US 8249912

Washington, D.C. - A detailed analysis of United States Patent 8,249,912 reveals a method for intricately linking media content with consumer advertising response, a technology now held by High Velocity Capital LLC. This report provides a summary of the patent's key details and a plain-language explanation of its independent claims.

As of May 12, 2026, a search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database and the 2026 dockets of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) for patent number 8,249,912 has been conducted. There is no indication of any current or scheduled litigation involving this patent before the CAFC in 2026.

Summary of U.S. Patent 8,249,912

• Title: Method for determining, correlating and examining the causal relationships between media program and commercial content with response rates to advertising and product placement.
• Assignee: The patent was most recently assigned to High Velocity Capital LLC on February 17, 2025. The original assignee was listed as "Individual".
• Inventors: Sebastian Elliott and Jonathan Takiff.
• Filing Date: February 20, 2008.
• Issue Date: August 21, 2012.
• Abstract: The patent describes a method that involves identifying and storing information about the timing and content of media programs and commercials, alongside consumer viewing actions. This data is then correlated to create "responsiveness probability values" that indicate the likelihood of a consumer responding to specific media or commercial content. These values are then used to strategically place advertising within a second media program at a specific time and within specific content to maximize consumer response. The system aims to facilitate the creation and modification of ads and their placement across various broadcast and internet media.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

U.S. Patent 8,249,912 has three independent claims: Claim 1, Claim 8, and Claim 12. Below is a simplified explanation of what each claim protects.

Claim 1: This claim outlines the core method of the invention. In essence, it protects a process that uses a computer system with two databases to:

• Identify and store the specific elements of a TV show or other media program ("program elements") and any product placements within it, all tied to specific time intervals.
• Track and store what viewers do in response to these elements (e.g., changing the channel, clicking on an ad).
• Use a processor to correlate the program elements and viewer actions to calculate "responsiveness probability values" – essentially, the likelihood that a viewer will react to a certain type of content.
• Finally, it protects the use of these probability values to create graphical representations of the chances of getting a response from people viewing the media content.

Claim 8: This claim builds upon the method in Claim 1 but is more specific in its application. It protects a method that not only performs the data collection and correlation described in Claim 1 but also includes the steps of:

• Examining both positive and negative viewer responses and their intensity to assign a percentage value (from 0% to 100%) as the responsiveness probability for each program and product placement element.
• Applying these calculated probabilities to a second episode of the same serialized media program to predict viewer actions.
• Crucially, it protects the act of placing an advertisement within that second episode at a precise time and within specific content, based on where the calculated probabilities predict the best response.

Claim 12: This claim is very similar to Claim 8 but presents a slightly broader scope. It protects a method for:

• Identifying, storing, and correlating program and product placement elements with consumer actions in a first episode of a serialized program to generate responsiveness probability values.
• Applying these values to a second episode of that program to predict how viewers will react.
• Placing an advertisement within that second episode at a specific time and within particular content as determined by these predictions.

In essence, all three independent claims protect a computer-implemented method for analyzing viewer behavior in response to media content and then using that analysis to strategically place advertisements in future media content to increase effectiveness. The key distinction lies in the level of detail and the specific application of the calculated probabilities, with later claims focusing on the practical placement of ads in subsequent episodes of a series.