EP1026610A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and system for selling and purchasing media advertising over a distributed communication network.
Assignee: DirectRep LLC
•
Filing: 2000-02-07
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2020-02-07
Abstract
Abstract A method and system for buying and selling media advertising units over a distributed communication network, such as the Internet, provides a server on network including a database containing information pertaining to available advertising units, such as advertising time slots in television programming schedules, provided by media content providers. The server provides buyers of the advertising units access to the database over the network, whereby buyers may search the database and make bids to the sellers for selected advertising units. Sellers of advertising units access the database over said network to enter the information, receive bids entered by buyers, accept bids, and enter contracts into the server for communication to buyers over the network.
Inventors
- 👤 Justin Del Sesto
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 04:18
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q30/00; G06Q30/02; G06Q30/06; G06Q30/0601; G06Q30/0641; G06Q40/00; G06Q40/04
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 56
Claim 1
Independent Claim
149 words
A method for buying and selling media advertising
units over a distributed communication network, comprising
the steps of: providing a server on said network, said server
including a database containing information pertaining to
available advertising units in conjunction with specific
media content provided by media content providers; providing buyers of said advertising units access to
said database over said network, whereby said buyers may
enter desired search parameters into a search engine and
receive search results indicating particular advertising
units meeting the search criteria; receiving bids on advertising units selected by
buyers from said search, and communicating said bids to
sellers of said advertising units; and providing sellers of said advertising units access to
said database over said network, whereby said sellers may
enter said information, receive bids entered by said
buyers, accept said bids, and enter contracts into said
server for communication to said buyers over said network.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said advertising units
comprise advertising time slots associated with television
content.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said advertising units
comprise advertising time slots associated with radio
content.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said advertising units
comprise advertising space associated with Internet
content sites.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said advertising units
comprise advertising space associated with commercial
publications.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 2, wherein said information
includes program times, days of week, category according
to defined time segments, and demographic viewer
information.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said server includes a
make-good bank that accounts for credits owed to specific
buyers as a result of unfulfilled contracts.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said server includes a
financial interface for interacting with accounting
systems of said buyers and sellers over said network to
settle contract payments.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 1, further including the steps of
receiving from buyers advertising content in digital form
over said network, and transmitting to sellers over said
network advertising content received from buyers.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1, further including the step of
allowing buyers to search advertising units availability
by media content provider.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1, further including the step of
allowing buyers to search advertising units availability
by geographic market.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1, further including the step of
allowing buyers to search advertising units availability
by demographic profile.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
162 words
A system for buying and selling media advertising
units over a distributed communication network,
comprising: a server coupled to said network, said server
including a database containing information pertaining to
available advertising units in conjunction with specific
media content provided by media content providers; advertising buyer stations coupled to said network,
providing buyers of said advertising units access to said
database over said network, whereby said buyers may enter
desired search parameters into a search engine and receive
search results indicating particular advertising units
meeting the search criteria; said server receiving bids on advertising units
selected by buyers from said search, and communicating
said bids to sellers of said advertising units; and advertising seller stations coupled to said network,
providing sellers of said advertising units access to said
database over said network, whereby said sellers may enter
said information, receive bids entered by said buyers,
accept said bids, and enter contracts into said server for
communication to said buyers over said network.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 13, wherein said advertising
units comprise advertising time slots associated with
television content.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 13, wherein said advertising
units comprise advertising time slots associated with
radio content.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 13, wherein said advertising
units comprise advertising space associated with Internet
content sites.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 13, wherein said advertising
units comprise advertising space associated with
commercial publications.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 14, wherein said information
includes program times, days of week, category according
to defined time segments, and demographic viewer
information.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 13, wherein said server includes
a make-good bank that accounts for credits owed to
specific buyers as a result of unfulfilled contracts.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 13, wherein said server includes
a financial interface for interacting with accounting
systems of said buyers and sellers over said network to
settle contract payments.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 13, further including means for
receiving from buyers advertising content in digital form
over said network, and transmitting to sellers over said
network advertising content received from buyers.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 13, further including means for
allowing buyers to search advertising units availability
by media content provider.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 13, further including means for
allowing buyers to search advertising units availability
by geographic market.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 13, further including means for
allowing buyers to search advertising units availability
by demographic profile.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
134 words
A method for buying and selling media advertising
units over a distributed communication network, comprising
the steps of: providing a server on said network, said server
including a database containing information pertaining to
available advertising units in conjunction with specific
media content provided by media content providers; providing buyers of said advertising units access to
said database over said network, whereby said buyers may
view particular advertising units for sale by sellers; receiving bids on advertising units selected by
buyers, and communicating said bids to sellers of said
advertising units; and providing sellers of said advertising units access to
said database over said network, whereby said sellers may
enter said information, receive bids entered by said
buyers, accept said bids, and enter contracts into said
server for communication to said buyers over said network.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
81 words
A method for delivering advertising content to a
media seller over a distributed communication network,
comprising the steps of: providing a central server having a storage medium,
said server being connected to said network; enabling a plurality of independent buyers of
advertising units sold by advertising sellers, to input to
said storage medium advertising content to be displayed by
said advertising sellers; and enabling individual advertising sellers to retrieve
from said storage medium stored advertising content for
display by said sellers.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 26, wherein said advertising
content comprises television commercials.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 26, wherein said advertising
content comprises radio commercials.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 26, wherein said advertising
content comprises print advertising.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 26, wherein said advertising
content comprises Internet advertising content.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of
retrieving information on fulfilled and unfulfilled advertising
units, and crediting the buyer's make-good account for an
unfulfilled advertising unit.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
89 words
A method for bidding on available advertising units via a
distributed communication network, comprising the steps of: creating a primary search profile including at least one of
a plurality of search criteria; transmitting an instruction to apply the search profile to a
data base having available advertising units; receiving a list of a plurality of available advertising
units meeting said search profile, and storing said list as a
shopping list; and transmitting an instruction to bid for at least one of the
available advertising units in the shopping list.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 32, wherein the step of creating a
primary search profile includes specifying flight dates, market,
daypart, and category.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of
specifying at least one additional search criteria, and searching
the shopping list for available advertising units meeting said
additional search criteria.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of
specifying in the bid instruction a proposed purchase price.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of
specifying in the bid instruction that the purchase should be
credited against a make-good credit.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of
transmitting an instruction to delete the bid.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of
receiving an acceptance of the bid.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 38, further comprising the step of,
after receiving the acceptance, transmitting an electronic
payment for the accepted bid.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 38, further comprising the step of,
after receiving the acceptance, transmitting to the data base
advertising content to be used in the advertising unit.
Claim 41
Independent Claim
87 words
A method for selling advertising units via a distributed
communication network, comprising the steps of: specifying information about a plurality of available
advertising units, each of said available advertising units
corresponding to an advertising slot; transmitting an instruction to store the specified
information in a data base having available advertising units; receiving a bid for at least one of a plurality of available
advertising units; reviewing the bid; and transmitting an acceptance of the bid if specified criteria
are met, otherwise transmitting a rejection of the bid.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 41, wherein the step of specifying
information about a plurality of available advertising units
includes the step of specifying a default schedule, spawning at
least one child lock-in schedule from the default schedule, and
attaching an available advertising unit to the lock-in schedule.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 41, further comprising the steps of
bundling a plurality of available advertising units into a
special bundle inventory, and receiving a bid for the special
bundle inventory.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 41, further comprising the step of
receiving advertising content for the bid, after transmitting an
acceptance of the bid.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
106 words
A computerized system for bidding on available advertising
units via a distributed communication network, comprising: primary search profile data including at least one of a
plurality of search criteria; a search instruction, responsive to a user command,
indicating that the primary search profile is to be applied to a
data base having a plurality of available advertising units; a list of a plurality of available advertising units meeting
said search profile, received in response to said instructions,
stored as a shopping list; and a bidding instruction, responsive to a user command, to bid
for at least one of the available advertising units in the
shopping list.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 45, wherein the primary search profile
includes flight dates, market, daypart, and category.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 45, further comprising a second search
instruction having additional search criteria, to be applied to
the shopping list for available advertising units meeting said
additional search criteria.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 45, further comprising a proposed
purchase price in the bid instruction.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 45, further comprising a specification
in the bid instruction that the purchase should be credited
against a make-good credit.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 45, further comprising an instruction to
delete the bid.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 45, further comprising stored
advertising content, to be transmitted responsive to an
acceptance of the bid.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system of claim 45, further comprising an instruction to
transmit an electronic payment, responsive to an acceptance of
the bid.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
104 words
A computerized system for selling advertising units via a
distributed communication network, comprising: locally shared information about a plurality of available
advertising units, each of said available advertising units
corresponding to an advertising slot; an instruction, responsive to a user, to store the specified
information in a remote database having available advertising
units; an acceptance instruction, responsive to a received bid for
at least one of a plurality of available advertising units, if
specified criteria are met, advising of acceptance of the bid;
and a rejection instruction, responsive to the received bid, if
specified criteria are not met, advising of rejection of the bid.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
42 words
The system of claim 53, wherein the information about the
plurality of available advertising units includes a default
schedule, at least one child lock-in schedule spawned from the
default schedule, and at least one available advertising unit
attached to the lock-in schedule.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 53, further comprising an instruction to
bundle a plurality of available advertising units into a special
bundle inventory.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 53, further comprising advertising
content corresponding to the bid.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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