Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
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METHOD AND SYSTEM FUR USING A COMMUNICATION NETWORK TO SUPPLY
TARGETED STREAMING ADVERTISING IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and
apparatus for transmitting and receiving programmed music
to and from the Internet to subscribers of the programmed
music, where the programmed music received by the
subscribers includes targeted advertising according to
predetermined criteria.
Public and network television and radio
7.0 stations have for decades distributed proprietary
copyrighted subject matter to the viewing and listening
public without any charge due to the sponsorship and
financing of these programs by various advertisers and/or
governmental bodies. With television and radio
7.5 broadcast, it is difficult if not impossible to deliver
specific advertisement messages to finely selected
audiences since audience targeting is possible only on
the basis of broad geographical areas, e.g. the city of
New York. It is impossible to target individuals, or
2fl individuals who share a common trait, e.g. a certain age
range, educational background, etc.
In contrast, the Internet communicates (at
least along a portion of its path) over personal
communication lines, i.e. the telephone. This enables
25 sending of tailored messages between the ultimate
recipient of specific information and the source of the
information, e.g. a website, an Internet Service
Provider, etc. Traditionally, proprietary, e.g.
copyrighted, information could be downloaded from the
30 Internet. In most r_ases, charge accounts are established
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
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with an Internet Service Provider and the recipient of
the proprietary data content pays for those services
and/or information. .
It is desirable to provide an Internet based
system for the dissemination of valuable proprietary
information free of charge, just as it is provided
through network television and radio stations without any
costs to the ultimate user/subscriber and with advertiser
sponsorship thereof targeted to the subscriber.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a general object of the
present invention to provide programmed music via the
Internet to numerous subscribers without any charge to
the subscribers.
It is a further object of the invention to
provide programmed music to the general public in a
manner which facilitates the bundling of such programmed
music with advertisement copy tailored to the individual,
to thereby underwrite the cost of supplying to members of
the public valuable music and other data containing
inf ormat ion .
It is a further object of the invention to
provide advertisers a method of targeting music consumers
meeting a profile designated by the advertiser which
assures that the targeted music consumer receivES a
message tailored for such consumer.
It is a further object of the invention to
provide a system of the above type which is easy to use
and implement.
~0 Tr:~ a',Legoing and other objects of the
invention are realized in accordance with a preferred
embodiment of the present invention which includes a
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
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software-controlled and microprocessor-based repository
in which the dossiers of a plurality of subscribers are
stored and updated. Subscribers use their own
microprocessor-based systems to receive the pr.ogra~med
music and advertisements from the repository over the
Internet via their PCs.
The system handles advertisers by creating
advertiser dossiers containing the amount of advertising
time purchased by each advertiser, the amount used up and
the amount remaining to be used ("available allocation"):
The advertiser dossiers also contain specification of the
desired consumer profiles to be targeted, specification
of the category of products or services to be advertised,
specification of any territorial or local time
:l5 requirements or preferences, and a key to the location of
the audio advertising content.
The present invention includes a repository,
I.e. database, in which all musical content is stored and
updated in either or both digital or analog form. Each
item of music content is cataloged, defining the nature
or category of the contents, the identity of the
copyright holder or holders, the characteristics of the
desired consumer or subscriber, the category of any
product or service the advertising far which is not to be
annexed to the content, and any limitation on the
availability of the content. The content is converted to
digital form for delivery over the Internet. The content
may further be encoded to prevent unauthorized
duplication and to identify the subscriber to whom the
content is to be delivered.
The udtabase also includes the identity of each
copyright holder of the music content and an audio
message identifying the artist and/or the copyright
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
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J' a
holders of each item of music content ("identity audio
message").
A separate database is used to store and update
the advertising content, again in either digital or
analog form, later to be linked and transmitted to the
ultimate consumer/subscriber. The advertisements are
converted to digital form for delivery as audio messages
over the Internet. The audio content of the database may
include generic audio messages.
In operation, the subscriber selects the
content which he or she desires to receive, and the
content is placed in a queue for transmittal to the
subscriber. Based tin the profile of the content, a
determination is made by the CPU based system as to which
advertising copy -- there may be many different ones --
is appropriate to be delivered to the particular
subscriber. The system then selects from a set
containing numerous, different advertising messages those
items that fit the subscriber and which also have
"available allocation." From the advertising messages
that can be transmitted, the next available advertising
message~is selected. In effect, advertisers buy the
right to have their messages played a given number of
times. If their available allocation of advertising play
time has run out, they must replenish their account or
their advertising messages) will not be transmitted to
subscribers.
Finally, t:he selected advertising message is
affixed to the next generic message in the queue or to
3~~ the applicable artiest (composition) identity audio
-message. The s:~stem automatically links the ac~crt:i,sing
message, the generic: or identity audio message and the
subscriber selected content into a single data stream to
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
be transmitted to the subscriber over the Internet. In
constructing the stream, the system overlays the generic or
identity audio message onto the music content so that, when
delivered, the audio generic message and the audio content
5 can both be heard by the subscriber simultaneously. The
completed data stream is then delivered to the subscriber
in a single, inseparable stream of data packets over the
Internet.
In a first aspect, the present invention seeks to
provide a method of using a computer network to transmit
programmed information to a plurality of users, the method
comprising the steps of storing a first database containing
a number of discrete data units each of which has a related
profile, the data units comprising audio content, storing a
second database containing user criteria corresponding to
each of the plurality of users, using the user criteria to
identify a desired one or more of the plurality of users
and transmitting a message to the identified user, the
message identifying one or more of the discrete data units,
the message further identifying a method by which the
identified user may be provided access to the identified
discrete data units.
In a second aspect, the present invention seeks
to provide a method of using a computer network to transmit
programmed information to a plurality of users, the method
comprising the steps of storing a first database containing
a number of discrete data units each of which has a related
profile, the data units comprising audio content, storing a
second database containing user criteria corresponding to
each of the plurality of users, storing a third database
containing a variety of discrete advertising messages each
of which has a related profile, using the user criteria to
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
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identify a desired one or more of the plurality of users,
transmitting a message to the identified user, the message
identifying one or more of the discrete data units,
receiving a request for one or more of the identified data
units from the identified user, appending to the requested
data units, at least of the advertising messages based upon
a matching between the corresponding advertising profile
and at least one user criterion to create a composite
response packet in the form of a sequential data flow, the
sequential data flow comprising an advertising message and
a data unit and transmitting the composite response packet
to the identified user.
In a third aspect, the present invention seeks to
provide a system for transmitting programmed information to
a plurality of users across a computer network, the system
comprising a first database storing a number of discrete
data units each of which has a related profile, the data
units comprising musical content, a second database storing
user criteria corresponding to each of the plurality of
users, a central processing unit coupled to the first
database and the second database, the central processing
unit executing functions comprising using the user criteria
to identify a desired one or more of the plurality of users
and transmitting a message to the identified user across
the computer network, the message identifying one or more
of the discrete data units.
In a fourth aspect, the present invention seeks
to provide a system for transmitting programmed information
to a plurality of users across a computer network, the
system comprising a first database storing a number of
discrete data units each of which has a related profile,
the data units comprising musical content, a second
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
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database storing user criteria corresponding to each of the
plurality of users, a third database storing a variety of
discrete advertising messages each of which has a related
profile, a central processing unit coupled to the first
database, the second database and the third database, the
central processing unit executing functions comprising
using the user criteria to identify a desired one or more
of the plurality of users, transmitting a message to the
identified user, the message identifying one or more of the
discrete data units, receiving a request for one or more of
the identified data units from the identified user,
appending to the requested data units, at least one of the
advertising messages based upon a matching between the
corresponding advertising profile and at least one user
criterion to create a composite response packet in the form
of a sequential data flow, the sequential data flow
comprising an advertising message and a data unit and
transmitting the composite response packet to the
identified user.
In a fifth aspect, the present invention seeks to
provide a method of using a communication network to
deliver broadcast radio content to a user, the method
comprising the steps of storing at least one advertising
message in a first database, storing the broadcast radio
content in a second database, storing a profile
corresponding to the user in a third database, storing
advertisement criteria identifying which of the at least
one advertising messages should be played to users whose
profile most closely matches the advertisement criteria,
receiving a request for broadcast radio content from a user
terminal, the user terminal corresponding to the user,
retrieving at least one advertisement from the first
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
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database based upon a matching of the corresponding
advertisement criteria which most closely matches the
profile corresponding to the user, retrieving the requested
broadcast radio content from the second database,
delivering the broadcast radio content in digital form to
the user terminal, delivering the at least one retrieved
advertisement in digital form to the user terminal and
playing the delivered broadcast radio content and the at
least one retrieved advertisement in a sequential manner on
the user terminal.
In a sixth aspect, the present invention seeks to
provide a method for using a communication network to
deliver broadcast television content to a user, the method
comprising the steps of storing at least one advertising
message in a first database, storing the broadcast
television content in a second database, storing a profile
corresponding to the user in a third database, storing
advertisement criteria identifying which of the at least
one advertising messages should be played to users whose
profile most closely matches the advertisement criteria,
receiving a request for broadcast television content from a
user terminal, the user terminal corresponding to the user,
retrieving at least one advertisement from the first
database based upon a matching of the corresponding
advertisement criteria which most closely matches the
profile corresponding to the user, retrieving the requested
broadcast television content from the second database,
delivering the broadcast television content in digital form
to the user terminal, delivering the at least one retrieved
advertisement in digital form to the user terminal and
playing the delivered broadcast television content and the
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
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at least one retrieved advertisement in a sequential manner
on the user terminal.
In a seventh aspect, the present invention seeks
to provide a method of delivering broadcast radio content
to at least one user, comprising storing at least one
advertising message in a first database, storing the
broadcast radio content in a second database, storing a
profile corresponding to the user in a third database,
storing advertisement criteria identifying which of the at
least one advertising messages should be played to users
whose profile most closely matches the advertisement
criteria, receiving a request for broadcast radio content
from a user terminal, the user terminal corresponding to
the user, retrieving at least one advertisement from the
first database based upon a matching of the corresponding
advertisement criteria with the most closely matching
profile corresponding to the user, appending the retrieved
at least one advertisement to the requested broadcast radio
content, delivering the appended retrieved at least one
advertisement and requested broadcast radio content to the
user.
In an eighth aspect, the present invention seeks
to provide a method of delivering broadcast television
content to at least one user, comprising storing at least
one advertising message in a first database, storing the
broadcast television content in a second database, storing
a profile corresponding to the user in a third database,
storing advertisement criteria identifying which of the at
least one advertising messages should be played to users
whose profile most closely matches the advertisement
criteria, receiving a request for broadcast television
content from a user terminal, the user terminal
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
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corresponding to the user, retrieving at least one
advertisement from the first database based upon a matching
of the corresponding advertisement criteria with the most
closely matching profile corresponding to the user,
appending the retrieved at least one advertisement to the
requested broadcast television content, delivering the
appended retrieved at least one advertisement and requested
broadcast television content to the user.
In a ninth aspect, the present invention seeks to
provide a system for playing selected broadcast radio
content to at least one user, the system comprising at
least one database storing at least one advertising
message, broadcast radio content, a profile corresponding
to the user and advertisement criteria identifying which of
the at least one advertising messages should be played to
users whose profile most closely matches the advertisement
criteria and a central processing unit, the central
processing unit performing the functions of receiving a
request for broadcast radio content from a user terminal
corresponding to the user, retrieving at least one
advertisement from the database based upon a matching of
the corresponding advertisement criteria with the most
closely matching profile corresponding to the user and
retrieving the requested broadcast radio content from the
second database, responding to the received broadcast radio
content request by delivering the broadcast radio content
in digital form and the at least one retrieved
advertisement in digital form to the user terminal for
sequential play to the user.
In a tenth aspect, the present invention seeks to
provide a system for playing selected broadcast television
content to at least one user, the system comprising at
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
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least one database storing at least one advertising
message, broadcast television content, a profile
corresponding to the user and advertisement criteria
identifying which of the at least one advertising messages
should be played to users whose profile most closely
matches the advertisement criteria and a central processing
unit, the central processing unit performing the functions
of receiving a request for broadcast television content
from a user terminal corresponding to the user, retrieving
at least one advertisement from the database based upon a
matching of the corresponding advertisement criteria with
the most closely matching profile corresponding to the user
and retrieving the requested broadcast television content
from the second database, responding to the received
broadcast television content request by delivering the
broadcast television content in digital form and the at
least one retrieved advertisement in digital form to the
user terminal for sequential play to the user.
In an eleventh aspect, the present invention
seeks to provide a method for using a communication network
to deliver audio content to a user, the method comprising
the steps of storing at least one advertising message in a
first database, storing a profile corresponding to the
user, storing advertisement criteria identifying which of
the at least one advertising messages should be played to
users whose profile most closely matches the advertisement
criteria, receiving a request for audio content from a user
terminal, the user terminal corresponding to the user,
retrieving at least one advertisement from the database
based upon a matching of the corresponding advertisement
criteria with the most closely matching profile
corresponding to the user, delivering the audio content to
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
- 5 (g)
S
the user terminal, delivering the at least one retrieved
advertisement to the user terminal, and sequentially
playing the audio content and the at least one retrieved
advertisement.
In a twelfth aspect, the present invention seeks
to provide a method for using a communication network to
deliver multimedia content to a user, the method comprising
the steps of storing at least one advertising message in a
first database, storing a profile corresponding to the
user, storing advertisement criteria identifying which of
the at least one advertising messages should be played to
users whose profile most closely matches the advertisement
criteria, receiving a request for multimedia content from a
user terminal, the user terminal corresponding to the user,
retrieving at least one advertisement from the database
based upon a matching of the corresponding advertisement
profile with the most closely matching profile
corresponding to the user, delivering the multimedia
content to the user terminal, delivering the at least one
retrieved advertisement to the user terminal, and
sequentially playing the multimedia content and the at
least one retrieved advertisement.
In a thirteenth aspect, the present invention
seeks to provide a method for using a communication network
to play audio content to a user, the method comprising the
steps of storing a profile corresponding to the user in a
database, receiving a request for selected audio content
from a user terminal corresponding to the user, determining
at least one advertisement to be played by the user
terminal, the advertisement being determined based on the
profile corresponding to the user, and providing the
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
- 5 (h) -
selected audio content and the determined advertisement to
the user terminal for sequential playing to the user.
In a fourteenth aspect, the present invention
seeks to provide a method for using a communication network
to play multimedia content to a user, the method comprising
the steps of storing a profile corresponding to the user in
a database, receiving a request for selected multimedia
content from a user terminal corresponding to the user,
determining at least one advertisement to be played by the
to user terminal, the advertisement being determined based on
the profile corresponding to the user and providing the
selected multimedia content and the determined
advertisement to the user terminal for sequential playing
to the user.
In a fifteenth aspect, the present invention
seeks to provide a method for transmitting and receiving
programmed information between a user terminal and a
server, the method comprising the steps of storing at least
one data content item and at least one advertisement in at
least one database, each of the at least one advertisements
having a corresponding profile, receiving a request from
the user terminal to transmit at least one of the data
selecting at least one advertisement for transmission to
the user terminal based on matching between a profile
associated with a user of the user terminal and the
profiles corresponding to the at least one advertisement,
content items from the server to the user terminal,
assembling a response packet, the response packet including
a location on the server from which the at least one
selected advertisement is to be retrieved and delivered to
the user terminal for one of listening and listening and
viewing sequentially with the requested data content and
CA 02382807 2003-11-21
- 5(1) -
transmitting the assembled response packet from the server
to the user terminal.
Other features and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following
description of the invention which refers to the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For the purpose of illustrating the invention,
there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently
preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention
is not limited to the precise arrangement and
instrumentalities shown.
Figure 1 is a block diagram of the basic system
hardware arrangement of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a block diagram of major software
blocks of the present invention.
Figure 3 shows a block diagram of the software
control and protocol flow suitable for implementing a
portion of the preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In general terms, the present invention comprises
a software controlled CPU, e.g. a microprocessor, based
repository in which the dossiers of a plurality of
subscribers are stored and updated. The
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
- s -
information contained in the dossiers includes the type
of music that the subscribers enjoy, the buying habits of
the subscribers and the musical selections previously or
simultaneously made by the subscribers.
Preferably, the subscribers receive the
programmed music and advertisements from the repository
over the Internet. However, the invention is applicable
to communications between system and subscribers that use
non-Internet channels, e.g. cable, direct broadcast, or
1.0 any means of communication provided the method of
communication permits delivery of an identified audio
and/or audio video message to an identified specific
subscriber. The specific musical material and
advertisements transmitted may vary as a function of the
information contained in the dossiers of the subscribers.
In addition, the dossiers rnay change from time to time
with a resulting change in music and advertisement
programming. Further, the programmed music and
advertisements may change as a function of the time of
year or other conditions.
Referring to Figure 1, the physical
hardware/software configuration of the present invention
preferably comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 10
which interfaces via the Internet 20 with a plurality of
subscriber operating PCs 12, 14 ... 16 (or other device
capable of receiving individualized content for audio
and/or video production) which respectively have speakers
12a, 14a ... 16a to play programmed music or other audio
information which i:a transmitted to them via the Internet
20. As already explained, in accordance with the present
invention. the music. bei::g transm~tted over Ghe Internet
to the subscribers is bundled with targeted advertising
material in the form of audio messages tailored to the
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
7 _
subscriber or musical profile paid for by advertisers 18,
1f ... 21.
The CPU l0 may be any type of computer system,
for example a mainframe, a server-based system of PCs, a
stand-alone microprocessor and the like. The CPU 10 has
the usual operator interface, e.9. a keyboard 22 and
complement of memory and IO devices (not shown). Of
significance here is that the CPU 10 maintains a
plurality of databases including an advertisers/marketing
:LO criteria database 24 in which it stores the advertising
preferences of the advertisers 18, 19 ... 21, e.g. the
type of subscribers that these advertisers would like to
reach, their geographic locations and the system usage
privileges and/or credit balance of these advertisers.
1.5 The database 26 stores the advertisement
content, i.e. the actual advertising copy of the various
advertisers 18, 19 ... 21. Note that any one of the
advertisers 18, 19 ... 21 can have several different
audio messages stored for transmittal to different
20 classes of subscribers 12, 14 ... 16.
The subscriber profile database 28 contains the
actual profiles of the individual subscribers 12, 14, 16,
specifying for each subscriber criteria as, for example,
age, demographic data, education, sex, ethnic background,
25 musical selections previously or simultaneously made by
the subscriber, purchasing habits and the like. Finally,
the large library of selectablejsearchabae music content
is stored in the database 30. This database includes the
musical work, the profile of the work, the audio identity
3t) of the artist and copyright holders, and an audio
statemp.~.t cf the at'ist. Together, these databases
enable the present invention to attain its objective of
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
matching music with audio advertisement copy to be
transmitted to th.e individual subscribers.
The operation/control block 32 contains the
executable portion of the program code which runs the CPU
10 and which controls the overall operation of the system
of the present invention.
Figure 2 illustrates a representative (non-
limiting) flowchart of the overall software functions
performed by the OPU 10 of Figure 1. Proceeding from the
starting/initialization software block 5fl, the program
proceeds to decisional block 52 where it queries what
major function is to be performed. If the major function
is a response to a request from a customer for music, the
program proceeds to the set of routines 54 which involve
the servicing of a customer request and which are more
fully described further on by reference to Figure 3.
Otherwise, the program proceeds to software
block 56 to handle general housekeeping, database
management and customer and business relations. At
decisional block 58, the program further determines
whether the requested task is to manage the databases or
other functions. If database management, the program
proceeds to block E.0 to execute a series of program
functions involving the creation or updating of the
advertiser database (element 24 of Fig. 1) which contains
the names of the advertisers, individuals at advertisers
to be contacted, billing information, prepaid advertising
time available for each advertiser and a range of other
business information and criteria. Most importantly for
:30 the present invention, this database also specifies for
each particular advertiser the type, i.G. the p.rof,ile of
the subscribers/listeners which the particular advertiser
would like to target and the advertising audio content
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
_ 9 _
code for each target. It is not necessary to limit the
specification to a narrow class of individuals. Several
classes can be identified and prioritized. Moreover,
each advertiser may have different renditions of audio
advertising copy to be directed to different audiences,
i.e. classes of listeners.
From block 60 the program proceeds to block 62
where it performs similar functions for the
subscriber/listener database 28. For each subscriber
that is being added to the database or whose profile is '
being updated, the program lists personal data including
(as already mentioned) age, education, income, musical
selections previously or simultaneously made by the
subscriber, purchasing habits, etc. This database can
also include a field in which the subscriber specifies
the type or types of music that the individual prefers,
to facilitate the system's ability to present to each
individual a menu of music selection which best fits the
individual's preferences and music taste.
Software block 64 attends to and handles the
maintenance of the actual music content. Each piece of
music is classified, categorized and included in the
database in either analog or digital form for future
transmission to the subscribers 12, 14 ... 16.
Similarly,, at block 66 the program handles the
maintenance and updating of the library of advertising
copy, each piece of which has been submitted by one or
another of the advertisers. A single advertiser may have
stored one or several different advertisements.
while the inventors contemplate that this
advertising copy will b' im ~;::~e form of ~:uui=.,/«:usic:~,=
message, the invention is not so limited. Indeed, the
invention contemplates that the advertising copy may be
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
- 10
video information that can be played on the subscribers'
computer monitors and include voice information that will
play through the speakers of the subscriber's equipment.
In sum, the program blocks 60, 62, 64 and 66 are
responsible for the handling of all aspects of the
creation, updating and modification of the large
databases with which the CPU 10 of the present invention
constantly communicates.
Alternatively, from decisional block 58, the
7.0 program proceeds to decisional block 70 to determine
whether it is necessary to take care of billing matters.
If so, the program proceeds to block 72 where the program
tallies accounts, listing the frequency of play and
transmission of music and data stored in database 64 to
1.5 subscribers. The program proceeds to block 60 to
decrement advertising availability. Together, this
information is useful, for example, for calculating (if
necessary) royalty fees payable to the owners of the
music and to provide "play" statistics for the music
20 industry on a current and accurate basis. The block 72
further tackles the task of preparing billing data for
advertisers. For example, the system may allow certain
advertisers to operate without prepaid credit balances.
In this case, as the advertisements of the particular
25 advertiser are being sent to subscribers, an accounting
is made of the total advertising air time used and that
advertiser may be billed accordingly on a monthly, bi-
monthly or other basis.
Another software task of the CPU based system
3c) 10 is executed at Software block 74 which is dedicated to
,- the tasks of interfacing, via the Internet, with existing
or potential subscribers and advertisers for purposes of
signing up such subscribers and advertisers, providing
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
- 11 -
information regarding billing data and available music,
answering general inquiries through the gunning of an
automatic voice mail system, a web page or the like.
From decisional block 70, the program also has
the option of proceeding via decisional block 80 to block
82 which is responsible for the distribution of one or
several free programs which may be used for controlling
the local PCs 12, 14 ... 16 to play the received music
and/or to interface with the CPU 10 (which may be made
1.0 available through a web page on the Internet). Such
programs downloaded from the web page, which operate in
conjunction with the system of the present invention,
provide various functions including allowing subscribers
to automatically call up the CPU l0, automatically make
music selections and the like.
Other functions provided by the software .of the
present invention are shown by proceeding from the
decisional block 80 to block 84 which broadly designates
the general class of miscellaneous functions performed in
the system of the present invention. This includes, as
shown in block 86, software which contains and carries
out the protocols for creating packets of digital
information which ar_e to be transmitted to subscribers.
Another function involves security which is handled by
software block 88. Security includes the encoding and
decoding of music and advertising copy that is
transmitted over the Internet. It further includes
encoding and decoding music in a manner that ensures that
the ultimate subscribers can not separate the music from
the advertising copy and/or copy it for their personal
use and dissemination, in violation of licensing terms.
Software block 90 generally designates a
portion of the program which interfaces with subscribers
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
- 12 -
for the purposes of allowing subscribers to place orders
for products or services that are advertised or presented
in the advertising messages that are appended to the
music. In well known manner, the various software
routines eventually reach end block 67, so that the
program may loop and return to the start block to permit
the orderly and reliable operation thereof.
The specific task of responding to a
subscriber's request for particular musical works and the
7.0 delivery of that music to the subscriber is illustrated
in the general software block diagram of Figure 3. At
block 100, the program initiates a search for the
specific piece of music or other data content the
subscriber has requested. The program proceeds to
software block 102 where the request for the particular
music/information is recorded in the accounting database
and an independently running subroutine at block 104
proceeds to create a "response packet" fcr the individual
subscriber. Such a response packet t~-pically consists of
one or more pieces of music which has been
encoded/encrypted for transmittal over the Internet, to
which an advertiser's message for each piece has been
appended as a leader or header thereof, along with a
generic or music specific voice over. Also, a message
may be appended at the end of each piece of music, for
example, in the form of a statement from the artist, i.e.
"a wrapper".
While the response packet is being prepared at
block 104, the program proceeds to block 106 to determine
the availability of the selection. If available, the
prpqrgrri procoods to rlor_k 108 pertaining to music data
selection and block 110 for advertiser selection. If an
audio message is authorized to be added, the program
t_
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
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proceeds from block 110 to validate and attend to the
audio message authorization. If authorized, the audio
message is looked up at block 126 (from database block
66) and is added to the response packet at block 128.
Block 130 registers the audio message delivery in the
accounting database at block 130, as previously
described. The program proceeds to block 124 which
consists of a sequence of software instructions that are
responsible for adding the response packet to the queue
at block 104.
As described above, simultaneously, block 108
validates content authorization by prohibiting replay of
the same music in a single request and limiting the
number of requests to a programmed limit, i.e., 10
selections. If the request is validated, the program
proceeds to collect the musical works) selected and its
related generic or individualized identity audio message
at block 112 and 114. The program then delivers the
partial response packet at block 124 where it is appended
to the audio message packet and delivered to block 104
ready to receive further response packets, if any, and
for delivery via block 10 to subscribers ... 12, 14, 16.
However, if no authorization to provide a
particular type of response packet is noted, the program
creates at software block 118 an "access denied" message
which is then transmitted without any music or other data
content (other than a request to select another offering)
to the subscriber at block 124. Simultaneously, a record
of the inability to deliver the particular subscriber
selection is registered in software block 122.
Thus, tli' preserit invercic:~ achieves its
objectives by providing a software controlled
microprocessor based repository in which the dossiers of
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
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all advertisers are stored and updated. The information
contained in the dossiers contains the amount of
advertising purchased, the amount used and the amount
remaining to be used ("available allocation"), a
specification of the desired consumer profile, a
specification of the category of product or service to be
advertised, a specification of any territorial or local
time requirements or preferences, and a key to the
location of the audio advertising content.
1.0 The present invention includes a software
controlled microprocessor based repository in which all
site content is stored and updated in either or both
digital or analog form for either audio or audio/video
delivery. Each item of content is catalogued defining
1.5 the nature or category of the content, the identity of
the source, the profile of the expected consumer or
subscriber, the category of any product or service which
is not to be annexed to the content, and any limitation
on the availability of the content. Content is converted
20 to a digital form for delivery over the Internet or other
communication medium permitting individualized delivery.
Content is encoded to prevent unauthorized duplication
and to identify the subscriber to whom the content is to
be delivered.
25 The present invention includes a software
controlled microprocessor based repository in which all
advertisements are stored and updated ir~ either digital
or analog form ready to be linked and transmitted.
Advertisements are converted to a digital form for
?.0 delivery as audio messages over the Internet or other
co~m;~urication meu ~ a.~~ nP~ittir_~ i r~~?;vidualized delivery. . .
The present invention includes software
controlled microprocessor based repository of digital
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
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audio content which contains generic audio messages
and/or identity audio messages.
The subscriber selects the content which he or
she desires to receive, and the content is placed in a
queue. Based on the profile of the content, a
determination is made by the system as to which
advertising messages may be delivered. 'The system
determines whether the permitted advertising message has
available "allocation" and whether other required
1.0 parameters have been met. From the remaining filter, the
next available advertising message is selected.
The selected advertising message is then
affixed to the next generic message in sequence or to the
applicable identity audio message and is placed in a
queue. The system automatically links the advertising
message, the generic or identity message and the
subscriber selected content into a single data stream
along with other such streams pursuant to the
subscriber's request. In constructing the stream, the
system overlays the generic or identity message onto the
content so that, when delivered, the audio generic or
identity message and the audio content can both be heard
by the subscriber simultaneously. The completed data
stream, including all selections, is then delivered to
the subscriber in a single stream of packets over the
Internet or other communication medium, permitting
individualized delivery.
There is no requirement for a one-to-one
relationship between a musical piece and a class of
subscribers. For example, a particular advertisement can
be Massifieu tc~ b=~ played .to a fiYst class of w
subscribers as a first choice, to a second class of
subscribers as a second choice and so on. In this
CA 02382807 2002-05-13
- 1~
manner, an advertiser desiring that its messages reach
broader audiences may also ear mark its advertisements to
secondary classes of listeners, thus increasing the
versatility and usefulness of the present invention.
Although the present invention has been
described in relation to particular embodiments thereof,
many other variations and modifications and other uses
vrill become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is
preferred, therefore, that the present invention be
limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only
by the appended claims.
