Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer-to-computer session/connection establishing – Network resources access controlling
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-03
2004-03-09
Dharia, Rupal (Department: 2141)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer-to-computer session/connection establishing
Network resources access controlling
C709S203000, C709S225000, C710S036000, C710S244000, C340S512000, C725S022000, C725S030000, C713S156000, C713S161000, C713S175000, C713S182000, C713S152000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06704787
ABSTRACT:
RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(none)
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for demographically selective distribution of information and entertainment.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Internet has rapidly become a major vehicle for information dispersal, education, entertainment, commerce, and other forms of communication and interaction. A number of websites including portal sites present news, entertainment, shopping opportunities, and other content, with revenue often derived from banner advertising. The advertising presented on such sites is usually broadcast indiscriminately to whomever visits the site, and thus is often of little interest to the website visitor, and indeed, is often considered to be a nuisance. On the other hand, it is difficult for a variety of reasons to induce people to enter personal information about themselves so that advertising can be customized and targetted.
The Internet also gives rise to jurisdictional complications. Website operators may wish to offer products and services, but at the same time wish to avoid conducting business with persons in certain foreign countries or other jurisdictions, so as to avoid exposing themselves to personal jurisdiction in foreign and unfamiliar courts.
Website operators may wish to restrict the persons who may view and interact with content of their websites to persons having certain demographic characteristics. Website operators may also wish to prevent visitors from entering personal information unless those visitors are of specified minimum age, in order to comply with child on-line privacy protection laws. Website operators may also wish to restrict access to adult entertainment content to those persons eighteen years or older in order to comply with legal restrictions. A number of adult verification services exist for providing personal identification numbers which can be used to access adult entertainment sites. However, those services are believed to rely upon the existence of a credit card in order to determine whether someone qualifies for access to such sites. Because some credit card issuers issue credit cards to minors, those services do not actually verify a person's age.
Various attempts have also been made to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content, particularly from Internet terminals installed in public libraries. Filtering software is available, but such software is prone to filtering out either too much or too little content, or both at the same time. At least one court has struck down as unconstitutional a county policy requiring libraries to install filtering software.
Chat groups and other forums exist on the Internet for the interchange of ideas between and among website visitors. Like any other communication, sometimes it is desirable to restrict discussions to only certain persons or certain groups of people.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a system and method for demographically based distribution of communication including information, entertainment, advertising, and other content via a computer network such as the Internet.
In one aspect, the invention comprises a method of distributing content over a computer network to persons based upon their respective demographic characteristics or other personal information, as verified by means of an access code.
In one embodiment, a user of the system contacts a centralized access code issuer in order to obtain an access code. The user or potential subscriber fills out an on-line application, the application information including subscription information including a name, address, an electronic mailing address, and/or other information. Rather than merely relying upon information inputted by the user, the access code issuer identifies a database, typically compiled by a third party, that contains demographic information for persons. The access code issuer queries the database. The query typically includes the user's name and geographic information including address, or other identifying indicia. The database determines whether the query information matches a record of a particular person within the database. If the information matches, the database responds by forwarding demographic information about the user to the access code issuer. The demographic information could include age and gender, and could also include geographic information in the form of confirmation that the user resides at the geographic address provided by the user. The demographic information could also include other information such as income, education, number of persons within the household, or any other information about the user that is contained within the database.
The issuer then issues an access code to the user or potential subscriber. The user then produces this access code when visiting a website of a content provider who is a member of a group of affiliated content providers. The access code could either be required in order to obtain privileges such as senior citizen discounts, or could be required to gain access to portions of the site such as adults-only sections. The access code could also be completely optional, with the inducement to the user that providing the requested access code will help the content provider and any advertisers on the site to format the substance and the presentation of the content and advertising so as to be more likely to be of interest and relevance to the user without the user having to painstakingly enter his or her demographic information at each site.
The affiliated content provider then uses the access code in order to obtain or verify the user's demographics. The content provider can either query the access code provider in real time in order to obtain and/or verify the user's demographic information, or the demographics could be encoded within the access code itself. If the access code is given only to persons meeting certain demographic characteristics and/or the access code must be maintained by payment of a fee, the content provider can query the access code provider in real time to determine whether the access code being provided by a visitor is a valid and current access code.
The invention has a number of potential applications, only a few of which are listed herein. The invention can be used to function as an on-line senior citizen discount card, thus ensuring that only those persons who are truly senior citizens will receive the discount offered. The invention can be used to format content presentations to persons based upon their demographics, or to target advertising and promotions to persons based upon their demographics to the mutual benefit of both the user and the advertiser. A seller of outdoor equipment could customize the presentation and promotions within its website based upon the demographics of the website visitor, recognizing for example that it would be more advantageous to promote fishing flies to persons having one set of demographics; and to promote snowboards to persons having a different set of demographics.
The system can also be used to provide proof to on-line entertainment sites that a person is at least 13 years old, 17 years old, 18 years old, or whatever required age, in order to watch a particular motion picture or motion picture trailer on-line depending upon the rating of the motion picture or trailer assigned by the motion picture ratings board. The invention can further function to provide proof that a person visiting a site is at least 13 years old, thus ensuring that a site can collect personal information from the user without violating certain child on-line privacy protection provisions which limit the collection of such information from someone under that age. The invention could be used in conjunction with an educational website to ensure that educational information such as reproductive health related information is given out only to visitors on an age-appropriate basis. Still
Dharia Rupal
Intercard Payments, Inc.
McDermott & Will & Emery
Willett Stephan
LandOfFree
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