Prior art

Analysis of Prior Art Cited in US Patent 7,822,639

As of April 28, 2026, this analysis details the most relevant prior art cited during the prosecution of U.S. Patent 7,822,639. The focus is on references that potentially anticipate the patent's claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102, which requires that a single prior art reference disclose every element of a claimed invention.

The core of patent '639 lies in a three-party system: a first website ("first broadcaster") tags a user, a second website ("second broadcaster") recognizes the tag, and an "agency" facilitates the delivery of an advertisement from the first broadcaster's advertiser to the user on the second broadcaster's site. This creates a market for "off-site" advertising, allowing a popular, "sold-out" website to monetize its audience even after they navigate to other web properties.

Key Cited Prior Art and Potential Anticipation

Below are the most pertinent references cited by the USPTO examiner or the applicant and an analysis of their impact on the patentability of the '639 claims.

1. U.S. Patent 5,948,061 A ("'061 patent")

• Full Citation: Merriman et al., "Method of delivery, targeting, and measuring advertising over networks," issued September 7, 1999. Filed October 29, 1996. Assignee: DoubleClick, Inc.

• Brief Description: The '061 patent discloses a foundational system for online advertising. It describes an advertising server that delivers banner ads to users on behalf of a network of affiliated websites. The system tracks users, often using cookies, to gather profile information and control ad frequency. When a user visits an affiliate site, the site requests an ad from the central ad server, which then selects and delivers a targeted ad based on the user's profile.

• Potential Anticipation of Claims: This reference is highly relevant and appears to anticipate the core technical aspects of claim 1.

  • "Agency facilitating visitor identification": The '061 patent's central "advertising server" performs the role of the "agency," as it manages user profiles and coordinates ad delivery across different websites.
  • "First broadcaster tagging visitors": The '061 patent describes identifying users through methods like cookies when they visit an affiliated site (a "first broadcaster"), which constitutes "tagging."
  • "Second broadcaster recognizing the tag" and "accepting the offsite content": When the same user visits another affiliated site (a "second broadcaster"), that site makes a request to the ad server. The ad server uses the cookie ("tag") to identify the user and serves a targeted ad. The second site's browser then displays ("accepts") this ad. The '061 patent clearly outlines this off-site delivery mechanism within an ad network.

  While '061 describes the technical method, it does not explicitly detail the three-part contractual structure as claimed in independent claim 21. However, such a business structure is inherent to the operation of the described ad network, where agreements must exist between the network operator (agency), the advertisers (content providers), and the participating websites (broadcasters). Therefore, '061 likely anticipates the functional roles and relationships described in claim 21, even if not laid out in specific contractual terms.

2. U.S. Patent 6,269,361 B1 ("'361 patent")

• Full Citation: Davis et al., "System and method for influencing a position on a search result list generated by a computer network search engine," issued July 31, 2001. Filed February 27, 1998. Assignee: GoTo.com (later Overture, then acquired by Yahoo!).
• Brief Description: This patent is a seminal invention for paid search advertising. It discloses a system where advertisers bid for placement on a search results page. When a user searches for a keyword, the system ranks advertisers based on their bids and displays their listings accordingly.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: The '361 patent is less directly anticipatory of the '639 patent's specific off-site targeting method. Its primary focus is on an auction model for ad placement within a single domain (the search engine). It does not explicitly describe tagging a user on a first site and then serving them an ad on an unaffiliated second site. However, it establishes the concept of a central entity (the search engine as the "agency") managing relationships between content providers (advertisers) and a broadcaster (the search engine itself) to deliver targeted content. It anticipates the business logic of an intermediary managing advertising inventory but does not describe the specific "off-site" technical implementation claimed in patent '639.

3. U.S. Patent 6,026,368 A ("'368 patent")

• Full Citation: Brown et al., "System and method for virtual direct marketing," issued February 15, 2000. Filed September 2, 1997. Assignee: CMG Information Services, Inc.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a system for creating user profiles based on their online activities and using these profiles for targeted advertising. It explicitly mentions collecting data from a user's interactions on one website and then using that data to select and deliver ads to that same user when they visit a different website that is part of the same advertising network.
• Potential Anticipation of Claims: Similar to the '061 patent, the '368 patent strongly anticipates the method described in claim 1. It discloses a central system ("agency") that works with a network of websites ("broadcasters"). It teaches the creation of user profiles based on browsing history ("tagging") at a "first broadcaster" and using that profile to serve a targeted ad to the user at a "second broadcaster." The system described is functionally identical to the one in claim 1 of the '639 patent. The '368 patent also inherently implies the business relationships of claim 21, as such a network cannot function without agreements between the network operator, advertisers, and publishers.

Summary of Prior Art Impact

The most relevant prior art, particularly U.S. patents 5,948,061 and 6,026,368, disclose systems that perform the same fundamental process as claimed in US 7,822,639. These earlier patents, foundational to the online advertising industry, describe ad networks where a central server tracks users across multiple third-party websites and uses this tracking data to serve targeted ads. This process involves an "agency" (the ad network server), a "first broadcaster" (the site where user data is collected), and a "second broadcaster" (the site where the ad is displayed).

The novelty of the '639 patent, as argued during its prosecution, appears to reside in the specific framing of the business arrangement and the concept of "super-saturation"—monetizing a "sold-out" audience off-site. However, the underlying technical method of tagging and retargeting was well-established by the prior art cited. The distinction between a technical invention and a business method invention is crucial here, and the prior art appears to disclose the core technical implementation.