Detecting and preventing false television viewership
AssigneeVerizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
InventorDouglas M. PASKO
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device receives instructions to record particular content and repeatedly play the recorded particular content. The device records the particular content based on the instructions, and repeatedly plays the recorded particular content based on the instructions. The device performs fraud checks based on the instructions, and determines whether the instructions are fraudulent based on the fraud checks. The device selectively provides, based on whether the instructions are fraudulent, viewership information for the particular content to a ratings device associated with a ratings entity. The viewership information for the particular content is provided to the ratings device when the instructions are not fraudulent, and is discarded when the instructions are fraudulent.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- receiving, by a device, instructions to record particular content and repeatedly play the recorded particular content;
- recording, by the device, the particular content based on the instructions;
- repeatedly playing, by the device, the recorded particular content based on the instructions;
- performing, by the device, one or more fraud checks based on the instructions;
- determining, by the device, whether the instructions are fraudulent based on the one or more fraud checks;
- and
- selectively providing, by the device and based on whether the instructions are fraudulent, viewership information for the particular content to a ratings device associated with a ratings entity,
- the viewership information for the particular content being provided to the ratings device when the instructions are not fraudulent, and
- the viewership information for the particular content being discarded when the instructions are fraudulent.
A device, comprising:
- one or more processors to:
- receive instructions to repeatedly play particular content broadcast at a plurality of different times;
- repeatedly play the particular content based on the instructions and at the plurality of different times;
- perform a plurality of fraud checks relating to the repeated playing of the particular content;
- determine whether the instructions are fraudulent based on the plurality of fraud checks;
- selectively provide, based on whether the instructions are fraudulent, viewership information for the particular content to a ratings device that calculates a rating for the particular content,
- the viewership information for the particular content being provided to the ratings device when the instructions are not fraudulent, and
- the viewership information for the particular content being discarded when the instructions are fraudulent.
A computer-readable medium for storing instructions, the instructions comprising:
- one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the one or more processors to:
- receive device instructions to record television content and repeatedly play the recorded television content;
- record the television content based on the device instructions;
- repeatedly play the recorded television content based on the device instructions;
- perform one or more fraud checks based on the repeated playing of the recorded television content;
- determine whether the device instructions are fraudulent based on the one or more fraud checks;
- provide, when the device instructions are not fraudulent, viewership information for the television content to a ratings device that determines a rating for the television content;
- and
- discard, when the device instructions are fraudulent, the viewership information for the television content.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.