# US 12,764,381 B2 · Content distribution system, content distribution method, and content distribution program > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,764,381 B2 - Document ID: US12764381B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/998,302 - Filed: 2023-07-11 - Published: 2026-02-12 - Granted: 2026-10-13 - Earliest claimed: 2022-07-29 - Assignees: DWANGO Co., Ltd. - Applicants: DWANGO Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Akihiko Koizuka; Takashi Kojima; Yuri Odagiri - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12764381B2 ## CPC - H04N 21/44218: {Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV programme (methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45)} - H04N 21/4316: {for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window} - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract A content distribution system according to one embodiment includes at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to display content on a plurality of user terminals, acquire line-of-sight data indicating line-of-sight positions of users visually recognizing the content from two or more of the plurality of user terminals, analyze two or more pieces of the acquired line-of-sight data to calculate a distribution of line-of-sight positions of two or more users in the content, and determine, based on the calculated distribution, a mode of applying an effect to be applied to the content displayed on at least one target terminal of the plurality of user terminals. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A content distribution system, comprising at least one processor configured to: display content on a plurality of user terminals; acquire line-of-sight data indicating line-of-sight positions of users visually recognizing the content from two or more of the plurality of user terminals, the two or more of the plurality of user terminals including two or more viewer terminals, each of the line-of-sight positions being a position at which a corresponding one of the users is looking on a screen of a corresponding one of the two or more viewer terminals, the line-of-sight data being acquired based on tracking of eye movements of the respective users at the two or more viewer terminals; analyze two or more pieces of the acquired line-of-sight data to calculate a distribution of line-of-sight positions of two or more users in the content, the distribution of line-of-sight positions indicating where lines of sight of the two or more users are located in the content; and determine, based on the calculated distribution, a mode of applying an effect to be applied to the content displayed on at least one target terminal of the plurality of user terminals, the mode of applying the effect including effect data transmitted to the at least one target terminal for causing the at least one target terminal to generate a visual effect and/or an audio effect. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: specify, based on the distribution, a first area in the content where lines of sight of the two or more users are focused and a second area where the lines of sight of the two or more users are less focused than the first area; and determine, as the mode of applying the effect, that a display mode of the first area of the content displayed on the at least one target terminal is changed. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: specify, based on the distribution, a first area in the content where lines of sight of the two or more users are focused and a second area where the lines of sight of the two or more users are less focused than the first area; and determine, as the mode of applying the effect, that a display mode of the second area of the content displayed on the at least one target terminal is changed. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of user terminals include a distributor terminal that distributes the content and a plurality of viewer terminals, and the content is content that is distributed in real time from the distributor terminal to the plurality of viewer terminals. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of user terminals include a plurality of viewer terminals, and the content is content that is distributed on demand to the plurality of viewer terminals. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine the mode of applying the effect based on attribute information of the plurality of users. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the distribution of line-of-sight positions includes a degree of concentration of the line-of-sight positions of the two or more users in the content. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The content distribution system according to claim 7, wherein the degree of concentration indicates an area in which lines of sight of a larger number of users are located than in another area of the content. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to calculate the distribution of line-of-sight positions by dividing the content into a plurality of areas and calculating a number or percentage of lines of sight of the two or more users for each of the plurality of areas. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The content distribution system according to claim 9, wherein the mode of applying the effect includes effect data for causing the at least one target terminal to generate the visual effect and/or the audio effect according to the number or percentage calculated for each of the plurality of areas. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the effect includes displaying information indicating a number or percentage of viewers visually recognizing an area in the content. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The content distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to calculate the distribution of line-of-sight positions for each group of users classified based on attribute information. ### Claim 13 A content distribution method executed by a content distribution system including at least one processor, the content distribution method comprising: displaying content on a plurality of user terminals; acquiring line-of-sight data indicating line-of-sight positions of users visually recognizing the content from two or more of the plurality of user terminals, the two or more of the plurality of user terminals including two or more viewer terminals, each of the line-of-sight positions being a position at which a corresponding one of the users is looking on a screen of a corresponding one of the two or more viewer terminals, the line-of-sight data being acquired based on tracking of eye movements of the respective users at the two or more viewer terminals; analyzing two or more pieces of the acquired line-of-sight data to calculate a distribution of line-of-sight positions of two or more users in the content, the distribution of line-of-sight positions indicating where lines of sight of the two or more users are located in the content; and determining, based on the calculated distribution, a mode of applying an effect to be applied to the content displayed on at least one target terminal of the plurality of user terminals, the mode of applying the effect including effect data transmitted to the at least one target terminal for causing the at least one target terminal to generate a visual effect and/or an audio effect. ### Claim 14 A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing thereon a content distribution program that, when executed, causes a computer to execute: displaying content on a plurality of user terminals; acquiring line-of-sight data indicating line-of-sight positions of users visually recognizing the content from two or more of the plurality of user terminals, the two or more of the plurality of user terminals including two or more viewer terminals, each of the line-of-sight positions being a position at which a corresponding one of the users is looking on a screen of a corresponding one of the two or more viewer terminals, the line-of-sight data being acquired based on tracking of eye movements of the respective users at the two or more viewer terminals; analyzing two or more pieces of the acquired line-of-sight data to calculate a distribution of line-of-sight positions of two or more users in the content, the distribution of line-of-sight positions indicating where lines of sight of the two or more users are located in the content; and determining, based on the calculated distribution, a mode of applying an effect to be applied to the content displayed on at least one target terminal of the plurality of user terminals, the mode of applying the effect including effect data transmitted to the at least one target terminal for causing the at least one target terminal to generate a visual effect and/or an audio effect.