IP Verse

Condition-Based Method Of Directing Electronic Advertisements For Display In Ad Space Within Streaming Video Based On Website Visits

Patent No. US10839423 (titled "Condition-Based Method Of Directing Electronic Advertisements For Display In Ad Space Within Streaming Video Based On Website Visits") was filed by Almondnet Inc on Nov 8, 2019.

What is this patent about?

’423 is related to the field of online advertising, specifically behavioral targeting. The background involves the challenge of efficiently placing ads on different media properties based on a user's profile, which is built from their online behavior. Existing methods like cookie matching are inefficient because they don't account for varying ad space prices and the different values of user profiles to advertisers. Behavioral targeting companies aim to deliver relevant ads to users across different websites and media, but need a way to ensure profitability.

The underlying idea behind ’423 is to automate the selection of media properties for ad placement based on expected profit . A behavioral targeting company calculates the potential revenue from showing an ad to a user with a specific profile and subtracts the cost of ad space on a given media property. If the calculated profit is positive, the system arranges for the user to be tagged so that the media property can recognize them and serve a targeted ad. This ensures that the ad placement is likely to be profitable for the behavioral targeting company.

The claims of ’423 focus on a system and method for directing electronic advertisements. The system records behavioral profile information when a user visits a website. Then, it provides a second system (controlling video stream ad space) with tag information linking the user's profile to a device used to access video streams, without sharing the profile data itself. Crucially, the system also transfers a condition specific to the user's profile, which must be met before an ad based on that profile is served within the video stream.

In practice, the system works by first tracking a user's behavior on a website, such as the content they view or the searches they perform. This data is used to build a profile. When the user later accesses a video stream, the system uses tag information to identify the user to the video stream provider. However, instead of simply serving an ad based on the profile, the system also sends a condition. This condition might be a minimum bid price or a specific demographic requirement. The video stream provider checks if the condition is met before serving the ad, ensuring that the ad placement aligns with the behavioral targeting company's profit goals.

This approach differs from prior art by introducing a profit-driven, conditional ad placement mechanism. Instead of blindly tagging users and hoping for profitable ad placements, the system actively calculates expected profit and only arranges for tagging when a positive profit is anticipated. Furthermore, the use of a condition specific to the profile allows for more granular control over ad delivery, ensuring that ads are only served when they meet certain criteria, such as a minimum bid price or a match with specific user characteristics. This leads to more efficient and profitable ad campaigns.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical landscape at the time

In the mid-2000s when ’423 was filed, behavioral targeting was typically implemented using cookies to track user activity across different websites. At a time when systems commonly relied on redirecting users to ad servers for ad delivery, challenges existed in efficiently matching users with relevant ads due to varying ad space prices, diverse user profiles, and the need to optimize profit margins for behavioral targeting companies. Hardware and software constraints made it non-trivial to dynamically select media properties for ad placement based on real-time profit calculations.

Novelty and Inventive Step

The examiner allowed the claims because the prior art, taken individually or in combination, did not explicitly teach or render obvious the features of the broadest independent claim. Specifically, the examiner stated that the prior art failed to teach recording behavioral profile information collected during a website visit, triggering a second computer system to access tag information without transferring the behavioral profile, and then transferring a condition specific to the first profile to allow ad delivery on a second computerized device within video streams.

Claims

This patent contains 15 claims, with claims 1, 6, and 11 being independent. The independent claims are directed to a method, a computer system, and a computer-readable medium, respectively, all generally focused on directing electronic advertisements based on user profile information. The dependent claims generally add further specificity or detail to the elements and steps recited in the independent claims.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)Support for SpecificationInterpretation
Behavioral profile information
(Claim 1, Claim 6, Claim 11)		“As already mentioned, the observed behavior of a visitor to a first media property is referred to as profile information about a specific visitor. A visitor's profile might be enhanced by the visitors' observed behavior on other media properties or by other profile information collected on other media properties.”Information about a user's behavior collected during a visit to a website, used to create a profile for targeting advertisements.
Condition specific to the first profile
(Claim 1, Claim 6, Claim 11)		“A visitor's profile can be represented by a unique tag, or the profile can be stored with the tag, whether the tag is placed on the device, on a central database, or both. For example, the profile can be stored within a cookie (tag) on a visitor's device, or the profile can be stored in a central database where the tag connected to the profile is used as a unique identifier of the visitor's device or of the visitor personally.”A requirement or rule associated with the first profile that must be met before an advertisement is delivered to the second computerized device.
First computerized device
(Claim 1, Claim 6, Claim 11)		“The tag can be placed on the device used by the user to access the first media property where the user's profile was collected (in case of observed behavior, that behavior can be reading a specific content, searching, clicking an ad or content, making a phone call, asking for product information, acquiring a product, or taking any other kind of action).”A computerized device that visits a first website and whose behavior is recorded to create a profile.
Second computerized device
(Claim 1, Claim 6, Claim 11)		“The tag is used for the purpose of delivering additional ads to a visitor to one media property when that visitor is found later on other media properties, based on the visitor's profile collected on the first media property. The profile could be the observed behavior of the visitor on the media property, demographic information collected on the media property, profile information provided by the visitor to the media property, etc.”A computerized device used to access video streams, which receives targeted advertisements based on the profile of the first computerized device.
Tag information
(Claim 1, Claim 6, Claim 11)		“Although the above description relates to cookies, a cookie is only one example of a possible tag. A tag generally is a unique identifier used to mark a person electronically visiting a media property, such as a web site, TV channel, radio show, or the like, using a computer, a mobile device, a TV set, a TV set top box, or any other device.”Information that denotes a connection between a user profile and a computerized device used to access video streams, without transferring the behavioral profile information itself.

Litigation Cases New

US Latest litigation cases involving this patent.

Case NumberFiling DateTitle
3:25-cv-05721Jul 8, 2025Tiktok Inc V. Almondnet, Inc.
1:25-cv-00579May 9, 2025Almondnet, Inc. V. Zeta Global Corp.

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US10839423

ALMONDNET INC
Application Number
US16678196
Filing Date
Nov 8, 2019
Status
Granted
Expiry Date
Jun 14, 2027
External Links
Slate, USPTO, Google Patents