# US 2014/0157308 A1 · Advertising processing engine service > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0157308 A1 - Document ID: US20140157308A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/748,791 - Filed: 2013-01-24 - Published: 2014-06-05 - Earliest claimed: 2012-12-03 - Assignees: Unicorn Media, Inc. - Applicants: Unicorn Media, Inc. - Inventors: Benjamin Lebrato Ahern; David Morel; Matthew A. Johnson; Albert John McGowan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140157308A1 ## CPC - H04N 21/812: {involving advertisement data (advertising per se G06Q30/02)} - H04L 65/612: for unicast - H04L 65/765: {intermediate} - H04N 21/234309: {by transcoding between formats or standards, e.g. from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 or from Quicktime to Realvideo (conversion of standards in analog television systems H04N7/01)} - H04N 21/234363: {by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution} - H04N 21/2393: {involving handling client requests (scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60)} - H04N 21/8455: {involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream} - H04N 21/4431: {characterized by the use of Application Program Interface [API] libraries} - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract Techniques described herein provide for an advertising processing engine service to act as an intermediary between client applications and advertising networks. The advertising processing engine service can provide an interface with which the client can interact, via an application programming interface (API) or directly through the use of a standardized language, thereby allowing client applications to receive advertisement data without the need to be customized to communicate with specific advertising networks. On the other hand, the advertising processing engine service can receive requests from clients and communicate these requests to advertising networks in the corresponding language and/or format they require. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network, the method comprising: receiving, with a communications interface, a request for a first set of advertising data; sending, via the communications interface, a request to obtain advertising data from at least a first advertisement network, wherein the request to obtain advertising data from the first advertisement network is based on the request for the first set of advertising data; receiving, with the communications interface, the first set of advertising data in a first format; transforming, with a processing unit, the first set of advertising data to conform to a certain format; sending, via the communications interface: the first set of advertising data in the certain format, and an indication of a first set of one or more time slots corresponding to the placement, in video content of a video stream, of one or more advertisements associated with the first set of advertising data; receiving, with the communications interface, a request for a second set of advertising data; sending, via the communications interface a request to obtain advertising data from at least a second advertisement network, wherein the request to obtain advertising data from the second advertisement network is based on the request for the second set of advertising data; receiving, with the communications interface, the second set of advertising data in a second format; transforming, with the processing unit, the second set of advertising data to conform to the certain format; and sending, via the communications interface: the second set of advertising data in the certain format, and an indication of a second set of one or more time slots corresponding to the placement, in the video content of the video stream, of one or more advertisements associated with the second set of advertising data. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method for providing advertising data via the data communications network as recited in claim 1, further comprising: identifying the first advertisement network based on the request for the first set of advertising data; creating the request to obtain advertising data from the first advertisement network such that it conforms to a format associated with the first advertisement network; and creating the request to obtain advertising data from the second advertisement network such that it conforms to a format associated with the second advertisement network. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method for providing advertising data via the data communications network as recited in claim 2, further comprising: identifying, based on the request for the first set of advertising data, one or more time slots for advertisements; and determining, for each of the one or more time slots, an advertising network associated with the time slot, based on one or more business rules. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The method for providing advertising data via the data communications network as recited in claim 2, wherein transforming the first set of advertising data to conform to the certain format comprises using a first Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) related to the first advertisement network. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method for providing advertising data via the data communications network as recited in claim 4, wherein transforming the second set of advertising data to conform to the certain format comprises using a second (XSLT) related to the second advertisement network. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method for providing advertising data via the data communications network as recited in claim 1, wherein the request for the first set of advertising data and the request for the second set of advertising data are both related to the same video content. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method for providing advertising data via the data communications network as recited in claim 1, wherein the certain format conforms to a version of Video Ad Serving Template (VAST). ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method for providing advertising data via the data communications network as recited in claim 1, wherein the request for the first set of advertising data is related to a device of a first device type, and the request for the second set of advertising data is related to a device of a second device type. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method for providing advertising data via the data communications network as recited in claim 1, wherein either or both of the first set of advertising data or the second set of advertising data includes information for enabling interactive content during playback of an advertisement by a media player application. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method for providing advertising data via the data communications network as recited in claim 1, wherein either or both of the first set of advertising data or the second set of advertising data includes information for disabling functionality of a media player application during playback of an advertisement. ### Claim 11 A server for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network, the server comprising: a communications interface for communicating with the data communications network; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled with the memory and the communications interface, the processor further configured to cause the server to: receive, with the communications interface, a request for a first set of advertising data in a first format; send, via the communications interface a request to obtain advertising data from at least a first advertisement network, wherein the request to obtain advertising data from the first advertisement network is based on the request for the first set of advertising data; receive, with the communications interface, the first set of advertising data; transform the first set of advertising data to conform to a certain format; send, via the communications interface: the first set of advertising data in the certain format, and an indication of a first set of one or more time slots corresponding to the placement, in video content of a video stream, of one or more advertisements associated with the first set of advertising data; receive, with the communications interface, a request for a second set of advertising data; send, via the communications interface, a request to obtain advertising data from at least a second advertisement network, wherein the request to obtain advertising data from the second advertisement network is based on the request for the second set of advertising data; receive, with the communications interface, the second set of advertising data in a second format; transform the second set of advertising data to conform to the certain format; and send, via the communications interface: the second set of advertising data in the certain format, and an indication of a second set of one or more time slots corresponding to the placement, in the video content of the video stream, of one or more advertisements associated with the second set of advertising data. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The server for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network as recited in claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the server to: identify the first advertisement network based on the request for the first set of advertising data; create the request to obtain advertising data from the first advertisement network such that it conforms to a format associated with the first advertisement network; and create the request to obtain advertising data from the second advertisement network such that it conforms to a format associated with the second advertisement network. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The server for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network as recited in claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the server to: identify, based on the request for the first set of advertising data, one or more time slots for advertisements; and determine, for each of the one or more time slots, an advertising network associated with the time slot based on one or more business rules. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The server for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network as recited in claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to cause the server to transform the first set of advertising data using an Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) related to the first advertisement network. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The server for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network as recited in claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to cause the server to include, in either or both of the first set of advertising data or the second set of advertising data, information for enabling interactive content during playback of an advertisement by a media player application. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The server for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network as recited in claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to cause the server to include, in either or both of the first set of advertising data or the second set of advertising data, information for disabling functionality of a media player application during playback of an advertisement. ### Claim 17 A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions imbedded thereon for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network, the computer-readable medium including instructions for: receiving a request for a first set of advertising data in a first format; sending a request to obtain advertising data from at least a first advertisement network, wherein the request to obtain advertising data from the first advertisement network is based on the request for the first set of advertising data; receiving the first set of advertising data; transforming the first set of advertising data to conform to a certain format; sending: the first set of advertising data in the certain format, and an indication of a first set of one or more time slots corresponding to the placement, in video content of a video stream, of one or more advertisements associated with the first set of advertising data; receiving a request for a second set of advertising data in a second format; sending a request to obtain advertising data from at least a second advertisement network, wherein the request to obtain advertising data from the second advertisement network is based on the request for the second set of advertising data; receiving the second set of advertising data; transforming the second set of advertising data to conform to the certain format; and sending: the second set of advertising data in the certain format, and an indication of a second set of one or more time slots corresponding to the placement, in the video content of the video stream, of one or more advertisements associated with the second set of advertising data. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The non-transitory computer-readable medium having the instructions imbedded thereon for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network as recited in claim 17, further including instructions for: identifying the first advertisement network based on the request for the first set of advertising data; creating the request to obtain advertising data from the first advertisement network such that it conforms to a format associated with the first advertisement network; and creating the request to obtain advertising data from the second advertisement network such that it conforms to a format associated with the second advertisement network. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The non-transitory computer-readable medium having the instructions imbedded thereon for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network as recited in claim 18, further including instructions for: identifying, based on the request for the first set of advertising data, one or more time slots for advertisements; and determine, for each of the one or more time slots, an advertising network associated with the time slot based on one or more business rules. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The non-transitory computer-readable medium having the instructions imbedded thereon for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network as recited in claim 18, wherein the instructions for transforming the first set of advertising data include instructions for using an Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) related to the first advertisement network. ### Claim 21 (depends on 17) The non-transitory computer-readable medium having the instructions imbedded thereon for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network as recited in claim 17, further having instructions for including, in either or both of the first set of advertising data or the second set of advertising data, information for enabling interactive content during playback of an advertisement by a media player application. ### Claim 22 (depends on 17) The non-transitory computer-readable medium having the instructions imbedded thereon for providing advertising data, related to video content, via a data communications network as recited in claim 17, further having instructions for including, in either or both of the first set of advertising data or the second set of advertising data, information for disabling functionality of a media player application during playback of an advertisement.