T 1880/10 - Inventive advertisement delivery

EPO T 1880/10

For the decision, click here

Key points

• This case concerns an application titled "advertising delivery method", claiming a method for "delivering and reporting delivery of targeted assets to viewers of a broadcast network". The method comprises a step of determining "a female audience gender value" based on the viewed program. A table is used listing the "programs, categories and genres and, for each entry in the table, an audience composition value determined from ratings data of the gender composition of the viewers for a given program".
• The Board acknowledges inventive step because: "as convincingly argued by the appellant, these features contribute to the technical solution of the problem of how to provide more efficient delivery of targeted assets which can take account of a gender make-up of a current audience in real time without compromising the privacy of the audience." The assets are e.g. advertisements. 
• Hence, the problem of "how to provide more efficient delivery of targeted [advertisements]"  is considered to be technical. 
• It may be relevant that the claim recites a formula:
  "updating the female audience gender value and the male audience gender value according to the equations F' = (k*F) + (1-k)*C' [and] M' = (k*M) + (1-k)*(1-C'), where F' is an updated female audience gender value, F is a previous female audience gender value, M' is an updated male audience gender value, M is a previous male audience gender value, C' is an audience composition value, and k is a decay constant based on a sampling period".
  This post was edited for conciseness and accuracy.

Summary of Facts and Submissions

I. The appeal is against the decision of the examining division to refuse European patent application No. 01 305 034.9 under Article 97(2) of the European Patent Convention (EPC).

VIII. Claim 1 of the sole request reads as follows:

"A method of delivering and reporting delivery of targeted assets to viewers of a broadcast network, the method comprising the steps of operating a processor at a subscriber device (10):

to determine, in real-time, a female audience gender value representative of the likelihood that a current audience at the subscriber device has a female gender and a male audience gender value representative of the likelihood that a current audience at the subscriber device has a male gender

by, at regular intervals,determining a program being watched,determining, from a table at the subscriber device, an audience composition value for the program being watched, wherein the table lists programs, categories and genres and, for each entry in the table, an audience composition value determined from ratings data of the gender composition of the viewers for a given program,

where the processor cannot find the program being watched in the table, attempting to lookup the program category or genre in the table to determine the audience composition value, the category and genre information being derived from an electronic program guide at the subscriber device, and updating the female audience gender value and the male audience gender value according to the equations F' = (k*F) + (1-k)*C',M' = (k*M) + (1-k)*(1-C'),where F' is an updated female audience gender value, F is a previous female audience gender value, M' is an updated male audience gender value, M is a previous male audience gender value, C' is an audience composition value, and k is a decay constant based on a sampling period;

[and] to receive broadcast information directed to network viewers, the broadcast information including a plurality of assets and asset-related information including target criteria for each of the assets, a said target criterion being a female gender constraint based on whether the female audience gender value is greater or less than a given value or a male gender constraint based on whether the male audience gender value is greater or less than a given value;

[and] to select when to deliver an asset from the plurality of assets at the subscriber device based on a comparison, conducted at the subscriber device, of a said updated audience gender value and the target criteria for the assets, wherein the asset played at the subscriber device is determined by matching said updated audience gender value to the gender constraint; 

and to transmit report information from the subscriber device to a platform of said broadcast network, said report information identifying the asset delivered by the subscriber device."

Reasons for the Decision

1. The appeal is admissible.

2. Amendments (Article 123(2) EPC)

2.1 Claim 1 specifies a method of delivering and reporting delivery of targeted assets to viewers of a broadcast network as disclosed, for instance, in claims 1 and 2 of the application as filed. The feature of operating a processor at a subscriber device is disclosed, for instance, in paragraphs 13, 20 and 46 of the application as filed. The features relating to the determination of the female audience gender value and the male audience gender value are disclosed in paragraphs 48 and 49 of the application as filed. The features relating to the reception of broadcast information are disclosed, for instance, in original claim 1 and paragraphs 42 to 47. The features relating to the selection of when to deliver an asset are disclosed in paragraphs 44 and 47. The features relating to the transmission of report information are disclosed, for instance, in original claim 2 and paragraph 53.

2.2 Independent claim 7 essentially specifies a subscriber device for use in the method of claim 1 and is thus disclosed in the same parts of the application as filed.

2.3 The subject-matter of claims 2, 6 and 8 is disclosed in paragraph 23 as originally filed. Claim 3 corresponds to original claim 5, claims 4 and 10 to original claim 6, and claims 5 and 11 to original claim 7. The subject-matter of claim 9 is disclosed, for instance, in original claim 11.

2.4 The description has been brought into line with the amended claims and discusses D1 and D6. The original drawings have been replaced by formal ones.

2.5 In view of the above, the board finds that the application meets the requirements of Article 123(2) EPC.

3. Clarity and support by the description (Article 84 EPC 1973)

[...]

3.4 In view of the above, the board finds that the present amended claims meet the requirements of Article 84 EPC 1973.

4. Novelty and inventive step (Articles 54(1) and 56 EPC 1973)

4.1 It is undisputed that none of the available documents discloses details regarding the determination of a female audience gender value and a male audience gender value as specified in present amended claims 1 and 7. The board too agrees. Thus the claimed method and the claimed subscriber device are new (Article 54(1) EPC 1973).

4.2 It is also undisputed, and the board agrees, that D1 may be considered as the closest prior art for the assessment of inventive step.

4.3 D1 discloses a method of delivering targeted assets [ ] to viewers of a broadcast network. Equipment at the data transmission facility assembles and delivers local content to be inserted into the live data streams at a later time and transmits individualised instructions to each set-top box about what local content should be inserted into the live data stream (column 3, lines 1 to 13). It is implicit that the method of D1 also includes reporting delivery of targeted assets (see column 7, lines 12 to 32).

4.4 However, a number of features of the invention as specified in the present claims are not disclosed in D1. One example is implementation details concerning the determination of gender values on the basis of inter alia an audience composition value. These implementation details include the use of a table listing programmes, categories and genres. As a fallback solution an electronic programme guide is employed to look up the programme category or genre. Another example is the reception of broadcast information including a target criterion being a gender constraint at the subscriber device, and the selection of when to deliver an asset based on a comparison of the audience gender value and the target criterion at the subscriber device. In D1 the timing of the delivery of assets is determined by command and control data from the data transmission facility (see column 9, line 61 to column 10, line 33). As convincingly argued by the appellant, these features contribute to the technical solution of the problem of how to provide more efficient delivery of targeted assets which can take account of a gender make-up of a current audience in real time without compromising the privacy of the audience.

4.5 D6 discloses a subscriber identification system. It attempts to identify a particular viewer within a household based on, for instance, the individual viewer's viewing and programme selection habits (page 2, lines 22 to 29, page 7, lines 1 to 15). This information is used to generate subscriber profiles which may include an individual's characteristics including age and gender. However, D6 does not disclose the features of the claimed invention discussed in point 4.4 above.

4.6 In view of the above, the appellant's argument that a combination of D1 and D6 would not result in the claimed invention is persuasive. Moreover, D1 attempts to target assets to a household having a particular set-top box. There is no indication in D1 that different users of the same set-top box (such as different members of one household) could be distinguished (column 6, lines 17 to 40).

4.7 Thus, in view of D1 and D6, the claimed subject-matter is not obvious to a person skilled in the art.

4.8 The other available documents are not more pertinent. Hence the board finds that the method of claim 1 and the subscriber device of claim 7 involve an inventive step (Article 56 EPC 1973). The same is true for the subject-matter specified in dependent claims 2 to 6 and 8 to 11.

5. The board sees no other obstacle to the grant of a patent on the basis of the present application documents.

Order

For these reasons it is decided that:

1. The decision under appeal is set aside.

2. The case is remitted to the department of first instance with the order to grant a patent in the following version: