System And Method For Creation, Distribution And Tracking Of Advertising Via Electronic Networks
Patent No. US11004090 (titled "System And Method For Creation, Distribution And Tracking Of Advertising Via Electronic Networks") was filed by Krassner Brad on Apr 4, 2009.
What is this patent about?
’090 is related to the field of online advertising . Specifically, it addresses the problem of efficiently creating, distributing, and tracking advertisements across electronic networks, while also optimizing revenue for both advertisers and publishers. The background involves challenges such as the high cost of ad creation, the difficulty in tracking content usage for licensing fees, and the need for publishers to maximize revenue from ad placements.
The underlying idea behind ’090 is to create a system where advertisers can easily create ads using licensed digital content and then participate in an auction-based system to place those ads on various network locations. This system uses a 'billboard module' embedded in websites or other network locations, which triggers a real-time auction when a user interacts with it. The winning ad is then dynamically assembled and displayed, with usage tracked for cost-per-use billing.
The claims of ’090 focus on a system comprising a correlator code and one or more modules associated with triggering areas of an ad content page. The correlator code, working with a web browser, determines if these triggering areas are within or near the visible area of the browser window. Based on this determination, the modules are activated, sending communications to a server. The server then selects and serves advertisements based on bids, rendering them in predefined areas associated with the triggering areas.
In practice, the invention works by having advertisers bid on keywords or categories associated with specific ad spaces. When a user's action (like clicking or searching) triggers a 'billboard module', the system runs an auction among the relevant ads. The winning ad is then assembled on-the-fly using licensed content, and the system tracks impressions and clicks to bill the advertiser and compensate the content licensor and ad space owner. The use of FSDC (File Server Direct Connection) technology allows for efficient tracking without redirecting user requests.
’090 differentiates itself from prior approaches by providing a comprehensive system for ad creation, distribution, and tracking, including features like cost-per-use licensing of digital content and a real-time auction for ad placement. Unlike traditional systems that embed advertising HTML files directly into web pages, this invention uses a 'billboard module' and a dispatcher server to dynamically assemble ads, reducing labor and costs. Furthermore, it allows for 'second generation relevancy' , displaying ads that are related to, but not directly based on, the user's initial search query.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the mid-2000s when ’090 was filed, at a time when advertising systems commonly relied on CPM or CPC models, advertisers faced challenges in optimizing ROI due to limitations in tracking content usage and real-time ad response. Content creation was often expensive, and publishers needed simpler methods for placing ads on websites to maximize revenue. Hardware and software constraints made it non-trivial to provide accurate accounting to advertisers, content licensors, and ad publishers by ascertaining and tracking user click-throughs/impressions of fully rendered advertisements.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner allowed the claims because, after searching the prior art, they could not find each and every limitation of the amended claims, including the predefined distance. The examiner tried to find prior art with all the limitations of the claim as it was before the amendment, while also showing the new limitations of the amendment, using references that could be reasonably combined, and without resorting to hindsight bias, but was unsuccessful. The applicant's amendment also resolved the 112 issues in the recent Final Rejection.
Claims
This patent contains 37 claims, with independent claims numbered 1, 6, 11, 23, 26, and 33. The independent claims generally focus on systems and methods for serving and rendering advertisements on a web content page based on the location of triggering areas relative to the visible area of a browser window. The dependent claims generally elaborate on the specifics of the independent claims, such as the timing of ad content replacement, auction processes for ad selection, and the use of multiple triggering areas.
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Date
Description
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US11004090
- Application Number
- US12384403
- Filing Date
- Apr 4, 2009
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Dec 21, 2026
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents