User Search Patents (Class 705/14.54)
  • Patent number: 10182310
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for timing message notifications to be provided to mobile device users based on theft respective geographic locations with respect to a targeted content area. The timing of message notifications may be controlled in order to optimize the chances of delivering targeted content to a mobile device user based on the current geographic location of the user's device relative to a targeted content area. As the particular client application may not be actively executing at a time when the user's device happen to be located within a targeted content area, a general message notification sent to the user's device, which may be displayed at any time, may increase the likelihood that the user will launch the client application when it is not already executing at the device and thereby, allow targeted content to be delivered to the user's mobile device at the appropriate time and location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2019
    Assignee: Oath Inc.
    Inventor: Bryce Barrand
  • Patent number: 10169608
    Abstract: Techniques for using contextual information to manage data that is subject to one or more data-handling requirements are described herein. In many instances, the techniques capture or depend upon the contextual information surrounding the creation and/or subsequent actions associated with the data. The contextual information may be updated as the data is handled in various manners. The contextual information may be used to identify data-handling requirements that are applicable to the data, such as regulations, standards, internal policies, business decisions, privacy obligations, security requirements, and so on. The techniques may analyze the contextual information at any time to provide responses regarding handling of the data to requests from requestors, such as administrators, applications, and others.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Colette Van Dyne, Jeffrey Friedberg
  • Patent number: 10122842
    Abstract: A method of accessing a web page using a near field communication (NFC) tag is provided. The method includes receiving a tag ID from the NFC tag using an application program installed in a mobile terminal, the application program transmitting the tag ID to a first ID search engine, the application program receiving a uniform resource locator (URL) of a management system corresponding to the tag ID from the first ID search engine, the application program accessing the management system using the URL of the management system and requesting a URL of the web page from the management system, the application program receiving the URL of the web page from the management system, and the application program accessing the web page using the URL of the web page.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: BENPLE INC.
    Inventors: Kyoung Jun Lee, Jung Ho Jun
  • Patent number: 10120849
    Abstract: A document machine may detect a request for provision of a document while that document is available for provisioning. The document machine may update a count of referrals to the document and, based on the count of referrals transgressing a threshold value, generate a substitute document based on the original document. This substitute document may then be provided in response to further requests for the original document after the original document is no longer available for provision. The updating of the count of referrals is based on the identifier of a network that referred a request detected while the first document was still available for provision. The document machine may then provide the substitute document in lieu of the original document in response to a further request for provision of the first document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: eBay Inc.
    Inventor: Dennis Goedegebuure
  • Patent number: 10116586
    Abstract: Various embodiments provide a method and an apparatus for restricting network applications to increase network speed of the local device. A network using scene is identified, and a network application running in the network using scene is restricted using a network speed protecting policy corresponding to the network using scene identified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Jie Lin, Xi Zhang, Jing Yang
  • Patent number: 10116894
    Abstract: An automatic feature demonstration mode for TV products that can be used in retail stores. TV features that otherwise would be overlooked by customers or misrepresented by the sales staff are advertised on the TV itself. The system may be used to convey information beyond TV features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Klaus Hofrichter
  • Patent number: 10104430
    Abstract: Advertisements included in a stored digital video program are identified and indexed. A user can time shift the advertisements to play out at a different time position in the program or not play the advertisement at all. A user may incur an advertisement debt for skipping or fast forwarding an advertisement. The advertisement debt can be offset by viewing ads, trading the debt with other users or by paying for the debt in another form.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: OPENTV, INC.
    Inventors: John Michael Teixeira, Nicholas Fishwick
  • Patent number: 10089091
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for use in deploying an application to one or more different regions. One exemplary method includes selecting, at a deployment device, a stack defining the application. The stack includes metadata and incorporates at least one user interface and at least one application programming interface (API). The exemplary method further includes adapting, by the deployment device, the selected stack to a region based on the metadata and the region; and deploying the application to be accessible to at least a consumer in said region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: MASTERCARD INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED
    Inventors: James Maus, Bejoy Mathew, Vijayanath K. Bhuvanagiri, Arvind Jangi, Gary VonderHaar, Navjot Singh Sidhu
  • Patent number: 10084742
    Abstract: Technologies are generally described for systems, devices and methods effective to generate a report related to an entity. An identifier may be received from a computing device. The identifier may identify the entity. A keyword may be received from the computing device. A first social media post that includes the identifier may be identified. An association between a user that generated the first social media post and the entity may be identified. A second social media post generated by the user may be identified. A determination may be made whether the second social media post includes the keyword. A report may be generated based on a determination that the second social media post includes the keyword.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: ITHREAT CYBER GROUP INC.
    Inventors: Michael A. Lewis, Jeffrey R. Bedser, Jeffrey Pinyan
  • Patent number: 10082937
    Abstract: An indication to render a webpage is received. The webpage includes two or more frames and the two or more frames are rendered in a first order. A second order from a user is received. The webpage is rendered. The two or more frames of the webpage are rendered in the second order.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Xiang Chen, Bin Gu, Cheng Fang Wang, WuMi Zhong, Jia Zou
  • Patent number: 10055784
    Abstract: When a search query is provided to a search engine, and search results obtained from the search engine in response to the search query are displayed in a stream or list on a mobile device, an interaction with one or more of the search results causes information regarding the search result to be displayed within the stream or list, thereby creating a visual history of the user's interactions with the search results. Additionally, the items following a search result with which the user has interacted may be reordered based on the attributes of the search result, the user, or any other relevant factor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua Joel Boelter, Kristopher William Bell, Wesley Scott Lauka
  • Patent number: 10055765
    Abstract: Advertisement vendors can be dynamically selected in response to a request from a wireless communication device. A mediation router can receive an ad request from a portal interfaced with a wireless device. Specifically, the mediation router analyzes the request and dynamically selects an ad vendor to service the request, based in part on the analysis. The selected ad vendor supplies the ad and the mediation router ensures that the portal receives the ad. The mediation router selects an ad vendor in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, business decision rules or artificial intelligence and/or a combination thereof. The mediation router further employs customer profiles that help vendors target advertisements to specific consumers and wireless devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: AT&T MOBILITY II LLC
    Inventors: Matthew Hull, Goshtasb Foroutan
  • Patent number: 10021461
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided herein for performing an action based on a feature in a media asset. In many media assets, specific features appear at portions of a program that users find interesting. These features can be compared with a database of stored objects that commonly appear in media assets to determine the object corresponding to the feature. The context of the object in the media asset then may be determined so that an appropriate action is selected for the system to take.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: Glen E. Roe, Michael K. McCarty
  • Patent number: 10007931
    Abstract: A computer method and system for intercepting email messages, scanning the email messages for key words, determining whether the key words match or relate to key words determined to relate to advertising content, and enhancing the email message by routing the emails to recipients in a manner so that highly relevant, highly targeted advertising tag lines or other content are displayed together with the emails when the emails are accessed and viewed by email recipients.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: TAMIRAS PER PTE. LTD., LLC
    Inventors: Jason Bosarge, Roger Little
  • Patent number: 9984165
    Abstract: Methods, search platforms, systems, and storage media for handling queries in a database system. The database system includes at least one client and at least one search platform. The search platform maintains pre-collected search results which are associated which confidence factors. A confidence factor indicates a probability of the associated pre-collected search result being valid. The search platform receives a query indicating at least one search criterion to the search platform. The confidence factors associated with the identified pre-collected search results are utilized to increase the mean probability of pre-collected search results returned to the client. For example, pre-collected search results complying with the at least one search criterion and being associated with confidence factors having values exceeding a given threshold are returned to the client.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: AMADEUS S.A.S.
    Inventors: Guillaume Legrand, Charles-Antoine Robelin, Luc Isnardy, Francois Laburthe
  • Patent number: 9978022
    Abstract: A social networking system provides relevant third-party content objects to users by matching user location, interests, and other social information with the content, location, and timing associated with the content objects. Content objects are provided based on relevance scores specific to a user. Relevance scores may be calculated based on the user's previous interactions with content object notifications, or based on interests that are common between the user and his or her connections in the social network. Context search is also provided for a user, wherein a list of search of results is ranked according to the relevance score of content object associated with the search results. Notifications may also be priced and distributed to users based on their relevance. In this way, the system can provide notifications that are relevant to user's interests and current circumstances, increasing the likelihood that they will find content objects of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Erick Tseng, David Braginsky
  • Patent number: 9953339
    Abstract: An end-to-end automated management system facilitates generation of advertisement proposals, and purchase orders, over one or many media outlets and stations. Once an advertisement proposal is purchased and inserted into a traffic management and billing system, near-real-time performance feedback about the advertisements can be obtained from media consumers through a media presentation application presenting the advertisement, via a social media service, or the like. The consumer feedback and other performance factors, which can be received concurrently with airing of an advertisement, can be considered in determining whether a particular advertisement or an advertising proposal as a whole, is effective in meeting purchaser requirements. Advertisement copy can be changed according to the proposal parameters, without purchaser intervention, to provide near-real-time responsiveness to consumer feedback.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: IHEARTMEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
    Inventors: Mark R. Allen, Jeffrey Lee Littlejohn
  • Patent number: 9936184
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes obtaining a link to a video program; obtaining metadata that relates to the program and that defines, for a specified time point in the program, annotations to be invoked at the specified time point; wherein the annotations comprise: a graphic image; one or more filters, each of the filters comprising a key and one or more matching values; and optionally a reference to a video segment, an electronic document, program code statements, or a programmatic call; during playing the video, detecting that the video program is playing at the specified time point; in response to the detecting: for each particular annotation for the specified time point, retrieving a current value for the key, and causing to display the graphic image associated with that particular annotation only when the current value of the key matches one of the matching values of one of the filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: VINJA, LLC
    Inventors: David H. Kaiser, Bruce Schwartz, Carl Rosenberg, Alex Kalinin
  • Patent number: 9934510
    Abstract: A system comprises an interface for enabling a user having a web property to input advertisement information including a web property advertisement, criteria indicating when presentation of the advertisement is desired by the user, a bid for the presentation of the advertisement when the criteria are met, and subsequent modifications to the advertisement information; geographically distributed servers, a plurality of the geographically distributed servers for storing the advertisement information, at least one of the geographically distributed servers for receiving a request for advertisement content from an advertising channel, at least one of the geographically distributed servers for determining whether the request meets the criteria, and at least one of the geographically distributed servers for forwarding the advertisement to the advertising channel in response to the request when the criteria have been met; and a distribution component for propagating the advertisement information to the geographically
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: EXCALIBUR IP, LLC
    Inventors: Robert J. Collins, Scott Melvin Harvester, Paul Joseph Apodaca
  • Patent number: 9934312
    Abstract: A recommendation search method is provided for a search engine. The method includes recording a search log and a click log for query terms during search processes, and determining weights of tendencies of vertical searches for the query terms based on the recorded search log and click log. The method also includes, upon detecting a query term in a search box, determining recommended query terms relating to the query term in the search box, searching for the weights of tendencies of the vertical searches for each of the recommended query terms and determining a tendentious vertical search type for each of the recommended query terms based on the weights of tendencies of the vertical searches, and displaying each of the recommended query terms and links of the tendentious vertical search types for the recommended query terms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: SHENZHEN SHI JI GUANG SU INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jun He, Jianfeng Kuang, Huajie Pan
  • Patent number: 9881042
    Abstract: Technologies are described herein for determining popularity of an individual. A popularity profiling server is used to receive information of the individual, analyze a quantitative data portion of the information, and analyze a qualitative data portion of the information using sentiment analysis. The sentiment analysis uses natural language parsing to separate the qualitative data into parts of speech. The popularity profiling server calculates an initial set of scores for the popularity of the individual based on the analysis of the quantitative data portion and the qualitative data portion of the information, update a ranking for the popularity of the individual in a database, and determine, after waiting a predetermined amount of time, if new data has been updated to the information on the information server. If new information has been updated, an updated set of scores are calculated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Popular Metrics, Inc.
    Inventors: Duncan Freeman, John Elmore
  • Patent number: 9871714
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a query, determining a user bias of a first user of an online social network from a first node corresponding to the first user and a plurality of user nodes corresponding to a plurality of second users sharing one or more user attributes with the first user, identifying nodes of a plurality of second nodes based at least in part on the user bias of the first user, where the identified nodes correspond to the structured query, and generating search results corresponding to the identified nodes. The bias may be determined by identifying a candidate user node of the second nodes, comparing a first user attribute of the first node to a second user attribute of the candidate user node, and including the candidate user node in the user nodes when the first user attribute matches the second user attribute.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Jason Eric Brewer
  • Patent number: 9836766
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for personalizing landing pages. In one aspect, a method includes generating, by one or more servers belonging to a first domain and for a request, a personalized landing page that includes the personalized landing page data, wherein the landing page belongs to the first domain, and the landing page includes at least one link to a resource of the first party that belongs to the second domain; and providing, by the one or more servers, the personalized landing page to the user device, wherein the personalized landing page, when processed by the user device, generates a personalized landing page environment that belongs to the first domain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin David Eidelson, Jason Prado, Sean Liu, Doug Sherrets, Raj Krishnan
  • Patent number: 9832505
    Abstract: The disclosure provides a method (300) for inserting an advertisement into a video stream of an AoD service. The method is performed by an AoD processing device and includes steps of: acquiring (S310), from the AoD server, advertisement configuration information; determining (S320) an advertisement to be inserted based on the advertisement configuration information; receiving (S330), from the AoD server, a notification that a triggering condition for inserting an advertisement is satisfied, the triggering condition being associated with an interaction between the AoD server and a client device to which the AoD service is provided; transmitting (S340) to the AoD server an instruction to cause the AoD server to render a combined picture of the application and the advertisement based on the advertisement configuration information; and receiving (S350), from the AoD server, the combined picture and converting it into a frame in the video stream for transmission to the client device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)
    Inventors: Arnold Yang, Shaheer Jamal-Syed, Shiyuan Xiao
  • Patent number: 9830465
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a boundary module that determines if a mobile device is within a secure area. The mobile device includes a computing device capable of connecting to a wireless network. The apparatus includes a download module that downloads a latest version of a file from a secure server to the mobile device in response to the boundary module determining that the mobile device has entered the secure area. The apparatus includes a copy module that copies the file from the mobile device to the secure server in response to the boundary module determining that the mobile device has left the secure area and a deletion module that deletes the file from the mobile device in response to determining that the mobile device has left the secure area and in response to having completed copying the file from the mobile device to the secure server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Robert T Arenburg, Franck Barillaud, Shivnath Dutta, Alfredo V Mendoza
  • Patent number: 9826366
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a location of a mobile device may be obtained. A direction of movement of the mobile device may be ascertained. A field of vision of a user of the mobile device may be determined based, at least in part, on the location of the mobile device and the direction of movement of the mobile device. A user profile associated with the user and/or the mobile device may be identified. A notification may be provided via the mobile device based, at least in part, upon the user profile and the field of vision of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: EXCALIBUR IP, LLC
    Inventor: Benoit Schillings
  • Patent number: 9826060
    Abstract: A digital content provider is configured to identify, based at least in part on various customer user profiles, digital content that is to be pre-loaded onto one or more customer computing devices in advance of the digital content being available for at least one mode of consumption by the one or more computing devices. The digital content provider may use these user profiles, as well as other external information, to identify one or more customers that are to receive the digital content. Subsequently, the digital content provider may download the digital content onto each identified customer's one or more computing devices in advance of the at least one mode of consumption becoming available to the customers. Once the mode of consumption is made available, the digital content provider may enable the use of the pre-loaded digital content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jesper Mikael Johansson, Stephen Barton Rospo, James Cleveland Willeford
  • Patent number: 9818130
    Abstract: Systems and methods for performing near real-time merging of distributed data streams are described. For example, streams of ad impressions, ad clicks, and conversions are sorted by user id into virtual buckets. The buckets of data are distributed across multiple servers, so that each server can process their respective buckets of data independently. Each server uses synchronization logic to determine a running delay distribution of the data streams. Based on the delay distributions, merge processing of the streams is appropriately delayed to ensure that the ad impression and ad click stream information needed for correlating with the conversion stream information is likely to be available in real time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Adam Marek Radziwonczyk-Syta, Ajoy Joseph Frank, Yingsheng Gao
  • Patent number: 9792286
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described herein for efficiently providing personalized search results to a user. Personalized search allows a user to receive search results that are most relevant to that user. For example, when a user with a strong interest in rap searches for “50 cent” they may be presented with top search results corresponding to 50 Cent's rap albums. Conversely, when a coin collector searches for “50 cent” they may be presented with top search results containing antique coins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin H. Maughan, Paul Stathacopoulos
  • Patent number: 9785979
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for personalizing landing pages. In one aspect, a method includes generating, by one or more servers belonging to a first domain and for a request, a personalized landing page that includes the personalized landing page data, wherein the landing page belongs to the first domain, and the landing page includes at least one link to a resource of the first party that belongs to the second domain; and providing, by the one or more servers, the personalized landing page to the user device, wherein the personalized landing page, when processed by the user device, generates a personalized landing page environment that belongs to the first domain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2017
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin David Eidelson, Jason Prado, Sean Liu, Doug Sherrets, Raj Krishnan
  • Patent number: 9767208
    Abstract: A user may request guidance regarding a topic in which the user wishes to create a content item about. Based at least partly on one or more keywords that are representative of the topic, a user sentiment of consumers with respect to the topic may be determined. A recommendation that relates to the topic and that may be based on an inventory of items within an item category associated with the topic may be provided to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Chow, Chad Howard Young
  • Patent number: 9767487
    Abstract: An online system enables developers of third-party applications to specify online system users to receive advertisements. The online system generates and sends a user-specific identifier for online system users that use a third-party application when an advertiser associated with the third-party application requests a user-specific identifier from the online system. For example, the online system retrieves user identifying information associated with a client device identifier provided by an advertiser and generates a user identifier by encrypting the retrieved user identifying information. The advertiser may include one or more user-specific identifiers in an advertisement request sent to an online system to present an advertisement in the advertisement request to online system users corresponding to the user-specific identifiers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Greg Schechter, Benjamin Golub, Vladimir Fedorov, Jason Scott Sobel
  • Patent number: 9754280
    Abstract: A system and method searches, identifies, tests and/or evaluates websites and content related ads for suitability. The results can be used to target ads more effectively to users and identify and promote services to prospective advertising affiliates as part of an advertising campaign.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: John Nichols and Kristin Gross Trust
    Inventor: John Nicholas Gross
  • Patent number: 9741054
    Abstract: A method for caching targeted webpage content is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes dividing a cacheable content pertaining to a website into a static portion and a dynamic frame for displaying visitor targeted content. The method determines a result for one or more targeting rules applied to a visitor's activity on a portion of the website and provides the result to the visitor's browser. The method further includes loading the dynamic frame of the cacheable content with visitor targeted content based on the provided result. A corresponding apparatus and computer program product are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Brian W. Thomson
  • Patent number: 9743130
    Abstract: A system and method for providing companion content on a device that downloads content associated with a media presentation playing on a media player and displays the downloaded content at times synchronized to time-offsets (from the start of the program) of the presentation by signals from the media player.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventor: Jerremy Holland
  • Patent number: 9727908
    Abstract: Method and system to enhance the presentation of a pinned resource is provided. Users may be provided with an option to enhance the presentation of a shared (or pinned) resource by attaching to it a visual control that indicates that the resource can represent an item of merchandise and that the resource is associated with functionality that would allow a user to purchase an item depleted in the pinned resource.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: PAYPAL, INC.
    Inventor: Giselle Katrina Nevada
  • Patent number: 9710817
    Abstract: Systems, computer-implemented methods and computer-storage media are provided for presenting customizable advertisements to a user. Advertising is customized through the use of user-specific or user-relevant data. Items such as keywords, profile data, and application data are received and are then used to retrieve customizations. These customizations are stored by a server or group of servers that the vendor makes available to the advertising provider. Items that could further identify adaptations desirable for advertising, such as a user profile, may be sent to the vendor's server as well. The adaptations take forms that include pictures, text, graphics, links, audio, and video files. Systems that comprise an advertising server, a vendor server, and a client application used for completing the above method, as well as computer-readable media necessary at each device to accomplish the customizations, are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Shankar Vaidyanathan, Phani Vaddadi, Balbir Singh
  • Patent number: 9690851
    Abstract: Searches for content may be improved with unique reserved phrases. Reserved phrases may direct queries to specific preselected section of content. Synonyms may be generated and associated with a reserved phrase such that even when queries do not include reserved phrases, the synonyms may be used to map queries to the reserved phrases and the associated content. Synonyms may be generated and filtered such that a synonym is only associated with one reserved phrase thereby reducing search ambiguity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: ORACLE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Fabrice Nauze, Christian Kissig, Geert Kloosterman, Jorge Lasheras, Albert Derk Eduard Vedelaar, Sergiu Nisioi, Madalina Zarafin
  • Patent number: 9661360
    Abstract: Systems and methods for evaluating online videos. One method includes receiving a URL; determining a URL type; detecting whether the URL includes one or more videos; determining at least one of a size of the video, a position of the video on a web page of the web page URL, whether the video is set to autoplay, and whether the video is set to mute; computing a score based on one or more of the size of the video, the position of the video on the web page of the web page URL, whether the video is set to autoplay, and whether the video is set to mute; obtaining at least two frames of at least part of the video, wherein each frame is obtained at one or more predetermined intervals during playback of the video; and classifying each detected video based on the at least two frames.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Integral Ad Science, Inc.
    Inventors: David Geller, Kevin Lenane, Abel Mohler
  • Patent number: 9646323
    Abstract: Advertisement vendors can be dynamically selected in response to a request from a wireless communication device. A mediation router can receive an ad request from a portal interfaced with a wireless device. Specifically, the mediation router analyzes the request and dynamically selects an ad vendor to service the request, based in part on the analysis. The selected ad vendor supplies the ad and the mediation router ensures that the portal receives the ad. The mediation router selects an ad vendor in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, business decision rules or artificial intelligence and/or a combination thereof. The mediation router further employs customer profiles that help vendors target advertisements to specific consumers and wireless devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignee: AT&T MOBILITY II LLC
    Inventors: Matthew Hull, Goshtasb Foroutan
  • Patent number: 9639509
    Abstract: A document machine may detect a request for provision of a document while that document is available for provisioning. The document machine may update a count of referrals to the document and, based on the count of referrals transgressing a threshold value, generate a substitute document based on the original document. This substitute document may then be provided in response to further requests for the original document after the original document is no longer available for provision. The updating of the count of referrals is based on the identifier of a network that referred a request detected while the first document was still available for provision. The document machine may then provide the substitute document in lieu of the original document in response to a further request for provision of the first document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: eBay Inc.
    Inventor: Dennis Goedegebuure
  • Patent number: 9639878
    Abstract: One embodiment involves a method and apparatus for mapping lexical keywords into entity description semantics in order to create unambiguous buyer-confirmed descriptions of entities. The method described herein relies on a computer program and some mechanism for computer data storage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: Semantic Search Technologies LLC a Texas Limited Liability Company
    Inventors: Bruce Matesso, Richard Bridgeman
  • Patent number: 9633082
    Abstract: Search result ranking includes recording user action information on displayed objects in search results obtained using one or more query words, upon receiving a switch-page request or switch-screen request, determining a commonality level of one or more attribute characteristics in a set of objects subjected to user actions, the determining of the commonality level being based on the user action information on the displayed objects, selecting attribute characteristics that comply with predetermined requirements to serve as reference norms for ranking objects that are to be displayed or ranked, the selecting of the attribute characteristics being based on the commonality level, and adjusting rank of objects that are to be displayed or to be ranked and whose attribute characteristics comply with the reference norms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2017
    Assignee: Alibaba Group Holding Limited
    Inventors: Jiasen Li, Suisui Su
  • Patent number: 9613097
    Abstract: According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system for processing a database query stores one or more result sets for one or more first database queries in a data store. The system receives a second database query and compares the second database query to the one or more first database queries to determine presence of a corresponding result set in the data store for the second database query. The system provides the corresponding result set from the data store for the second database query based on the comparison. Embodiments of the present invention further include a method and computer program product for processing a database query in substantially the same manners described above.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Arthur Marais, Christopher J. Munson, Nigel G. Slinger, John B. Tobler
  • Patent number: 9613096
    Abstract: According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system for processing a database query stores one or more result sets for one or more first database queries in a data store. The system receives a second database query and compares the second database query to the one or more first database queries to determine presence of a corresponding result set in the data store for the second database query. The system provides the corresponding result set from the data store for the second database query based on the comparison. Embodiments of the present invention further include a method and computer program product for processing a database query in substantially the same manners described above.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Arthur Marais, Christopher J. Munson, Nigel G. Slinger, John B. Tobler
  • Patent number: 9588945
    Abstract: Techniques for determining differences between document object models (DOMs) received in response to asynchronous functionality calls is described herein. The techniques may include clustering elements in a webpage having asynchronous functionality. The techniques include executing asynchronous functionality calls for two of the elements that form a cluster, and receiving a document object model (DOM) in response to each of the asynchronous functionality calls. The DOMs are compared to determine whether a difference exists between the DOMs based on a predetermined threshold. If no difference exists, execution of the asynchronous functionality calls is ceased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
    Inventor: Omer Tripp
  • Patent number: 9569537
    Abstract: Described are computer-based methods and apparatuses, including computer program products, comprising the steps of, or structure for, storing a plurality of expert profiles in a database, each of the plurality of expert profiles comprising information associated with a person having knowledge in a particular category, subject or topic; receiving search criteria over a network from a query source; selecting at least one of the plurality of expert profiles comprising information that satisfy the search criteria; and transmitting expert profile data for each of the selected expert profiles to the remote search engine, the expert profile data comprising data that defines a displayable representation of a corresponding expert profile, the expert profile data further comprising data that facilitates a client-initiated, real-time communication session over the network with a person associated with the corresponding expert profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: LivePerson, Inc.
    Inventors: Matan Barak, Julius Schorzman, Nir Holtzman Ninio, Uri Goldstein
  • Patent number: 9569877
    Abstract: A method in an electronic device for adapting a graphical effect used in a Graphical User Interface, GUI, comprised in the electronic device for interacting with a user of the electronic device is provided. The electronic device is associated with at least one database. At least one software application using the graphical effect is running on the electronic device. The electronic device is adapted to detect a number of times the at least one application is started, save the detected number of times in the at least one database, and change a time for the graphical effect to be shown based on the detected number of times the at least one application is started, whereby performance of the graphical effect is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
    Inventor: Mårten Jönsson
  • Patent number: 9563707
    Abstract: Described are computer-based methods and apparatuses, including computer program products, comprising the steps of, or structure for, storing a plurality of expert profiles in a database, each of the plurality of expert profiles comprising information associated with a person having knowledge in a particular category, subject or topic; receiving search criteria over a network from a query source; selecting at least one of the plurality of expert profiles comprising information that satisfy the search criteria; and transmitting expert profile data for each of the selected expert profiles to the remote search engine, the expert profile data comprising data that defines a displayable representation of a corresponding expert profile, the expert profile data further comprising data that facilitates a client-initiated, real-time communication session over the network with a person associated with the corresponding expert profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: LivePerson, Inc.
    Inventors: Matan Barak, Julius Schorzman, Nir Holtzman Ninio, Uri Goldstein
  • Patent number: 9563692
    Abstract: In general, one aspect of the subject matter described can be embodied in a method that includes, obtaining a plurality of search results responsive to an initial search query, the search results including a first search result that identifies a first resource; determining, using a document-to-query-to-document model, that the first resource is relevant to a first suggested query different from the initial search query; generating a presentation of the search results responsive to the initial search query; and providing the presentation of the search results in response to the initial search query. Each search result in the presentation includes a link to a respective resource, wherein the first search result in the presentation includes a link that, upon a selection by a user, can cause the first suggested query to be submitted to a search engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Haahr, Charles E. Martin