US2014066205A1PendingUtilityA1

Method and interface for network gaming

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Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: Nov 14, 1996Filed: Nov 8, 2013Published: Mar 6, 2014
Est. expiryNov 14, 2016(expired)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:Matthew F. KellyBryan M. KellyNorman B. PetermeierJohn G. KroeckelJohn E. Link
G07F 17/32A63F 13/12
52
PatentIndex Score
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References
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Claims

Abstract

A method and interface for advertising in a software application accessible over a computer network by a plurality of users is disclosed. A software application is executed on a display interface for interaction by a user and an advertisement is provided for display to the user on the display interface during the interaction of the user with the software application, wherein a content of the advertisement corresponds to the interaction of the user with the display interface.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method for providing a software application accessible over a computer network by a plurality of users, the method comprising:
 executing a software application on a display interface for interaction by a user; and   providing an advertisement for display to the user on the display interface during the interaction of the user with the software application, wherein a content of the advertisement corresponds to the interaction of the user with the display interface.   
     
     
         2 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein providing an advertisement further comprises providing an advertisement comprising information directly related to the executed software application. 
     
     
         3 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein executing the software application further comprises executing the software application at no cost to the user based on the providing of an advertisement for display to the user during the interaction. 
     
     
         4 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein providing an advertisement comprises providing an advertisement on a display bar on the display interface. 
     
     
         5 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising determining interest by the user in a provided advertisement. 
     
     
         6 . A method according to  claim 5 , the method further comprising focusing one or more additional advertisements toward the user based on the determined interest. 
     
     
         7 . A method according to  claim 5 , further comprising reporting the determined interest to a provider of an advertisement or advertised content. 
     
     
         8 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement is selected from the group consisting of still pictures, animations, movies, sound, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         9 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the software application comprises a game for gameplay by the user. 
     
     
         10 . A method according to  claim 9 , wherein a provided advertisement comprises content from a sponsor of a prize achievable during gameplay by the user. 
     
     
         11 . A method according to  claim 9 , wherein the content of the provided advertisement comprises a feature that is related to the gameplay of the user. 
     
     
         12 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein providing an advertisement further comprises providing a selectable advertisement comprising an executable link, the method further comprising navigating a user to a site associated with the content of the provided advertisement in response to the user's selection of the advertisement comprising the executable link. 
     
     
         13 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein executing comprises executing the software application on a computer server associated, the method further comprising providing the user portal access to the software application across the network. 
     
     
         14 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein providing an advertisement further comprises:
 determining if one or more current advertisements corresponding to the user are ready for display to the user,   if one or more current advertisements are ready for display, displaying the one or more current advertisements to the user during the interaction, and   if one or more current advertisements are not ready for display, displaying one or more prior advertisements to the user during the interaction and downloading the one or more current advertisements during the interaction for later display to the user during later interaction.   
     
     
         15 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the software application is configured for interaction my multiple users, the method further comprising providing an advertisement for display to each user on a corresponding display interface during interaction by each user with the software application, content of each advertisement corresponding to the interaction of each corresponding user with their display interface. 
     
     
         16 . A user interface through which a user at a client interacts with a software application accessible over a computer network by a plurality of users, the user interface comprising:
 a display provided to a user over a wide area network;   a window in the display configured to display a software application executed by the user interface for interaction by the user; and   an advertisement configured, by the user interface, for display to the user on the display during the interaction of the user with the software application, wherein a content of the advertisement corresponds to the interaction of the user with the user interface.   
     
     
         17 . A user interface according to  claim 16 , wherein the provided advertisement comprises information directly related to the executed software application. 
     
     
         18 . A user interface according to  claim 16 , wherein the software application is executed at no cost to the user based on the display of an advertisement to the user during the interaction. 
     
     
         19 . A user interface according to  claim 16 , wherein the advertisement is displayed to the user on a display bar on the display. 
     
     
         20 . A user interface according to  claim 16 , wherein the user interface is further configured to determine interest by the user in a provided advertisement. 
     
     
         21 . A user interface according to  claim 20 , wherein the user interface is further configured to focus one or more additional advertisements toward the user based on the determined interest. 
     
     
         22 . A user interface according to  claim 20 , wherein the user interface is further configured to report the determined interest to a provider of an advertisement or advertised content. 
     
     
         23 . A user interface according to  claim 16 , wherein the advertisement is selected from the group consisting of still pictures, animations, movies, sound, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         24 . A user interface according to  claim 16 , wherein the software application comprises a game for gameplay by the user. 
     
     
         25 . A user interface according to  claim 24 , wherein a provided advertisement comprises content from a sponsor of a prize achievable during gameplay by the user. 
     
     
         26 . A method according to  claim 24 , wherein the content of the provided advertisement comprises a feature that is related to the gameplay of the user. 
     
     
         27 . A user interface according to  claim 16 , wherein a provided advertisement further comprises a selectable advertisement comprising an executable link, wherein the user interface is further configured to facilitate navigating a user to a site associated with the content of the provided advertisement in response to the user's selection of the advertisement comprising the executable link. 
     
     
         28 . A user interface according to  claim 16 , wherein the software application is executed on a computer server, the user interface further configured to provide to the user portal access to the software application across the network. 
     
     
         29 . A user interface according to  claim 16 , wherein the user interface is further configured to:
 determine if one or more current advertisements corresponding to the user are ready for display to the user,   if one or more current advertisements are ready for display, display the one or more current advertisements to the user during the interaction, and   if one or more current advertisements are not ready for display, display one or more prior advertisements to the user during the interaction and download the one or more current advertisements during the interaction for later display to the user during later interaction.   
     
     
         30 . A user interface according to  claim 16 , wherein the software application is configured for interaction my multiple users, the user interface further configured to provide an advertisement for display to each user on a corresponding display during interaction by each user with the software application, content of each advertisement corresponding to the interaction of each corresponding user with their display interface.

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