Prior art — US Patent 8677398

Analysis of Prior Art Cited in U.S. Patent 8,677,398

This analysis examines the most relevant prior art references cited during the prosecution of U.S. Patent 8,677,398 ("the '398 patent"). Each reference is evaluated for its potential to anticipate the independent claims of the '398 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 102. Anticipation requires that a single prior art reference discloses, either expressly or inherently, each and every element of a claimed invention.

The independent claims (1, 9, and 15) of the '398 patent generally describe a method, system, and computer-readable medium for:

Receiving identifiers and IP addresses from a first device (e.g., a mobile phone) and a second device (e.g., a set-top box).
Determining that both devices are on the same local network by recognizing they share the same public IP address.
Electronically associating the two devices based on this shared IP address.
Receiving information about a user's activity on the first device.
Automatically sending a targeted message to the second device based on that activity.

The following is an assessment of key prior art cited against these claims.

U.S. Patent No. 7,734,510 B1 (to Huddersfield)

Full Citation: US 7,734,510 B1, "Method and System for Presenting an Advertisement to a User," filed by Huddersfield, Inc.
Filing Date: June 13, 2000
Publication Date: June 8, 2010
Description: The Huddersfield patent describes a system for delivering targeted advertisements to users. It discloses collecting user information, including IP addresses, and using that information to select and present relevant ads. A central ad server coordinates the collection of user data and the delivery of advertisements. The system can track user behavior across different websites to build a profile for ad targeting.
Potential Anticipation of Claims:
- Claims 1, 9, 15: Huddersfield discloses the concept of collecting user data (including IP addresses) and using it for targeted advertising. However, it does not explicitly describe a method for associating two different types of devices (e.g., a mobile phone and a set-top box) by observing a shared IP address and then using the activity on one device to trigger an ad on the second device. Huddersfield's focus is on targeting a single user or device based on its own activity history. Therefore, it does not appear to anticipate the core cross-device association and targeting elements of the '398 patent's independent claims.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0240964 A1 (to Her-daw-ih)

Full Citation: US 2005/0240964 A1, "Method and System for Providing Advertising in an Interactive Television Network," filed by Her-daw-ih, et al.
Filing Date: April 26, 2004
Publication Date: October 27, 2005
Description: This application describes a system for delivering targeted advertising within an interactive television (iTV) environment. It discloses collecting household demographic and psychographic information and using it to select ads. The system can also monitor viewing habits to refine ad targeting. The set-top box (STB) plays a role in receiving and displaying these targeted ads.
Potential Anticipation of Claims:
- Claims 1, 9, 15: Her-daw-ih focuses on targeting advertisements on a television based on viewing habits and user profiles associated with that television or household. It does not teach the key inventive step of the '398 patent: using the online activity from a separate device (like a computer or smartphone) to target ads on the television by first associating the two devices via a common IP address. The association based on a shared public IP address between a general-purpose computing device and a television STB is absent. Thus, Her-daw-ih does not anticipate the independent claims.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0069634 A1 (to Amron)

Full Citation: US 2006/0069634 A1, "System and Method for Tracking and Targeting Advertising," filed by Amron, et al.
Filing Date: September 26, 2005
Publication Date: March 30, 2006
Description: Amron discloses a system for tracking user behavior across different media to provide targeted advertising. It mentions tracking online behavior and television viewing habits. The system can use various identifiers to track a user, including cookies and device IDs. The goal is to create a comprehensive user profile to deliver more relevant ads.
Potential Anticipation of Claims:
- Claims 1, 9, 15: Amron teaches the general concept of cross-media ad targeting. However, it does not specifically disclose the method of using a shared public IP address as the basis for electronically associating distinct devices (e.g., a web-browsing device and a set-top box) and then triggering a message on the second device based on the activity of the first. While Amron discusses user tracking, it does not describe the specific mechanism of IP-based household device association claimed in the '398 patent. Therefore, it likely does not anticipate the independent claims.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0157254 A1 (to Goldschmidt Iki)

Full Citation: US 2007/0157254 A1, "Method and Apparatus for Tracking and Using Viewing Data of Television Viewers," filed by Goldschmidt Iki, et al.
Filing Date: January 3, 2006
Publication Date: July 5, 2007
Description: This publication describes methods for collecting and utilizing television viewing data. It discusses identifying households and associating viewing data with those households. The collected data is then used for various purposes, including targeted advertising and content recommendations.
Potential Anticipation of Claims:
- Claims 1, 9, 15: Goldschmidt Iki focuses on tracking and using television viewing data. It does not describe associating a television or set-top box with another, separate online device based on a shared IP address. The core concept of leveraging online activity from one device to trigger an ad on a television within the same local network is not present. Therefore, this reference does not anticipate the independent claims of the '398 patent.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0087520 A1 (to Shvo)

Full Citation: US 2002/0087520 A1, "Method and System for Selecting Advertisements to be Presented to a User," filed by Shvo, et al.
Filing Date: December 28, 2000
Publication Date: July 4, 2002
Description: Shvo discloses a system for selecting advertisements for a user based on a user profile. The profile is built from the user's online activities, such as search queries and websites visited. An ad server uses this profile to match relevant ads to the user. The system uses cookies and other identifiers to recognize the user across different sessions.
Potential Anticipation of Claims:
- Claims 1, 9, 15: Shvo's disclosure is centered on building a user profile from online activity to deliver targeted online ads to that same user/device. It does not teach the cross-device functionality that is central to the '398 patent. There is no mention of identifying a second device (like a set-top box) on the same network via a shared IP address and sending it a message based on the first device's activity. Consequently, Shvo does not anticipate the independent claims.

Summary of Prior Art Analysis

Based on a review of the cited prior art, none of the references appear to fully anticipate the independent claims of U.S. Patent 8,677,398. While many references disclose elements of targeted advertising, such as collecting user data, using IP addresses for identification, and building user profiles, they consistently lack the specific combination of steps that define the '398 patent's core invention. Specifically, the prior art does not appear to disclose the method of:

Identifying that two distinct devices are on the same local network by observing a shared public IP address.
Creating an electronic association between these devices based on that shared IP address.
Using the online activity of the first device to automatically trigger the delivery of a targeted message to the second, associated device.

It is this specific cross-device linking and targeting mechanism that appears to be the novel contribution of the '398 patent over the cited references.