEE FIG. 8)
`
`CONSUMER DPLAYS COMBINED
`CUSTOM ADVERTSEMENT
`AND ELECTRONIC PAGE
`
`776
`
`CONSUMER
`DECDES WHETHER
`TO OBTAIN ADDITIONAL
`ADVERTISING INFORMATION
`2
`
`ADVERTISING PROVIDER
`RECEIVES NOTICE THAT
`USER IS OBTANING
`ADDITIONAL ADVERTISING
`NFORMATION
`
`CONSUMER IS DIRECTED
`O REGISTER WITH
`ADVERTISEMENT
`PROVIDER
`
`
`
`
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`
`CONSUMER
`DECDES TO ACCESS
`ANOTHER CONTENT
`PROVIDER
`2
`NO
`
`22
`
`END
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet 8 of 11
`
`5,933,811
`
`ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER ACCESSES
`TS CUSTOMER DATABASE
`AND ANALYZES CUSTOMER'S
`REGISTRATION DATA
`
`s22 -
`AD VERTISEMENT PROVIDER SELECTS
`APPROPRIATE ADVERTISEMENT
`AND SENDS THE ADVERTISEMENT
`TO THE CONSUMER
`
`ADVERTISEMENT PROVIDER BILLS THE
`APPROPRIATE ADVERTISER AND
`CREDITS CONTENT PROVIDER ACCOUNT
`
`572
`
`
`
`
`
`sOs
`
`END
`
`AC2 s
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet9 0f11
`
`5,933,811
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`

`U.S. Patent
`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet 10 of 11
`Sheet 10 0f 11
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`5,933,811
`5,933,811
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 1999
`
`Sheet 11 of 11
`
`5,933,811
`
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`

`

`1
`SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR DELIVERING
`CUSTOMIZED ADVERTISEMENTS WITHIN
`INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION
`SYSTEMS
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention relates to communication Systems
`and, in particular, to an apparatus and method for delivering
`customized advertisements within interactive communica
`tions Systems.
`2. Background
`Recently, a wide range of interactive devices have been
`developed to provide information to consumers. These inter
`active devices include, for example, computers connected to
`various computer on-line Services, interactive kiosks, inter
`active television Systems and the like. In particular, the
`popularity of computer on-line Services has grown
`immensely in popularity over the last decade.
`Computer on-line Services are provided by a wide variety
`of different companies. In general, most computer on-line
`Services are accessed via the Internet. The Internet is a global
`network of computers. The structure of the Internet is a
`network backbone with networks branching from the back
`bone. These branches, in turn, have networks branching
`from them, and So on. RouterS move information packets
`from network to network, until the information packets
`reach their destination. For a more detailed description of the
`Structure and operation of the Internet, please refer to “The
`Internet Complete Reference,” by Harley Hahn and Rick
`Stout, published by McGraw-Hill, 1994.
`One popular part of the Internet is the World Wide Web.
`The World Wide Web contains computers which display
`graphical and textual information. Computers which provide
`information on the World Wide Web are typically called
`“websites.” A website is defined by an Internet address
`which has an associated electronic page, often called a
`“home page.” Generally, a home page is an electronic
`document which organizes the presentation of text, graphi
`cal images, audio and Video into a desired display. These
`websites are operated by a wide variety of entities which are
`typically called “content providers.”
`A user may access the Internet using a home personal
`computer (PC) equipped with a conventional modem. Spe
`cial interface Software is installed within the PC So that when
`the user wishes to access the Internet, an attached modem is
`automatically instructed to dial the telephone number asso
`ciated with the local Internet host server. The user can then
`access information at any address accessible over the Inter
`net. Two well-known Software interfaces, for example, are
`the Netscape Navigator developed by Netscape, Inc. and the
`Microsoft Internet Explorer developed by Microsoft Corpo
`ration.
`Information eXchanged over the Internet is typically
`encoded in HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML) format.
`The HTML format is a Scripting language which is used to
`generate the home pages for different content providers. In
`this Setting, a content provider is an individual or company
`that places information (content) on the Internet So that it can
`be accessed by others. AS is well known in the art, the
`HTML format is a set of conventions for marking different
`portions of a document So that each portion appears in a
`distinctive format. For example, the HTML format identifies
`or "tags' portions of a document to identify different cat
`egories of text (e.g., the title, header, body text, etc.). When
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`5,933,811
`
`2
`a web browser accesses a HTML document, the web
`browser reads the embedded tags in the document So it
`appears formatted in the Specified manner.
`A HTML document can also include hyper-links which
`allow a user to move from one document to another docu
`ment on the Internet. A hyper-link is an underlined or
`otherwise emphasized portion of text which, when Selected
`using an input device Such as a mouse, activates a Software
`connection module which allows the user to jump between
`documents (i.e., within the same website or to other
`websites). Hyper-links are well known in the art, and are
`Sometimes referred to as anchors.
`Although the Internet and the World Wide Web, together
`with other interactive devices, are used widely to share
`information among different users, the full range of possi
`bilities for use of these interactive computer Services have
`not yet been fully developed.
`As the popularity of the Internet and the World Wide Web
`has increased over the years, more companies are trying to
`find ways of promoting their product in a cost-effective
`manner. Thus, there has been a tremendous proliferation of
`corporate advertising across the Internet. For example, Some
`companies Such as Yahoo Corporation offer free Services,
`Such as the ability to Search for particular Sites on the
`Internet, but post advertising messages to consumers to help
`offset the cost of their service. Unfortunately, there is so far
`no effective way of targeting particular advertisements to
`those consumerS most likely to use the product or Service
`being offered. Therefore, a tremendous amount of advertis
`ing is wasted on promoting goods or Services to an improper
`audience. AS the number of people accessing the Internet
`increases, it will become more important to Specifically
`target advertising to those individuals most likely to pur
`chase the goods or Services being offered. It will also be
`important for advertisers to know how effective a particular
`ad has become by tracking the responses of individual
`consumers. Unfortunately, there is currently no convenient
`mechanism for predetermining which users might be inter
`ested in a particular category of advertised goods or Services.
`There is also no current method for tracking consumer
`responses to particular advertisements.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The system of the present invention overcomes the dif
`ficulties discussed above by providing an on-line advertising
`Service which can custom tailor Specific advertisements to
`particular consumerS and track consumer responses to the
`advertisements. In particular, the present invention is a
`System and method for delivering customized advertise
`ments to users of interactive devices. The interactive devices
`of the present invention can include computers connected to
`on-line Services, interactive kiosks, interactive television
`Systems and the like. In broad terms, the present invention
`includes a communications System having at least three
`different entities which communicate with each other. The
`entities include: a content provider, an advertisement pro
`vider and a consumer.
`In the preferred embodiment, the invention is directed to
`delivering custom advertisements to consumers who use
`their computers to view information offered by different
`content providers existing on the Internet. Preferably, when
`a consumer accesses a content provider, the content provider
`transmits an electronic document to the consumer. Embed
`ded within the electronic document is a advertisement
`request. When the consumer's computer displays the elec
`tronic document, the embedded advertisement request
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`directs the consumer computer to communicate with an
`advertisement provider. In response, the advertisement pro
`vider provides a customized advertisement. The advertise
`ment provider then tracks the consumer's response to the
`customized advertisement.
`The advertisement provider operates a computer which is
`also connected to the Internet. The advertisement provider's
`computer Stores demographic information about consumers,
`and Sends customized advertisements to the consumers
`based on the consumerS demographic profile and tracks
`consumer responses to the customized advertisements. For
`example, when accessing a content provider's website, a
`consumer with a demographic profile indicating an interest
`in farming would be sent customized advertisements for
`farm products by the advertisement provider. Customer
`requests for more information about the advertised farm
`products are also monitored.
`A consumer who wishes to receive customized advertise
`ments first registers with the advertisement provider by
`entering pertinent demographic information into the adver
`tisement provider's demographic database. The advertise
`ment provider then retains a demographic profile of the
`consumer. In return, the advertisement provider assigns the
`consumer a unique member code. In an alternate
`embodiment, the consumer is Sent unique Software which
`enhances the consumer's Internet browser So that custom
`advertisements can be merged with electronic documents
`obtained from the content provider.
`The content provider websites also register with the
`advertisement provider before they can receive the custom
`ized advertisement Services. During registration, the adver
`tisement provider assigns a custom member code to the
`content provider, creates a program called a “content pro
`vider Script for each content provider, and transferS an
`“advertisement request' to the content provider which iden
`tifies the content provider Script. Preferably, the content
`provider Script contains the content provider's member
`code. The advertisement request, on the other hand, contains
`commands which invoke the content provider Script.
`After obtaining the advertisement request, the content
`provider embeds the advertisement request into its electronic
`documents. When a registered consumer accesses a content
`provider's website, the content provider website transfers
`the electronic document and the embedded advertisement
`request to the consumer's computer. The embedded adver
`tisement request directs the consumer computer to invoke
`the referenced content provider Script in the advertisement
`provider computer. The advertisement provider executes the
`content provider Script and obtains the content provider
`member code. The advertisement provider uses the content
`provider member code to track the number of advertise
`ments displayed by a particular content provider.
`In addition, to executing the content provider Script, the
`advertisement provider also obtains the consumer's member
`code from the consumer computer. The advertisement pro
`vider uses the consumer member code to identify the con
`Sumer's demographic profile and preferences. The adver
`tisement provider then Selects an appropriate advertisement
`based on the consumer's profile and Sends the customized
`advertisement to the consumer computer. The consumer
`computer then merges the content provider's electronic
`document with the advertisement provided by the advertise
`ment provider to create a single displayed document to the
`COSUC.
`Another feature of the invention is directed to monitoring
`the particular advertisements which are viewed by particular
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`consumers. With this information, advertisers can pay for
`advertising directed at Specific demographic target groupS.
`Additionally, advertisers may be billed by the advertisement
`provider based on actual delivery of the advertisements to
`pertinent consumers.
`The invention also Supports custom advertisements which
`can contain hyper-links to other information. The hyper
`links typically direct the user's Internet browser to acceSS
`different websites on the Internet. For example, if a con
`Sumer wishes to obtain additional information about an
`advertised product or Service, the consumer may simply use
`a mouse to Select an embedded hyper-link in the custom
`advertisement and be immediately transported to an adver
`tiser's website. At the advertiser's website, the user may
`receive a directed Sales pitch, more information or a pur
`chase order request form.
`An additional feature of the invention allows the adver
`tisement provider to monitor the number of advertisements
`Viewed by consumers associated with a particular content
`provider. With this information, the content providers can
`receive advertising revenue based on the number of con
`Sumers who access their websites. This frees the content
`providers from having to generate advertising data, from
`having to individually contact advertisers, from having to
`negotiate advertising payment fees, and from having to
`maintain an advertising administrative Staff.
`Another aspect of the invention relates to the addition of
`a fourth category of entities—the Internet providers. An
`Internet provider is a Service which provides Internet access
`to consumers. Examples of Internet providers include
`American On-line, the Microsoft Network, Prodigy,
`CompuServe, and Network Intensive. Many users pay
`monthly access fees to the Internet providers to obtain local
`telephone connections, a variety of help Services and an
`organized format for accessing the Internet.
`When a consumer registers with the advertisement
`provider, this aspect of the present invention obtains infor
`mation about the consumer's Internet provider and Stores
`this information in the demographic profile. The System of
`the present invention can then monitor the number of
`advertisements viewed by consumers associated with a
`particular Internet provider. Accordingly, the System of the
`present invention can pay an Internet provider based on the
`number of advertisements viewed by its consumers. The
`Internet providers can then use this advertising revenue to
`reduce consumer acceSS fees.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
`FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram of the preferred
`System of the present invention and illustrates the interaction
`between the consumer computer, content provider computer,
`and advertisement provider computer.
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the preferred system of the
`present invention showing the interaction of many consumer
`computers and content provider computers with an adver
`tisement provider computer.
`FIG. 3 is a high level flow diagram of the preferred
`process for Sending electronic information and custom
`advertisements to a consumer computer.
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the preferred system of the
`present invention showing the flow of information among
`the consumer computer, content provider computer and
`advertisement provider computer through a communication
`medium.
`FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of the preferred process of
`registering a consumer with an advertisement provider.
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`FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the preferred process of
`registering a content provider with an advertisement pro
`vider.
`FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of the preferred process whereby
`a consumer accesses a content provider and is thereafter Sent
`an electronic document and customer advertisement.
`FIG. 8 is a detailed flow diagram of the preferred process
`where by the advertisement provider computer delivers the
`customized advertisement to the consumer computer.
`FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of
`the present invention wherein the customized advertisement
`is Sent through the content provider computer prior to
`reaching the consumer computer.
`FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment
`15
`of the present invention wherein the content provider com
`puter requests the customized advertisement and the adver
`tisement computer then sends the customized advertisement
`directly to the consumer computer.
`FIG. 11 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the
`present invention showing the flow of information among
`the consumer computer, content provider computer and
`advertisement provider computer through a communication
`medium.
`
`6
`browser' which runs on a user's computer; the program
`which responds to Web browser requests at a website is
`commonly referred to as a “Web server.”
`Common Gateway Interface (CGI). A standard interface
`which specifies how a Web server (or possibly another
`information server) launches and interacts with external
`programs (such as a database Search engine) in response to
`requests from clients. For example, when a consumer Web
`user fills out an on-Screen form which is linked to a database
`query, the on-screen form will invoke a common gateway
`interface program (called a CGI “script) which processes
`the desired database query. For more information on the
`common gateway interface, see Ian S. Graham, The HTML
`Source Book, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1995 (ISBN
`0471-11894-4), pp. 231-278.
`Digital Cash. In digital cash commerce, a consumer who
`maintains an electronic bank account and a payee who
`maintains an electronic bank account can engage in on-line
`transactions. When the consumer purchases a good or Ser
`Vice with digital cash, the consumer's bank account is
`automatically debited and the payee's bank account is
`automatically credited. Likewise, when providing a digital
`cash refund or transfer, the payee can debit its own bank
`account while crediting the consumer's bank account.
`Internet. A collection of interconnected (public and/or
`private) networks that are linked together by a set of
`standard protocols to form a distributed network. While this
`term is intended to refer to what is now commonly known
`as the Internet, it is also intended to encompass variations
`which may be made in the future, including changes and
`additions to existing Standard protocols.
`HyperText Markup Language (HTML). A standard coding
`convention and Set of codes for attaching presentation and
`linking attributes to informational content within docu
`ments. (HTML 2.0 is currently the primary standard used for
`generating Web documents.) During a document authoring
`stage, the HTML codes (referred to as “tags') are embedded
`within the informational content of the document. When the
`Web document (or “HTML document”) is subsequently
`transferred from a Web server to a Web browser, the codes
`are interpreted by the Web browser and used to parse and
`display the document. In addition to specifying how the Web
`browser is to display the document, HTML tags can be used
`to create links to other websites and other Web documents
`(commonly referred to as “hyper-links”). For more infor
`mation on HTML, see Ian S. Graham, The HTML Source
`Book, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1995 (ISBN 0471-11894
`4).
`Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP). The standard World
`Wide Web client-server protocol used for the exchange of
`information (Such as HTML documents, and client requests
`for such documents) between a Web browser and a Web
`server. HTTP includes a number of different types of mes
`Sages which can be sent from the client to the Server to
`request different types of Server actions. For example, a
`“GET message, which has the format GET <URL>, causes
`the server to return the document or file located at the
`specified Universal Resource Locator (URL).
`Persistent Client State Cookies (Cookie). A file stored on the
`client computer which contains information Such as user
`names and preferences. In the preferred embodiment, the
`Cookie in the consumer computer Stores a member code
`which uniquely identifies each consumer. The Specification
`for Cookies can be found at http://www.netscape.com/
`newsref/std/cookie Spec.html.
`Plug-in. A plug-in is a custom application which allows
`developers to customize or enhance features of Web brows
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
`The present invention is an apparatus and method for
`providing customized advertisements to consumers. In a
`preferred embodiment, the customized advertisements are
`generated by an advertisement provider computer whenever
`a consumer accesses a content provider website. Although
`the present invention is described herein with reference to a
`preferred interactive communications System, the invention
`is not So limited, and can be used in a variety of other
`contexts in which it is desirable to provide customized
`advertisements to consumers.
`To facilitate a complete understanding of the invention,
`the remainder of the detailed description is arranged within
`the following Sections and SubSections:
`I. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms
`II. Overview of the Preferred Interactive Communication
`System
`III. Implementation of the Preferred Interactive Commu
`45
`nication System
`A. The Communication Medium
`B. The Consumer Computers
`C. The Content Provider Computers
`D. The Advertisement Provider Computer
`IV. Registration and Customized Advertisement Process
`Ing
`A. Consumer Registration
`B. Content Provider Registration
`C. Customized Advertisement Processing
`V. Other Embodiments
`VI. Conclusion
`I. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms
`The following terms and acronyms are used throughout
`the detailed description:
`Client-Server. A mode