Indian Patents. 196934:"A SYSTEM FOR ORDERING AN ADVERTISING SPOT OVER A DATA NETWORK"

Title of Invention	"A SYSTEM FOR ORDERING AN ADVERTISING SPOT OVER A DATA NETWORK"
Abstract	The present invention relates generally to data networks, and more particularly, to a method and system for ordering advertising spots for advertisements over a data network to a target user during the transmission of motion pictures.

Full Text	BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to data networks, and more particularly, to a method and system for ordering advertising spots for advertisements over a data network to a target user during the transmission of motion pictures Description of the Related Art The delivery of advertisements to viewers of television programs has been based on an inefficient and wasteful model that does not reach the true target audience for the advertisement being shown That is, the present paradigm for pricing and delivery of advertisements does not deliver the advertisement to only those viewers who should be targeted for that advertisement This problem is best explained with reference to prior art FIG 1 Prior art FIG 1 is a block diagram view of the present advertisement pricing model In prior art FIG 1, an example is provided for ordering an advertising spot by a feminine product company for a feminine hygiene product to be viewed by 100,000 women between the ages of 3 5 and 50 The "demographics" m this example include a number (100,000 individuals), a gender (women) and an age (between 35 and 50) This is shown at box 5 of prior art FIG 1 Then at box 10, the television broadcaster or similar entity researches the television shows to determine which shows satisfy all, or a significant portion of all, demographics requested by the feminine product company at box 5 In the example of prior art Fig 1, the television show chosen is women's tennis At box 15, the cost per 1,000 (CPM) is calculated as a function of the most significant demographic in the viewing audience That is, not all television shows may satisfy the three demographics (number (100,000), gender (women) and ages (35-50)), but a particular television show may have a significant percentage of those three demographics Based on that CPM, at box 20, the television broadcaster charges a price ($10,000 for a 30-second spot) which is essentially a $100 CPM. The actual number of viewers is 360,000 people at box 23 Then at box 25, the advertisement is shown on the television during a television show The waste with the pricing model shown m prior art FIG 1 is explained by reference to boxes 30, 35 and 40 which demonstrate the demographics of the individuals that actually view the advertisement (box 30) , the cost per individual (box 35) based on the $10,000 charge by the television broadcaster and the inefficiency analysis (box 40) that results using this pricing model At box 30, six different groups of individuals actually viewed the advertisement (box 31) Specifically, from box 30, 125,000 women between the ages of 35 and 50 viewed the advertisement, however, individuals with different, non-targeted demographics also viewed the advertisement Those individuals include 75,000 women between the ages of 20 to 35 (box 32), 25,000 women that are teenagers (box 33), 75,000 men ages 35 to 50 (box 34), 50,000 men ages 20 to 35 (box 36) and 10,000 men in their teens (box 37) Essentially, the advertisement was placed in this television show (e g women's tennis) based on the 12 5,000 women ages 3 5 to 50 However, the remaining viewers (boxes 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37) are not individuals that the feminine product company wanted to show the advertisement to, yet the feminine product company is paying for those non-targeted individuals The amount that the feminine product company is paying for those individuals is shown m box 35 The costs per individuals as shown m box 35 are arbitrary costs based on the percentage of viewers of the total viewing audience multiplied by the $10,000 cost Thus, m box 35, the 125,000 women ages 35 to 50 have a cost of $3,472 50 for the group shown while the other costs for the non-targeted individuals is also directly proportional to the percentage of the number of individuals who see the advertisement (box 30) to the total viewers (360,000) In box 40, the inefficiency analysis is shown where only the costs of the group of the 125,000 women ages 35 to 50 (box 31) are accurate and all the remaining individuals viewing the tennis match are wasted In conclusion, only $3,472 50 of the $10,000 00 total costs for all individuals is accurate, resulting m a waste of 65 3% This correlates to a waste of $6,528 00 of the $10,000 00 paid for the advertisement because only approximately 35% of the individuals viewing the advertisement were m the target audience Prior art FIG 1 exemplifies the limitations m the prior art m that estimates based on group demographics are inefficient and wasteful A need exists for an advertisement system that targets the advertising to particular individuals rather than a group In addition, the feminine product company is paying the same costs per individual for all the 125,000 women between the ages 35 and 50, when the women closer to a particular age in that range (eg, 35 years old) may be a better target for the company than women at the other end of that range (eg , 50 years old) Therefore, there is a further need to be able to highly individualize the targeted audience on a person-by-person basis rather than on a group basis SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, there is provided a system for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to one or more target users comprising a broadcast server configured to receive from an advertising client one or more constraints defining characteristics of the one or more target users determine a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on the one or more constraints and transmit to the advertising client the price The present invention provides for a method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to a target user during a trasmission of a motion picture An advertiser first^provides to a boradcaster a predetermined constraint that defines the target user for receiving the advertisement * Then, the boradcaster uses the predetermined constraint to determine a price for the advertising spot The price is then offered by the broadcaster to the advertiser and the advertiser then orders the advertising spot based on the price to place the advertisement in the advertising spot to be transmitted to the target user during the transmission of a motion picture In a further embodiment, a method for determining the price for the advertising spot for transmitting the advertisement to a target user during a motion picture is also provided This method includes providing to a broadcaster, by an advertiser, a predetermined constraint defining the target user to receive the advertisement Then, the broadcaster searches an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals where each of the plurality of individuals has a profile The searching is performed to determine the target user by comparing each of the profiles of the plurality of individuals to the predetermined constraint to locate a match between the profiles of the plurality of individuals and the predetermined constraint Once matched, a cost is determined for each of the plurality of individuals based on a predetermined formula and the costs of each of the plurality of individuals are totaled to determine the price for the advertising spot The method of the present invention is embodied in both software and hardware embodiments in the present invention BRIFF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the detailed description when considered m connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein. Prior art FIG 1 is a block diagram view of a conventional pricing model for pricing and delivery of advertisements, FIG 2 is a block diagram view of an embodiment for the method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network of the present invention, FIG 3 is a flow chart of a further embodiment of the method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network, FIG 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method for determining a price for an advertising spot of the present invention, FIG 5 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the predetermined formula and an embodiment of the method for determining a price of the present invention, FIG 6 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the system of the present invention, FIG 7 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement of the present invention, and FIG 8 is an embodiment of a computer system implementing the method and system of the present invention DFTAIT.FD DFSCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG 2 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network In FIG 2, an advertiser 205 wishes to order an advertising spot 236 for an advertisement 225 over a data network 215 The advertisement is to be sent to a target user 235 by the broadcaster 220 during a transmission of a motion picture 238 In FIG 2, the advertiser is an entity that wishes to place advertising content (e g , commercials or other type of action calling attention to the public of the advertiser through paid announcements) to the target user 235 In order to get the advertisement 225 to the target user 235, the advertiser goes to a broadcaster 220 that is able to transmit the advertisement 225 to the target user 235 as part of a motion picture 238 incorporating or otherwise transmitting the advertising spot 236 within the motion picture 238 It is noted that the advertisement 225 may be sent either directly or indirectly from the advertiser to the broadcaster through intermediary entities, yet such indirect transmission of the advertisement falls within the scope of the present invention as claimed below The advertiser 2 05 may be any company that wishes to publicly pay for announcements through the advertisement 225 The advertiser has predetermined constraints 210 that are determined by the advertiser 205 in a variety of ways The predetermined constraint 210 is any information regarding the target user 235 that the advertiser 205 wishes to view the advertisement 225 This includes, without limitation, information such as name, age, income, address, hobbies, hours of television watched per day, profession, gender, and any other type of information of a target user 235 that is suitable for purposes of marketing content, including advertisement 225, to a target user 235 The predetermined constraints 210 typically are determined by the advertiser based on research of its products or services being offered in order to reach the target user 235 These predetermined constraints 210 may be sent through a data network 215, for example, the Internet, or other network that exchanges data The data network 215, in turn, sends the predetermined constraint, defining the target user 235 that will receive the advertisement 225, to the broadcaster 220 in order to determine a price for the advertising spot 236 that will be shown to the target user 235 Upon receiving the predetermined constraint 210, the broadcaster 220 uses the predetermined constraint 210 to determine the price by performing the method for determining a price for the advertising spot as described in detail below The broadcaster 220, after having determined the price for the advertising spot, offers that price 230 to the advertiser 205 by returning the price 23 0 through the data network 215 to the advertiser 2 05 The advertiser then orders the advertising spot 236 for the advertisement 225 based on the price 23 0 by sending to the broadcaster 220, through the data network 215, an order for the advertising spot The advertising spot is then transmitted to the target user 235 during the transmission of a motion picture The target user 235 is any individual viewing the motion picture 238 In use, the system of FIG 2 operates as follows An advertiser 205 communicates with a data network 215 by logging on to the Internet 215 as is well known in the art through a computer system, such as the computer of Fig 8 Once on the Internet, the advertiser 205 locates the broadcaster on the Internet through a web site of the broadcaster 220 Once at the web site (URL) of the broadcaster 220, the advertiser 205 sends the predetermined constraints 210 to the broadcaster 220 through the data network 215 This may be performed by entering a predetermined constraint 210, such as the name, age, gender, income, address, hobbies, hours of television watched per day profession etc defining the target user 235, into the web site that is sent across the data network 215 to the broadcaster 220 Again, it is noted that the advertiser 205 enters the predetermined constraints 210 into a computer system such as the computer system described with regard to FIG 8 below Once the predetermined constraints 210 are sent to the broadcaster 220, the broadcaster 220 uses the predetermined constraints 210 to determine a price 23 0 for the advertising spot 236. The broadcaster 220 determmes the price for the advertising spot 23 6 by searching an individual inventory (FIG 6) that is a database containing a plurality of individuals The plurality of individuals each have a profile that generally describes the individual, much in a similar manner as the predetermined constraints That is, the profile contains information such as age, gender, income, hobbies, and other information that generally describe each individual in the individual inventory The broadcaster 22 0 searches the individual inventory comparing the profile to the predetermined constraints xn order to make a match between the two For example, xn one embodxment, an individual in the individual inventory may be a 35-year-old woman with a skiing hobby The advertiser 205 may have entered a predetermined constraint 210 of a woman between the ages of 30 and 4 0 having a hobby of outdoor actxvitxes The broadcaster 220, by searchxng and comparxng the predetermxned constraxnts 210 (woman, ages 30-40, hobby of outdoors actxvxtxes) to the profxle of the xndxvxdual xnventory, xs able to match the predetermxned constraxnt 210 to the xndxvxdual having the profxle descrxbed xn order to select that individual Once that individual is selected, the broadcaster 220 determines a cost for that individual based on a predetermined formula described below in FIG 5 Each individual is then totaled to determine the price 230 to send over the data network 215 to the advertiser 205 as the price for placing the advertisement 225 m the motion picture 238 Once the advertiser 205 receives the price 230, the advertiser 205 determines whether it wishes to place that advertisement in the motion picture 238 with the broadcaster 220, and if so, the advertiser 205 agrees to the price 230 by-sending to the broadcaster 22 0, over the data network 215, the advertisement 225 and a confirmation to proceed with placing the advertisement 225 into the advertising spot 236 in the motion picture 238 Once the advertiser 205 receives the advertisement 225 and confirmation to proceed from the advertiser 205, which may or may not include payment of the price 230, the broadcaster 220 places the advertisement 225 into the advertising spot 236 to be shown to the target user 235 The method of FIG 2 contains a practical application in the technological arts of transmitting over a data network 215 a price 230 for individualized advertisement 225 That is, in the past, advertisements were placed into advertising spots in motion pictures based on group rates for certain demographics As shown m prior art FIG 1, this resulted m an inefficient pricing model where an advertiser paid for advertising to individuals that did not fall within the targeted audience all though a data network Now, with the method and system of the present invention, the advertiser pays per individual, as opposed to a group of individuals, where each individual is within the target audience There is therefore a cost savings to the advertiser because all advertisements are accurately shown to the desired target user Furthermore, from a broadcaster's perspective, the broadcaster may charge the advertiser for the specific number of individuals that are shown the advertisement, rather than sending the advertisement to both targeted individuals and non-targeted individuals Additionally, with the present method and system of the present invention, the interests of the individuals in the individual inventory is much more focused where very specific hobbies and other type of information is known of the individual to more narrowly focus the advertisements related to those hobbies or other information to create a more effective and efficient advertising scheme The present system further removes the need for any intermediary agency between the advertiser and broadcaster because the broadcaster contains the individual inventory and therefore does not need the services of an intermediary, such as an advertising agent, that may provide market research that links the demographics to the particular motion pictures FIG 3 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network In FIG. 3, a broadcaster receives a list of predetermined constraints for an advertisement from the advertiser at 305 The broadcaster then determines whether the advertiser specified a minimum number of impressions (l e the number of instances that the advertisement will be shown) In one embodiment, the impressions are sent to the broadcaster over the data network when using the system of the present invention If the advertiser did not specify the impression, then the broadcaster requests for that impression to be specified and the advertiser specifies the impressions at 315 If the advertiser did specify impressions, then the broadcaster scans the individual inventory at 32 0 for matches between the predetermined constraints and profiles of the individuals in the individual inventory Then at 325, the broadcaster determines whether the predetermined constraints can be met which, if they cannot be met, the broadcaster informs the advertiser over the data network that the predetermined constraints cannot be met at 330 If the predetermined constraints can be met and matches are made between the predetermined constraints and the profiles of the individuals m the individual inventory, then the broadcaster determines a price for the advertisement based on the/predetermined formula/at 335. The price is determined using the method of'determimng a price for an advertising spot as shown m FIG 5 below Then at 340, the price is sent back to the advertiser over the data network and the advertiser orders the advertising spot at the price offered at 350 whereby the advertiser pays the price for the advertising spot and transmits the advertisement to the broadcaster It is noted that, in one embodiment, the advertisement is sent to the broadcaster after a price has been agreed to between the advertiser and the broadcaster However, in alternative embodiments, it is possible for the advertiser to send the advertisements at various times during the communication between the advertiser and broadcaster, even including when the advertiser transmits the predetermined constraints to the broadcaster Lastly, at 360, the advertisement is transmitted to a target user during a transmission of a motion picture on a display device such as the display devices described with reference to FIG 8 below FIG 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the r method for determining a price for an advertising spot of the present invention In FIG 4, an advertiser provides to a broadcaster a predetermined constraint that defines the target user to receive the advertiser at 405. Again, these predetermined constraints may include the gender, age, income, hobbies, and other information that describes the target user to receive the advertisement. Upon receipt of the predetermined constraints, the broadcaster searches a database of individual inventory-to determine the target user based on the predetermined constraints defined by the advertiser at 410 Once a match is determined, the broadcaster determines a cost for each of the individuals from the individual inventory that have matched the profile that now become the target user based on a predetermined formula y(FIG 5) at 415 The cost for each individual is then added to determine a total price for the advertising spot at 420 FIG 5 is an embodiment of the method for determining a price in the method of the present invention In FIG 5, the predetermined constraints at 510, m this embodiment, include an age of 42, a gender of male and an income of between $50,000 and $100,000 annually In the individual inventory, a 42-year-old man with an income of $64,000 annually is located. One embodiment of a predetermined formula 505 has been set forth in the embodiment of FIG 5 that determines the cost per individual based on two criteria index value 515 and coefficients 520 It is important to note that the, predetermined formula 505 is only one embodiment of the type of predetermined formulas that may be used to determme the cost per individual in the individual inventory In essence, the predetermined formula may be any formula that determines the demand on the individuals in the individual inventory This demand may be based on the supply and demand of the specific "individuals contained in the individual inventory, as well as the supply and demand from the advertiser Thus, m FIG 5, the index values are first inserted at 515 for Xi, x2, x3 and x4. These index values, in this embodiment, are determined by the relative importance of the individual in the individual inventory to the broadcaster That is, an individual in the individual inventory may have a higher or lower index value based on the demand for an individual by the broadcaster with certain demographics in higher demand The demand for an individual from the advertiser creates a weighted significance upon which the predetermined formula is based. The weighted significance is defined as the amount of significance given to the coefficient values that is in turn based on the target individual's demand In one embodiment, that demand may be based on the amount of time available for the target individual to receive an advertisement Thus, lf an individual is age 3 5 and male, for example, many advertisers may want to advertise to the individual which would raise the demand for the individual and lower the time available to the individual Then at 52 0, the coefficient values for age, income, sex are inserted, added and the formula produces a price for that individual at 525 The coefficient values are based on the demand for the individual from the advertiser's perspective Then, all the prices for the specific individuals matched are added to determine the total price for the advertising spot FIG 6 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the system of the present invention In FIG 6, three specific devices are shown including the advertiser client 605, the broadcaster server 610 and a storage device 621. The advertiser client 605 and the broadcaster server 610 may be computer systems, in one embodiment, such as the computer system of FIG 8 In one embodiment, the advertiser client 605 and the broadcaster server 610 may be computer systems that can run software in order to perform the method and system of the present invention The storage device 621 contains databases that may be located with the broadcaster server 610 or even m other storage mediums locally or remotely from the broadcaster server 610 as long as the storage device 621 remains m communication with the broadcaster server 610 The storage device 621 may be any of the storage devices described in FIG 8 below The advertiser client 605 permits an advertiser (not shown) to communicate with the broadcaster server 610 to provide to the broadcaster (not shown) the predetermined constraint as described in FIG 2 above The advertiser therefore uses the advertiser client 605 to send the predetermined constraints to the broadcaster server 610 over a data network 606 In an alternative embodiment, the broadcaster server 610 asks the advertiser client 605 for the predetermined constraint in order to determine a price for the advertising spot This is performed by the order component 625 m the broadcaster server 610 Once the broadcaster server 610 requests the predetermined constraint, the advertiser client 605 provides the constraint through the data network 606 to the broadcaster server 610 The order component 625 receives the predetermined constraint from the advertiser client 605 and communicates with the pricing component 635 to transmit the predetermined constraint to the pricing component 635 It is noted that the components 625, 630, 63 5 and 64 0 of the broadcast server 62 0 are, in one embodiment, software modules written in well-known programming languages The pricing component 635 then communicates with the advertiser component 63 0 and the profile component 64 0 in order to determine the price for the advertising spot In turn, the advertising component 63 0 and the profile component 64 0 communicate with the individual inventory 655 in order to search the individual inventory 655 to compare the profile of the individuals m the individual inventory 655 with the predetermined constraints in order to find a match. After the matches have been found, the price for the individuals matched is determined by the pricing component 635 (using, e.g , the predetermined formula of FIG 5) and summed to determine a total price for the advertising spot. That total price is then transmitted to the advertiser client 605 through the data network 606. The advertiser client 605 then approves the total price and transmits the advertisement to the broadcaster server 610 The broadcaster server 610 then places the order m a order database 645 and places the advertiser m the advertiser database 650 It is noted that the storage device 621 containing the order database 645, the advertiser database 650 and the individual inventory 655 is accessed by the broadcaster server 610 through the data access layer 620 It is further noted that the storage device 621 may be located within or without the broadcaster server 610, as long as the two are in communication FIG 7 is flow chart of an embodiment of the method for ordering an advertising spot of the present invention In FIG 7, the advertiser specifies the predetermined constraints for an advertisement at 705 Then, at 710, the broadcaster determines the price for the advertisement based on the predetermined constraints and returns a total price to the advertiser over the data network. The advertiser then accepts the total price and submits the advertisements to the broadcaster over the data network at 715. Then at 720, the broadcaster displays the advertisement to the target users while transmitting the motion picture FIG 8 illustrates a high-level block diagram of a general purpose computer system which is used, m one embodiment, to implement the method and system of the present invention The general purpose computer 84 6, in one embodiment, acts as either the broadcaster server 610 or advertiser client 605 of FIG 6 The general purpose computer 846 of FIG 8 includes a processor 830 and memory 825 Processor B30 may contain a single microprocessor, or may contain a plurality of microprocessors, for configuring the computer system as a multi-processor system Memory 82 5, stores, m part, instructions and data for execution by processor 830, e g the components 62 5, 63 0, 63 5, 64 0 of the broadcaster server 610 If the system of the present invention is wholly or partially implemented m software, including computer instructions, memory 825 stores the executable code when in operation Memory 825 may include banks of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) as well as high speed cache memory The computer system 84 6 of FIG 8 further includes a mass storage device 835, peripheral device(s) 840, audio means 850, input device(s) 855, portable storage medium drive(s) 860, a graphics subsystem 880 and a display means 885 For purposes of simplicity, the components shown m FIG 8 are depicted as being connected via a single bus 880 d e transmitting means) However, the components may be connected through one or more data transport means (e g Internet, Intranet, etc ) For example, processor 83 0 and memory 825 may be connected via a local microprocessor bus, and the mass storage device 835, peripheral device(s) 840, portable storage medium drive(s) 860, and graphics subsystem 880 may be connected via one or more input/output (I/O) buses Mass storage device 835, which is typically implemented with a magnetic disk drive or an optical disk drive, is in one embodiment, a non-volatile storage device for storing data and instructions for use by processor 83 0 The mass storage device 835 includes the storage medium of embodiments of the present invention, and the server storage medium and client storage medium in alternative embodiments In another embodiment, mass storage device 835 stores the components of the broadcaster server 610. In another embodiment, the storage device 621 may also be the mass storage device 835 The computer instructions that implement the method of the present invention also may be stored in processor 83 0 Portable storage medium drive 860 operates in conjunction with a portable non-volatile storage medium, such as a floppy disk, or other computer-readable medium, to input and output data and code to and from the computer system of FIG 8 In one embodiment, the method of the present invention that is implemented using computer instructions is stored on such a portable medium, and is input to the computer system 84 6 via the portable storage medium drive 860 Peripheral device(s) 84 0 may include any type of computer support device, such as an input/output (I/O) interface, to add additional functionality to the computer system 846 For example, peripheral device(s) 840 may include a network interface card for interfacing computer system 84 6 to a network, a modem, and the like Input device (s) 855 provide a portion of a user interface Input device(s) 855 may include an alphanumeric keypad for inputting alpha-numeric and other key information, or a pointing device, such as a mouse, a trackball, stylus or cursor direction keys In order to used for practically implementing the method of the present invention Numerous other platforms can also suffice, such as Macintosh-based platforms available from Apple Computer, Inc , platforms with different bus configurations, networked platforms, multi-processor platforms, other personal computers, workstations, mainframes, navigation systems, and the like In a further embodiment, the present invention also includes a computer program product which is a computer readable medium (media) having computer instructions stored thereon/m which can be used to program a computer to perform the method of the present invention as shown in FIGs 4 and 7 The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, DVD, CD ROMs, magnetic optical disks, RAMs, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions These same computer instructions may be located an an electronic signal that is transmitted over a data network that performs the method as shown in FIGs 4 and 7 when loaded into a computer, such as the computer used for practically implementing the method of the present invention Numerous other platforms can also suffice, such as Macintosh-based platforms available from Apple Computer, Inc , platforms with different bus configurations, networked platforms, multi-processor platforms, other personal computers, workstations, mainframes, navigation systems, and the like In a further embodiment, the present invention also includes a computer program product which is a computer readable medium (media) having computer instructions stored thereon/in which can be used to program a computer to perform the method of the present invention as shown in FIGs 4 and 7 The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, DVD, CD ROMs, magnetic optical disks, RAMs, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions These same computer instructions may be located an an electronic signal that is transmitted over a data network that performs the method as shown in FIGs 4 and 7 when loaded into a computer, such as the computer system 846 of FIG 8 The computer instructions are m the form of data being transmitted over a data network In one embodiment, the method of the present invention is implemented in computer instructions and those computer instructions are transmitted in an electronic signal through cable, satellite or other transmitting means for transmitting the computer instructions in the electronic signals Stored on any one of the computer readable medium (media), the present invention includes software for controlling both the hardware of the general purpose/specialized computer or microprocessor, and for enabling the computer or microprocessor to interact with a human user or other mechanism utilizing the results of the present invention Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems and user applications Ultimately, such computer readable media further includes software for performing the method of the present invention as described above Although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to certain embodiments and examples, variations and modifications exist which are within the scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims We claim: 1. A method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to one or more target users during transmission of a motion picture, comprising: receiving from an advertiser one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users; determining a price for the advertising spot using the one or more predetermined constraints; and transmitting to the advertiser the price for the advertiser's acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more predetermined constraints are demographic information selected from the group consisting of gender, income, hobby, and age. 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises: searching an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals, each of the plurality of individuals having a profile, the searching performed to determine the one or more target users by comparing the one or more predetermined constraints to the profiles of the plurality of individuals to locate matches between the one or more predetermined constraints and the profiles of the plurality of individuals; and determining from the matches a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on a predetermined formula. 4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the predetermined formula comprises: apportioning a weighted significance to a saturation level, an age, an income, a gender, and a hobby of each of the one or more target users, the saturation level corresponding to a demand for each target user to receive the advertisement. 5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the demand for each target user further comprises an amount of time available for each target user to receive the advertisement. 6. A method for determining a price for an advertising spot for transmitting an advertisement to one or more target users during a motion picture, comprising: receiving from an advertiser one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users that the advertiser desires to receive the advertisement; searching an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals, each of the plurality of individuals associated with a profile; comparing each of the profiles of the plurality of individuals to the one or more predetermined constraints to locate matches between the profiles of the plurality of individuals and the one or more predetermined constraints, the matches identifying the one or more target users; determining from the matches a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on a predetermined formula; and transmitting to the advertiser the price for the advertiser's acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer. 7. A system for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to one or more target users during transmission of a motion picture, comprising: a broadcast server programmed to receive from an advertising client one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users, search an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals, each of the plurality of individuals having a profile, compare the one or more predetermined constraints to the profiles of the plurality of individuals to locate matches between the one or more predetermined constraints and the profiles of the plurality of individuals, the matches identifying the one or more target users, determine from the matches a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on a predetermined formula, and transmit to the advertising client the price for the advertiser's acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer. 8. A computer readable medium having computer instructions stored thereon that, when loaded into a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to one or more target users during transmission of a motion picture, the method comprising: receiving from an advertiser one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users; determining a price for the advertising spot using the one or more predetermined constraints; transmitting to the advertiser the price for the advertising spot; and receiving an order from the advertiser for the advertising spot. — 9. A computer readable medium having computer instructions stored thereon that, when loaded into a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method for determining a price for an advertising spot for transmitting an advertisement to one or more target users during a motion picture, comprising: receiving one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users that an advertiser desires to receive the advertisement; searching an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals, each of the plurality of individuals having a profile; comparing each of the profiles of the plurality of individuals to the one or more predetermined constraints to locate matches between the profiles of the plurality of individuals and the one or more predetermined constraints, the matches identifying the one or more target users; determining from the matches a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on a predetermined formula; and transmitting to the advertiser the price for the advertiser's acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer. 10. A system for determining a price for an advertising spot, comprising. means for receiving from an advertiser one or more predetermined constraints defining one or more target users that the advertiser desires to receive an advertisement that fills the advertising spot; means for determining a price for the advertising spot using the one or more predetermined constraints; and means for transmitting an offer to the advertiser to purchase the advertising spot at the price. 11. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the means for determining a price includes: means for searching an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals, each of the plurality of individuals having a profile; means for comparing the one or more predetermined constraints to the profiles of the plurality of individuals to locate matches between the one or more predetermined constraints and the profiles of the plurality of individuals, the matches identifying the one or more target users; and means for determining from the matches a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on a predetermined formula. 12. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the predetermined formula accounts for a demand for the one or more target users. 13. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the predetermined formula accounts for a supply and demand for the plurality of individuals in the individual inventory. 14. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the predetermined formula is the sum of the products of index values and coefficients. 15. A method for an advertiser to order an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to one or more target users during transmission of a motion picture, comprising: transmitting to a broadcaster one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users that the advertiser desires to receive the advertisement; receiving an offer from the broadcaster to purchase an advertising spot at a price, the price determined by the broadcaster comparing the one or more predetermined constraints to profiles of a plurality of individuals to locate matches there between, the matches identifying the one or more target users, and calculating the price based on the matches and a predetermined formula; and transmitting an order for the advertising spot to the broadcaster. — 16. The method as claimed in claim 1, further including the step of transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users during transmission of the motion picture. 17. The method as claimed in claim 1, further including the step of providing demographic information characterizing the one or more target users that receive the advertisement. 18. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the predetermined formula accounts for a demand for the one or more target users. 19. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the predetermined formula accounts for a supply and demand for the plurality of individuals in the individual inventory. 20. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the predetermined formula is the sum of the products of index values and coefficients. 21. The method as claimed in claim 6, further including the step of transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users during transmission of the motion picture. 22. The method as claimed in claim 6, further including the step of providing demographic information characterizing the one or more target users that receive the advertisement. 23. A method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to one or more target users during transmission of a motion picture substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 24. A computer readable medium having computer instructions stored thereon that, when loaded into a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method for determining a price for an advertising spot for transmitting an advertisement to one or more target users during a motion picture substantially as herein described with reference to the foregoing examples. 25. A system for determining a price for an advertising spot substantially as herein described with reference to the foregoing examples.

Full Text

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data networks, and more particularly, to a method and system for ordering advertising spots for advertisements over a data network to a target user during the transmission of motion pictures
Description of the Related Art
The delivery of advertisements to viewers of television programs has been based on an inefficient and wasteful model that does not reach the true target audience for the advertisement being shown That is, the present paradigm for pricing and delivery of advertisements does not deliver the advertisement to only those viewers who should be targeted for that
advertisement This problem is best explained with reference to prior art FIG 1
Prior art FIG 1 is a block diagram view of the present advertisement pricing model In prior art FIG 1, an example is provided for ordering an advertising spot by a feminine product company for a feminine hygiene product to be viewed by 100,000 women between the ages of 3 5 and 50 The "demographics" m this example include a number (100,000 individuals), a gender (women) and an age (between 35 and 50) This is shown at box 5 of prior art FIG 1 Then at box 10, the television broadcaster or similar entity researches the television shows to determine which shows satisfy all, or a significant portion of all, demographics requested by the feminine product company at box 5 In the example of prior art Fig 1, the television show chosen is women's tennis At box 15, the cost per 1,000 (CPM) is calculated as a function of the most significant demographic in the viewing audience That is, not all television shows may satisfy the three demographics (number (100,000), gender (women) and ages (35-50)), but a particular television show may have a significant
percentage of those three demographics Based on that CPM, at box 20, the television broadcaster charges a price ($10,000 for a 30-second spot) which is essentially a $100 CPM. The actual number of viewers is 360,000 people at box 23 Then at box 25, the advertisement is shown on the television during a television show
The waste with the pricing model shown m prior art FIG 1 is explained by reference to boxes 30, 35 and 40 which demonstrate the demographics of the individuals that actually view the advertisement (box 30) , the cost per individual (box 35) based on the $10,000 charge by the television broadcaster and the inefficiency analysis (box 40) that results using this pricing model At box 30, six different groups of individuals actually viewed the advertisement (box 31) Specifically, from box 30, 125,000 women between the ages of 35 and 50 viewed the advertisement, however, individuals with different, non-targeted demographics also viewed the advertisement Those individuals include 75,000 women between the ages of 20 to 35 (box 32), 25,000 women that are teenagers (box 33), 75,000 men ages 35 to 50 (box 34), 50,000 men ages 20 to 35 (box 36) and 10,000 men in their teens (box
37) Essentially, the advertisement was placed in this television show (e g women's tennis) based on the 12 5,000 women ages 3 5 to 50 However, the remaining viewers (boxes 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37) are not individuals that the feminine product company wanted to show the advertisement to, yet the feminine product company is paying for those non-targeted individuals
The amount that the feminine product company is paying for those individuals is shown m box 35 The costs per individuals as shown m box 35 are arbitrary costs based on the percentage of viewers of the total viewing audience multiplied by the $10,000 cost Thus, m box 35, the 125,000 women ages 35 to 50 have a cost of $3,472 50 for the group shown while the other costs for the non-targeted individuals is also directly proportional to the percentage of the number of individuals who see the advertisement (box 30) to the total viewers (360,000) In box 40, the inefficiency analysis is shown where only the costs of the group of the 125,000 women ages 35 to 50 (box 31) are accurate and all the remaining individuals viewing the tennis match are wasted In conclusion, only $3,472 50 of the
$10,000 00 total costs for all individuals is accurate, resulting m a waste of 65 3% This correlates to a waste of $6,528 00 of the $10,000 00 paid for the advertisement because only approximately 35% of the individuals viewing the advertisement were m the target audience
Prior art FIG 1 exemplifies the limitations m the prior art m that estimates based on group demographics are inefficient and wasteful A need exists for an advertisement system that targets the advertising to particular individuals rather than a group In addition, the feminine product company is paying the same costs per individual for all the 125,000 women between the ages 35 and 50, when the women closer to a particular age in that range (eg, 35 years old) may be a better target for the company than women at the other end of that range (eg , 50 years old) Therefore, there is a further need to be able to highly individualize the targeted audience on a person-by-person basis rather than on a group basis
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, there is provided a system for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to one or more target users comprising a broadcast server configured to receive from an advertising client one or more constraints defining characteristics of the one or more target users determine a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on the one or more constraints and transmit to the advertising client the price
The present invention provides for a method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to a target user during a trasmission of a motion picture An advertiser first^provides to a boradcaster a predetermined constraint that defines the target user for receiving the advertisement * Then, the boradcaster uses the predetermined constraint to determine a price for the advertising spot The price is then offered by the broadcaster to the advertiser and the advertiser then orders the advertising spot based on the price to place the advertisement in the advertising spot to be transmitted to the target user during the transmission of a motion picture
In a further embodiment, a method for determining the price for the advertising spot for transmitting the advertisement to a target user during a motion picture is also provided This method includes providing to a broadcaster, by an advertiser, a predetermined constraint defining the target user to receive the advertisement Then, the broadcaster searches an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals where each of the

plurality of individuals has a profile The searching is performed to determine the target user by comparing each of the profiles of the plurality of individuals to the predetermined constraint to locate a match between the profiles of the plurality of individuals and the predetermined constraint Once matched, a cost is determined for each of the plurality of individuals based on a predetermined formula and the costs of each of the plurality of individuals are totaled to determine the price for the advertising spot
The method of the present invention is embodied in both software and hardware embodiments in the present invention
BRIFF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the detailed description when considered m connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein.
Prior art FIG 1 is a block diagram view of a conventional pricing model for pricing and delivery of advertisements,
FIG 2 is a block diagram view of an embodiment for the method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network of the present invention,
FIG 3 is a flow chart of a further embodiment of the method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network,
FIG 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method for determining a price for an advertising spot of the present invention,
FIG 5 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the predetermined formula and an embodiment of the method for determining a price of the present invention,
FIG 6 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the system of the present invention,
FIG 7 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement of the present invention, and
FIG 8 is an embodiment of a computer system implementing the method and system of the present invention
DFTAIT.FD DFSCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG 2 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network In FIG 2, an advertiser 205 wishes to order an advertising spot 236 for an advertisement 225 over a data network 215 The advertisement is to be sent to a target user 235 by the broadcaster 220 during a transmission of a motion picture 238 In FIG 2, the advertiser is an entity that wishes to place advertising content (e g , commercials or other type of action calling attention to the public of the advertiser through paid announcements) to the target user 235 In order to get the advertisement 225 to the target user 235, the advertiser goes to a broadcaster 220 that is able to transmit the advertisement 225 to the target user 235 as part of a motion picture 238 incorporating or otherwise transmitting the advertising spot 236 within the motion picture 238 It is noted that
the advertisement 225 may be sent either directly or indirectly from the advertiser to the broadcaster through intermediary entities, yet such indirect transmission of the advertisement falls within the scope of the present invention as claimed below The advertiser 2 05 may be any company that wishes to publicly pay for announcements through the advertisement 225
The advertiser has predetermined constraints 210 that are determined by the advertiser 205 in a variety of ways The predetermined constraint 210 is any information regarding the target user 235 that the advertiser 205 wishes to view the advertisement 225 This includes, without limitation, information such as name, age, income, address, hobbies, hours of television watched per day, profession, gender, and any other type of information of a target user 235 that is suitable for purposes of marketing content, including advertisement 225, to a target user 235 The predetermined constraints 210 typically are determined by the advertiser based on research of its products or services being offered in order to reach the target user 235 These predetermined constraints 210 may be sent through a data network 215,
for example, the Internet, or other network that exchanges data The data network 215, in turn, sends the predetermined constraint, defining the target user 235 that will receive the advertisement 225, to the broadcaster 220 in order to determine a price for the advertising spot 236 that will be shown to the target user 235 Upon receiving the predetermined constraint 210, the broadcaster 220 uses the predetermined constraint 210 to determine the price by performing the method for determining a price for the advertising spot as described in detail below The broadcaster 220, after having determined the price for the advertising spot, offers that price 230 to the advertiser 205 by returning the price 23 0 through the data network 215 to the advertiser 2 05 The advertiser then orders the advertising spot 236 for the advertisement 225 based on the price 23 0 by sending to the broadcaster 220, through the data network 215, an order for the advertising spot The advertising spot is then transmitted to the target user 235 during the transmission of a motion picture The target user 235 is any individual viewing the motion picture 238
In use, the system of FIG 2 operates as follows An advertiser 205 communicates with a data network 215 by logging on to the Internet 215 as is well known in the art through a computer system, such as the computer of Fig 8 Once on the Internet, the advertiser 205 locates the broadcaster on the Internet through a web site of the broadcaster 220 Once at the web site (URL) of the broadcaster 220, the advertiser 205 sends the predetermined constraints 210 to the broadcaster 220 through the data network 215 This may be performed by entering a predetermined constraint 210, such as the name, age, gender, income, address, hobbies, hours of television watched per day profession etc defining the target user 235, into the web site that is sent across the data network 215 to the broadcaster 220 Again, it is noted that the advertiser 205 enters the predetermined constraints 210 into a computer system such as the computer system described with regard to FIG 8 below Once the predetermined constraints 210 are sent to the broadcaster 220, the broadcaster 220 uses the predetermined constraints 210 to determine a price 23 0 for the advertising spot 236. The broadcaster 220
determmes the price for the advertising spot 23 6 by searching an individual inventory (FIG 6) that is a database containing a plurality of individuals The plurality of individuals each have a profile that generally describes the individual, much in a similar manner as the predetermined constraints That is, the profile contains information such as age, gender, income, hobbies, and other information that generally describe each individual in the individual inventory The broadcaster 22 0 searches the individual inventory comparing the profile to the predetermined constraints xn order to make a match between the two For example, xn one embodxment, an individual in the individual inventory may be a 35-year-old woman with a skiing hobby The advertiser 205 may have entered a predetermined constraint 210 of a woman between the ages of 30 and 4 0 having a hobby of outdoor actxvitxes The broadcaster 220, by searchxng and comparxng the predetermxned constraxnts 210 (woman, ages 30-40, hobby of outdoors actxvxtxes) to the profxle of the xndxvxdual xnventory, xs able to match the predetermxned constraxnt 210 to the xndxvxdual having the profxle descrxbed xn order to
select that individual Once that individual is selected, the broadcaster 220 determines a cost for that individual based on a predetermined formula described below in FIG 5 Each individual is then totaled to determine the price 230 to send over the data network 215 to the advertiser 205 as the price for placing the advertisement 225 m the motion picture 238 Once the advertiser 205 receives the price 230, the advertiser 205 determines whether it wishes to place that advertisement in the motion picture 238 with the broadcaster 220, and if so, the advertiser 205 agrees to the price 230 by-sending to the broadcaster 22 0, over the data network 215, the advertisement 225 and a confirmation to proceed with placing the advertisement 225 into the advertising spot 236 in the motion picture 238 Once the advertiser 205 receives the advertisement 225 and confirmation to proceed from the advertiser 205, which may or may not include payment of the price 230, the broadcaster 220 places the advertisement 225 into the advertising spot 236 to be shown to the target user 235
The method of FIG 2 contains a practical application in the technological arts of transmitting
over a data network 215 a price 230 for individualized advertisement 225 That is, in the past, advertisements were placed into advertising spots in motion pictures based on group rates for certain demographics As shown m prior art FIG 1, this resulted m an inefficient pricing model where an advertiser paid for advertising to individuals that did not fall within the targeted audience all though a data network Now, with the method and system of the present invention, the advertiser pays per individual, as opposed to a group of individuals, where each individual is within the target audience There is therefore a cost savings to the advertiser because all advertisements are accurately shown to the desired target user
Furthermore, from a broadcaster's perspective, the broadcaster may charge the advertiser for the specific number of individuals that are shown the advertisement, rather than sending the advertisement to both targeted individuals and non-targeted individuals Additionally, with the present method and system of the present invention, the interests of the individuals in the individual inventory is much more focused where very
specific hobbies and other type of information is known of the individual to more narrowly focus the advertisements related to those hobbies or other information to create a more effective and efficient advertising scheme The present system further removes the need for any intermediary agency between the advertiser and broadcaster because the broadcaster contains the individual inventory and therefore does not need the services of an intermediary, such as an advertising agent, that may provide market research that links the demographics to the particular motion pictures
FIG 3 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network In FIG. 3, a broadcaster receives a list of predetermined constraints for an advertisement from the advertiser at 305 The broadcaster then determines whether the advertiser specified a minimum number of impressions (l e the number of instances that the advertisement will be shown) In one embodiment, the impressions are sent to the broadcaster over the data network when using the system of the present invention If the advertiser did
not specify the impression, then the broadcaster requests for that impression to be specified and the advertiser specifies the impressions at 315 If the advertiser did specify impressions, then the broadcaster scans the individual inventory at 32 0 for matches between the predetermined constraints and profiles of the individuals in the individual inventory Then at 325, the broadcaster determines whether the predetermined constraints can be met which, if they cannot be met, the broadcaster informs the advertiser over the data network that the predetermined constraints cannot be met at 330 If the predetermined constraints can be met and matches are made between the predetermined constraints and the profiles of the individuals m the individual inventory, then the broadcaster determines a price for the advertisement based on the/predetermined formula/at 335. The price is determined using the method of'determimng a price for an advertising spot as shown m FIG 5 below Then at 340, the price is sent back to the advertiser over the data network and the advertiser orders the advertising spot at the price offered at 350 whereby the advertiser pays the price for the advertising spot and
transmits the advertisement to the broadcaster It is noted that, in one embodiment, the advertisement is sent to the broadcaster after a price has been agreed to between the advertiser and the broadcaster However, in alternative embodiments, it is possible for the advertiser to send the advertisements at various times during the communication between the advertiser and broadcaster, even including when the advertiser transmits the predetermined constraints to the broadcaster Lastly, at 360, the advertisement is transmitted to a target user during a transmission of a motion picture on a display device such as the display devices described with reference to FIG 8 below
FIG 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the
r
method for determining a price for an advertising spot of the present invention In FIG 4, an advertiser provides to a broadcaster a predetermined constraint that defines the target user to receive the advertiser at 405. Again, these predetermined constraints may include the gender, age, income, hobbies, and other information that describes the target user to receive the advertisement. Upon receipt of the predetermined constraints, the
broadcaster searches a database of individual inventory-to determine the target user based on the predetermined constraints defined by the advertiser at 410 Once a match is determined, the broadcaster determines a cost for each of the individuals from the individual inventory that have matched the profile that now become the target user based on a predetermined formula y(FIG 5) at 415 The cost for each individual is then added to determine a total price for the advertising spot at 420
FIG 5 is an embodiment of the method for determining a price in the method of the present invention In FIG 5, the predetermined constraints at 510, m this embodiment, include an age of 42, a gender of male and an income of between $50,000 and $100,000 annually In the individual inventory, a 42-year-old man with an income of $64,000 annually is located. One embodiment of a predetermined formula 505 has been set forth in the embodiment of FIG 5 that determines the cost per individual based on two criteria index value 515 and coefficients 520 It is important to note that the, predetermined formula 505 is only one embodiment of the type of predetermined formulas that may be used to
determme the cost per individual in the individual inventory In essence, the predetermined formula may be any formula that determines the demand on the individuals in the individual inventory This demand may be based on the supply and demand of the specific "individuals contained in the individual inventory, as well as the supply and demand from the advertiser Thus, m FIG 5, the index values are first inserted at 515 for Xi, x2, x3 and x4. These index values, in this embodiment, are determined by the relative importance of the individual in the individual inventory to the broadcaster That is, an individual in the individual inventory may have a higher or lower index value based on the demand for an individual by the broadcaster with certain demographics in higher demand The demand for an individual from the advertiser creates a weighted significance upon which the predetermined formula is based. The weighted significance is defined as the amount of significance given to the coefficient values that is in turn based on the target individual's demand In one embodiment, that demand may be based on the amount of time available for the target individual to receive an advertisement Thus,
lf an individual is age 3 5 and male, for example, many advertisers may want to advertise to the individual which would raise the demand for the individual and lower the time available to the individual Then at 52 0, the coefficient values for age, income, sex are inserted, added and the formula produces a price for that individual at 525 The coefficient values are based on the demand for the individual from the advertiser's perspective Then, all the prices for the specific individuals matched are added to determine the total price for the advertising spot
FIG 6 is a block diagram view of an embodiment of the system of the present invention In FIG 6, three specific devices are shown including the advertiser client 605, the broadcaster server 610 and a storage device 621. The advertiser client 605 and the broadcaster server 610 may be computer systems, in one embodiment, such as the computer system of FIG 8 In one embodiment, the advertiser client 605 and the broadcaster server 610 may be computer systems that can run software in order to perform the method and system of the present invention The storage device 621 contains
databases that may be located with the broadcaster server 610 or even m other storage mediums locally or remotely from the broadcaster server 610 as long as the storage device 621 remains m communication with the broadcaster server 610 The storage device 621 may be any of the storage devices described in FIG 8 below The advertiser client 605 permits an advertiser (not shown) to communicate with the broadcaster server 610 to provide to the broadcaster (not shown) the predetermined constraint as described in FIG 2 above The advertiser therefore uses the advertiser client 605 to send the predetermined constraints to the broadcaster server 610 over a data network 606 In an alternative embodiment, the broadcaster server 610 asks the advertiser client 605 for the predetermined constraint in order to determine a price for the advertising spot This is performed by the order component 625 m the broadcaster server 610 Once the broadcaster server 610 requests the predetermined constraint, the advertiser client 605 provides the constraint through the data network 606 to the broadcaster server 610 The order component 625 receives the predetermined constraint from the advertiser client
605 and communicates with the pricing component 635 to transmit the predetermined constraint to the pricing component 635 It is noted that the components 625, 630, 63 5 and 64 0 of the broadcast server 62 0 are, in one embodiment, software modules written in well-known programming languages The pricing component 635 then communicates with the advertiser component 63 0 and the profile component 64 0 in order to determine the price for the advertising spot In turn, the advertising component 63 0 and the profile component 64 0 communicate with the individual inventory 655 in order to search the individual inventory 655 to compare the profile of the individuals m the individual inventory 655 with the predetermined constraints in order to find a match. After the matches have been found, the price for the individuals matched is determined by the pricing component 635 (using, e.g , the predetermined formula of FIG 5) and summed to determine a total price for the advertising spot. That total price is then transmitted to the advertiser client 605 through the data network 606. The advertiser client 605 then approves the total price and transmits the advertisement to the broadcaster
server 610 The broadcaster server 610 then places the order m a order database 645 and places the advertiser m the advertiser database 650 It is noted that the storage device 621 containing the order database 645, the advertiser database 650 and the individual inventory 655 is accessed by the broadcaster server 610 through the data access layer 620 It is further noted that the storage device 621 may be located within or without the broadcaster server 610, as long as the two are in communication
FIG 7 is flow chart of an embodiment of the method for ordering an advertising spot of the present invention In FIG 7, the advertiser specifies the predetermined constraints for an advertisement at 705 Then, at 710, the broadcaster determines the price for the advertisement based on the predetermined constraints and returns a total price to the advertiser over the data network. The advertiser then accepts the total price and submits the advertisements to the broadcaster over the data network at 715. Then at 720, the broadcaster displays the advertisement to the target users while transmitting the motion picture
FIG 8 illustrates a high-level block diagram of a general purpose computer system which is used, m one embodiment, to implement the method and system of the present invention The general purpose computer 84 6, in one embodiment, acts as either the broadcaster server 610 or advertiser client 605 of FIG 6 The general purpose computer 846 of FIG 8 includes a processor 830 and memory 825 Processor B30 may contain a single microprocessor, or may contain a plurality of microprocessors, for configuring the computer system as a multi-processor system Memory 82 5, stores, m part, instructions and data for execution by processor 830, e g the components 62 5, 63 0, 63 5, 64 0 of the broadcaster server 610 If the system of the present invention is wholly or partially implemented m software, including computer instructions, memory 825 stores the executable code when in operation Memory 825 may include banks of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) as well as high speed cache memory
The computer system 84 6 of FIG 8 further includes a mass storage device 835, peripheral device(s) 840, audio means 850, input device(s) 855, portable storage medium
drive(s) 860, a graphics subsystem 880 and a display means 885 For purposes of simplicity, the components shown m FIG 8 are depicted as being connected via a single bus 880 d e transmitting means) However, the components may be connected through one or more data transport means (e g Internet, Intranet, etc ) For example, processor 83 0 and memory 825 may be connected via a local microprocessor bus, and the mass storage device 835, peripheral device(s) 840, portable storage medium drive(s) 860, and graphics subsystem 880 may be connected via one or more input/output (I/O) buses Mass storage device 835, which is typically implemented with a magnetic disk drive or an optical disk drive, is in one embodiment, a non-volatile storage device for storing data and instructions for use by processor 83 0 The mass storage device 835 includes the storage medium of embodiments of the present invention, and the server storage medium and client storage medium in alternative embodiments In another embodiment, mass storage device 835 stores the components of the broadcaster server 610. In another embodiment, the storage device 621 may also be the mass storage device 835 The computer instructions
that implement the method of the present invention also may be stored in processor 83 0
Portable storage medium drive 860 operates in conjunction with a portable non-volatile storage medium, such as a floppy disk, or other computer-readable medium, to input and output data and code to and from the computer system of FIG 8 In one embodiment, the method of the present invention that is implemented using computer instructions is stored on such a portable medium, and is input to the computer system 84 6 via the portable storage medium drive 860 Peripheral device(s) 84 0 may include any type of computer support device, such as an input/output (I/O) interface, to add additional functionality to the computer system 846 For example, peripheral device(s) 840 may include a network interface card for interfacing computer system 84 6 to a network, a modem, and the like
Input device (s) 855 provide a portion of a user interface Input device(s) 855 may include an alphanumeric keypad for inputting alpha-numeric and other key information, or a pointing device, such as a mouse, a trackball, stylus or cursor direction keys In order to
used for practically implementing the method of the present invention Numerous other platforms can also suffice, such as Macintosh-based platforms available from Apple Computer, Inc , platforms with different bus configurations, networked platforms, multi-processor platforms, other personal computers, workstations, mainframes, navigation systems, and the like
In a further embodiment, the present invention also includes a computer program product which is a computer readable medium (media) having computer instructions stored thereon/m which can be used to program a computer to perform the method of the present invention as shown in FIGs 4 and 7 The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, DVD, CD ROMs, magnetic optical disks, RAMs, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions
These same computer instructions may be located an an electronic signal that is transmitted over a data network that performs the method as shown in FIGs 4 and 7 when loaded into a computer, such as the computer
used for practically implementing the method of the present invention Numerous other platforms can also suffice, such as Macintosh-based platforms available from Apple Computer, Inc , platforms with different bus configurations, networked platforms, multi-processor platforms, other personal computers, workstations, mainframes, navigation systems, and the like
In a further embodiment, the present invention also includes a computer program product which is a computer readable medium (media) having computer instructions stored thereon/in which can be used to program a computer to perform the method of the present invention as shown in FIGs 4 and 7 The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, DVD, CD ROMs, magnetic optical disks, RAMs, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions
These same computer instructions may be located an an electronic signal that is transmitted over a data network that performs the method as shown in FIGs 4 and 7 when loaded into a computer, such as the computer
system 846 of FIG 8 The computer instructions are m the form of data being transmitted over a data network In one embodiment, the method of the present invention is implemented in computer instructions and those computer instructions are transmitted in an electronic signal through cable, satellite or other transmitting means for transmitting the computer instructions in the electronic signals
Stored on any one of the computer readable medium (media), the present invention includes software for controlling both the hardware of the general purpose/specialized computer or microprocessor, and for enabling the computer or microprocessor to interact with a human user or other mechanism utilizing the results of the present invention Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems and user applications Ultimately, such computer readable media further includes software for performing the method of the present invention as described above
Although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to certain embodiments and examples, variations and modifications exist which are within the
scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims

We claim:
1. A method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data
network to be transmitted to one or more target users during transmission of a motion picture,
comprising:
receiving from an advertiser one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users;
determining a price for the advertising spot using the one or more predetermined constraints; and
transmitting to the advertiser the price for the advertiser's acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more predetermined
constraints are demographic information selected from the group consisting of gender, income,
hobby, and age.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the determining step
comprises:
searching an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals, each of the plurality of individuals having a profile, the searching performed to determine the one or more target users by comparing the one or more predetermined constraints to the profiles of the plurality of individuals to locate matches between the one or more predetermined constraints and the profiles of the plurality of individuals; and
determining from the matches a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on a predetermined formula.
4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the predetermined formula
comprises:
apportioning a weighted significance to a saturation level, an age, an income, a gender, and a hobby of each of the one or more target users, the saturation level corresponding to a demand for each target user to receive the advertisement.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the demand for each target user further comprises an amount of time available for each target user to receive the advertisement.
6. A method for determining a price for an advertising spot for transmitting an advertisement to one or more target users during a motion picture, comprising:
receiving from an advertiser one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users that the advertiser desires to receive the advertisement;
searching an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals, each of the plurality of individuals associated with a profile;
comparing each of the profiles of the plurality of individuals to the one or more predetermined constraints to locate matches between the profiles of the plurality of individuals and the one or more predetermined constraints, the matches identifying the one or more target users;
determining from the matches a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on a predetermined formula; and
transmitting to the advertiser the price for the advertiser's acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer.
7. A system for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data
network to be transmitted to one or more target users during transmission of a motion picture,
comprising:
a broadcast server programmed to
receive from an advertising client one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users,
search an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals, each of the plurality of individuals having a profile,
compare the one or more predetermined constraints to the profiles of the plurality of individuals to locate matches between the one or more predetermined constraints and the profiles of the plurality of individuals, the matches identifying the one or more target users,
determine from the matches a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on a predetermined formula, and
transmit to the advertising client the price for the advertiser's acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer.
8. A computer readable medium having computer instructions stored thereon
that, when loaded into a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method for
ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to one or
more target users during transmission of a motion picture, the method comprising:
receiving from an advertiser one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users;
determining a price for the advertising spot using the one or more predetermined constraints;
transmitting to the advertiser the price for the advertising spot; and
receiving an order from the advertiser for the advertising spot. —
9. A computer readable medium having computer instructions stored thereon
that, when loaded into a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method for
determining a price for an advertising spot for transmitting an advertisement to one or more
target users during a motion picture, comprising:
receiving one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users that an advertiser desires to receive the advertisement;
searching an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals, each of the plurality of individuals having a profile;
comparing each of the profiles of the plurality of individuals to the one or more predetermined constraints to locate matches between the profiles of the plurality of individuals and the one or more predetermined constraints, the matches identifying the one or more target users;
determining from the matches a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on a predetermined formula; and
transmitting to the advertiser the price for the advertiser's acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer.
10. A system for determining a price for an advertising spot, comprising.
means for receiving from an advertiser one or more predetermined constraints defining one or more target users that the advertiser desires to receive an advertisement that fills the advertising spot;
means for determining a price for the advertising spot using the one or more predetermined constraints; and
means for transmitting an offer to the advertiser to purchase the advertising spot at the price.
11. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the means for determining a
price includes:
means for searching an individual inventory containing a plurality of individuals, each of the plurality of individuals having a profile;
means for comparing the one or more predetermined constraints to the profiles of the plurality of individuals to locate matches between the one or more predetermined constraints and the profiles of the plurality of individuals, the matches identifying the one or more target users; and
means for determining from the matches a price for transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users based on a predetermined formula.
12. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the predetermined formula accounts for a demand for the one or more target users.
13. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the predetermined formula accounts for a supply and demand for the plurality of individuals in the individual inventory.
14. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the predetermined formula is the sum of the products of index values and coefficients.
15. A method for an advertiser to order an advertising spot for an
advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to one or more target users during
transmission of a motion picture, comprising:
transmitting to a broadcaster one or more predetermined constraints defining the one or more target users that the advertiser desires to receive the advertisement;
receiving an offer from the broadcaster to purchase an advertising spot at a price, the price determined by the broadcaster comparing the one or more predetermined constraints to profiles of a plurality of individuals to locate matches there between, the matches identifying the one or more target users, and calculating the price based on the matches and a predetermined formula; and
transmitting an order for the advertising spot to the broadcaster. —
16. The method as claimed in claim 1, further including the step of transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users during transmission of the motion picture.
17. The method as claimed in claim 1, further including the step of providing demographic information characterizing the one or more target users that receive the advertisement.
18. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the predetermined formula accounts for a demand for the one or more target users.
19. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the predetermined formula accounts for a supply and demand for the plurality of individuals in the individual inventory.
20. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the predetermined formula is the sum of the products of index values and coefficients.
21. The method as claimed in claim 6, further including the step of transmitting the advertisement to the one or more target users during transmission of the motion picture.
22. The method as claimed in claim 6, further including the step of providing demographic information characterizing the one or more target users that receive the advertisement.
23. A method for ordering an advertising spot for an advertisement over a data network to be transmitted to one or more target users during transmission of a motion picture substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
24. A computer readable medium having computer instructions stored thereon that, when loaded into a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method for determining a price for an advertising spot for transmitting an advertisement to one or more target users during a motion picture substantially as herein described with reference to the foregoing examples.
25. A system for determining a price for an advertising spot substantially as herein described with reference to the foregoing examples.

Documents:

1249-del-2002-abstract.pdf

1249-del-2002-assignment.pdf

1249-del-2002-claims.pdf

1249-del-2002-complete specification (as files).pdf

1249-del-2002-complete specification (granted).pdf

1249-del-2002-correspondence-others.pdf

1249-del-2002-correspondence-po.pdf

1249-del-2002-description (complete).pdf

1249-del-2002-drawings.pdf

1249-del-2002-form-1.pdf

1249-del-2002-form-19.pdf

1249-del-2002-form-2.pdf

1249-del-2002-form-3.pdf

1249-del-2002-form-4.pdf

1249-del-2002-form-5.pdf

1249-del-2002-gpa.pdf

1249-del-2002-petition-137.pdf

1249-del-2002-petition-138.pdf

abstract.jpg

« Previous Patent

Next Patent »

Patent Number

196934

Indian Patent Application Number

1249/DEL/2002

PG Journal Number

31/2009

Publication Date

31-Jul-2009

Grant Date

23-Feb-2007

Date of Filing

12-Dec-2002

Name of Patentee

INDIVIDUAL NETWORK,INC.

Applicant Address

2717 ROYAL TROON DRIVE, PLANO, TX 75025,UNITED STATE OF AMERICA.

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	KHOO, Denis	9729 CAMINO REAL, ARCADIA, CA 91007,UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
2	RATCLIFF, Raymond, F., III	2717 ROYAL TROON, SUITE 200, PLANO, TX 75025,UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

PCT International Classification Number

H04 L 12/16

PCT International Application Number

N/A

PCT International Filing date

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1			NA