Methods and systems for securing content played on mobile devices

Abstract

Methods and systems are disclosed herein for managing content, including advertising content, delivered to various network-connected devices, including screens, mobile devices, computers, televisions, radios, and the like, based on usage profiles associated with device-specific identifiers for mobile devices, short-distance wireless technologies for transmission of content and detection of proximity, and content targeting and management techniques.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of the following provisional application, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety: U.S. Provisional App. No. 60 / 825,708 filed Sep. 14, 2006.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Field[0003]The methods and systems herein described relate to mobile device identification and authentication for access to and presentation of targeted content.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Methods and systems exist for targeting content, including advertising content, directed to users of network-connected devices, such as televisions, mobile handsets, computers, radios, advertising screens and the like. Such content-targeting methods face various challenges, depending on the users and devices to which content is targeted. For example, television and radio advertisements are often directed to a mass audience, with little information about specific users. Internet advertisements may be based on cookies or similar ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent text describes methods and systems for delivering content to various network-connected devices, such as televisions and radios, based on the user's usage of those devices. The system takes advantage of information available from multiple sources to create a user-specific profile that can be used to target advertisements and other content to the user. The system uses short-distance wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth or WiFi, to determine the user's proximity to the screen or device and can track the user's activity across different devices. This allows for user-specific control of content delivered to the screen, such as advertisements, based on the user's location and activity. The methods and systems also take into account information derived from mobile handset technologies, such as mobile phones, to unify the user's profile and track the user's activity on the network."

Problems solved by technology

Such content-targeting methods face various challenges, depending on the users and devices to which content is targeted.

Internet advertisements may be based on cookies or similar mechanisms that indicate that a user is returning to a particular site, but targeting based on cookies and similar information are subject to limitations, among them being that multiple users may access the Internet through the same device.

Mobile content may be targeted more easily to a specific user, such as based on information about the user in a database maintained by a wireless carrier or based on the user's interaction with content on the mobile handset, but the more limited range of content that can be delivered to mobile devices means that profiles based on that usage are often limited and sometimes misleading.

As a result of mobile carriers dealing with voice revenue decaying rapidly and as even the margins on data consumption are becoming hyper-competitive, mobile carriers are rapidly seeking ways to monetize their high penetration numbers through advertising.

Starting with a fixed position, or multi-user device, such as a PC, a television, or other stationary Internet-enabled device presents user identification challenges that the mobile handset does not.

These challenges are mainly rooted on the basis that such devices may, and often, have multiple regular users.

Images