Systems and methods for taking action with respect to one network-connected device based on activity on another device connected to the same network

What is this patent about?

’398 is related to the field of targeted advertising and cross-device data correlation. Specifically, it addresses the technical challenge of delivering relevant television advertisements to a user based on their online browsing behavior without compromising privacy through the use of personally identifiable information. The background context involves the difficulty of linking disparate devices—such as a computer and a set-top box—that operate on different media platforms but share a common network point of entry.

The underlying idea behind ’398 is that devices belonging to the same household can be logically grouped by identifying their shared connection to a common local area network. By recognizing that an online access device and a television set-top box share the same external IP address or network gateway, the system can create a non-personal association between them. This allows the system to use behavioral data harvested from a web browser to select specific ads for the television, effectively bridging the gap between internet activity and broadcast media using network-layer identifiers as the connective tissue.

The claims of ’398 focus on a method and system for automatically generating and storing electronic indicia of an association between a first device and a second device. This association is triggered by the system recognizing that both devices have connected, independently of one another, to a common local area network. Once this link is established, the system uses profile data associated with the first device to trigger a specific action—typically the delivery of a targeted advertisement—on the second device.

In practice, the invention works by monitoring the IP addresses assigned to modems and set-top boxes. When a user performs a search or visits a site on their laptop, a central ad server records that activity alongside the current IP address. Simultaneously, the set-top box reports its own IP address to the same server. When a match is found, the server directs a targeted video ad to the set-top box. This mechanism can even account for roaming mobile devices by storing activity logs and syncing them once the device reconnects to the home network.

This approach differs from prior solutions by eliminating the need for names, addresses, or login credentials to link a viewer to their computer. By relying on the dynamic IP address or hardware identifiers as a temporary pseudonym, the invention enables cross-platform targeting that is both automated and privacy-centric. Furthermore, it allows for sophisticated filtering where the set-top box can choose which stored ads to display based on the genre of the program currently being watched, ensuring the ad matches the current viewer's likely demographic.