Prior art — US Patent 7861260

An analysis of the prior art cited by U.S. Patent 7,861,260 reveals several key references that disclose methods and systems for targeting advertisements based on user behavior across different platforms. For a claim to be anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102, every element of that claim must be present in a single prior art reference. The following references are the most relevant to the independent claims of the '260 patent.

Analysis of Key Prior Art References

1. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0194141 A1

Full Citation: US 2004/0194141 A1
Title: System and method for correlating television viewing with network-based activity
Inventor(s): Ellis, Michael D., et al.
Filing Date: March 28, 2003
Publication Date: September 30, 2004
Brief Description: This application describes a system that monitors a household's television viewing and internet activity, associating the two data streams using a "household ID." It discloses a "home network gateway" that can identify and monitor traffic from various devices, including computers and set-top boxes (STBs), which are often on the same local network and share a common external IP address. This correlated data is used to build a profile for selecting and delivering targeted advertisements to the television.
Potential Anticipation of '260 Claims: This reference is highly relevant as it discloses the core concept of linking online behavior with television viewing for ad targeting.
- Claims 1 and 7: Ellis describes a system that associates an STB with a computer on a home network. A central system can collect online activity and TV viewing data to deliver a targeted ad to the STB. This structure strongly anticipates the method and system where a provider has access to both online and TV data streams and can associate them to deliver ads.
- Claims 13 and 20: The disclosure of a home gateway monitoring all network traffic, including communications from an STB, implies that the STB's presence on the network (and thus its IP address) is known to the system. This information is correlated with web activity from the same public IP address to target ads. This functional process of knowing the STB's network address and linking it to online activity anticipates the "STB reporting its IP address" element.
- Claims 29 and 36: The use of a "household ID" to link data from different devices serves the same purpose as the "unique, non-personal identifier" in these claims. It allows the system to associate online activity with a specific STB to ensure the correct delivery of a targeted ad without relying on personally identifiable information (PII).

2. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0242663 A1

Full Citation: US 2006/0242663 A1
Title: System and method for tracking user behavior over a network
Inventor(s): I-Heng, Meng, et al.
Filing Date: April 26, 2005
Publication Date: October 26, 2006
Brief Description: This application details a system for tracking a user's behavior across multiple devices, such as a PC and a television STB, that share a common internet access point and therefore a common external IP address. The system collects data on web browsing and TV content consumption, associates this data with a single user or household, and uses the combined profile to deliver targeted ads and content to the television.
Potential Anticipation of '260 Claims:
- Claims 13 and 20: This reference strongly anticipates the method and system of using a common IP address to link online activity with an STB. It explicitly describes a central server identifying that a PC and an STB share an IP address, receiving web browsing information from the PC, and then delivering a targeted ad to the STB based on that browsing information. This directly maps to the claim elements.
- Claims 1 and 7: The system can be readily implemented by a common ISP/TV provider, which would have direct access to the user's online access IP and the STB's IP address. The reference's disclosure of associating these for ad targeting aligns with the limitations of these claims.
- Claims 29 and 36: The application discusses the creation of user profiles to track behavior. The use of a persistent profile ID linked to the household's devices would function as the "identifier for the set-top box" to enable consistent targeting over time.

3. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0198024 A1

Full Citation: US 2005/0198024 A1
Title: Method and system for internet protocol television (IPTV) advertising
Inventor(s): Srinivasan, Seshadri, et al.
Filing Date: March 4, 2004
Publication Date: September 8, 2005
Brief Description: This application focuses on delivering targeted advertising within an IPTV system. It discloses creating user profiles based on various data sources, explicitly including "web-browsing habits." An ad server uses these profiles to select and insert relevant ads into the television program stream sent to the user's IPTV set-top box. The association between the web browsing data and the STB is managed via a subscriber account or ID.
Potential Anticipation of '260 Claims:
- Claims 1 and 7: The IPTV provider inherently acts as a common provider of both internet and television services. This reference describes such a provider using its ad server to link a subscriber's web browsing habits to their STB to deliver targeted TV ads, thereby anticipating the core elements of these claims.
- Claims 29 and 36: The use of a "subscriber ID" to link the user's profile (containing web history) to their specific STB is a direct parallel to the claimed "identifier for the set-top box." This ID is the mechanism that allows the system to direct the selected ad to the correct device.

4. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0087565 A1

Full Citation: US 2002/0087565 A1
Title: Method and system for collecting user data and delivering targeted advertising
Inventor(s): Paila, T., et al.
Filing Date: December 28, 2000
Publication Date: July 4, 2002
Brief Description: This reference discloses a broad system for collecting user data from internet browsing and other sources to build user profiles. These profiles are then used by an ad server to deliver targeted ads. Crucially, the application specifies that the target device for these ads can be a "set top box" and the medium can be a "television." It discusses using cookies and other identifiers to track users without PII.
Potential Anticipation of '260 Claims:
- General Inventive Concept: This document lays out the foundational concept of collecting online behavioral data to target ads on a television via an STB, which underlies all the independent claims of the '260 patent.
- Claims 29 and 36: The system's use of a user ID or cookie to anonymously track a user and associate their web browsing with their profile and devices directly anticipates the use of a "unique, non-personal identifier for the set-top box" to achieve the same goal. The reference explicitly includes the STB as a potential target device.

5. U.S. Patent No. 7,130,807 B1

Full Citation: US 7,130,807 B1
Title: Method and system for using online and offline data for targeted advertising
Inventor(s): D'Souza, et al.
Filing Date: June 30, 2000
Issue Date: October 31, 2006
Brief Description: This patent describes a method for creating comprehensive user profiles by merging online behavioral data (e.g., browsing history) with offline data. A key feature is the use of an anonymous user ID to link these datasets while protecting user privacy. The resulting profiles are used to deliver targeted ads across various media.
Potential Anticipation of '260 Claims:
- Claims 29 and 36: The patent's core teaching is the use of an "anonymous user ID" to connect a user's online activities with a profile for ad targeting. When applied to the delivery of an ad to a television STB (a contemplated use), this anonymous ID is functionally identical to the "identifier for the set-top box" recited in these claims. It's the non-PII link between the observed online behavior and the target device.