| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 379114100 | Incentive billing | 17 |
| 20090074162 | METHOD FOR INTEGRATING MARKETING WITH A COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM - A method is provided for integrating marketing with a communications system. Initially, the method may create an electronic directory with a plurality of directory records and group records. The method may include distributing a communication platform which interfaces with the electronic directory to a plurality of users. In addition, the method may include establishing, by way of the communication platform, one or more communication sessions for the plurality of users. Furthermore, the method may also include a sales person listed in the electronic directory managing a marketing channel by way of the communication platform. Finally, the method may include recruiting new users of the communication platform and new organization members by way of the communication platform. The communication platform may solicit for new users and new organization members in exchange for establishing communication sessions on the communication platform. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20100183132 | METHOD FOR PERSONALIZED ALERTS FOR ALTERNATIVE SERVICE OFFERINGS BASED ON PERSONALIZED USAGE PROFILES IN A CHANGING MARKET - Comparing service plans based on a user's usage data may include collecting and analyzing service usage and reward earnings data for a user's current service to obtain a normalized service usage and rewards dataset, normalizing data related to a plurality of alternative service offerings according to a normalized alternative service offering model, applying the model to the normalized service usage and rewards dataset to produce a plurality of alternative service offering normalized datasets, comparing the alternative service offering normalized datasets to the normalized usage dataset according to at least one element of the datasets to determine if an alternative service offering is better than the user's current service, repeating the process periodically to determine on an updated basis which alternative service offering is better than the user's current service, and alerting the user when an alternative service offering that is better than the user's current service is available. | 07-22-2010 |
| 20110129076 | AUTOMATIC USE OF BEHAVIORAL INFORMATION FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES IN COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM | 06-02-2011 |
| 20110293081 | METHOD FOR PROVIDING TELEPHONE SERVICE USING THE INTERNET - The method of the present invention comprises the steps of: outputting the content of the advertisement when the user clicks the advertisement and simultaneously providing the user with a telephone number input window for enabling the user to input the telephone number thereof and the telephone number of a person to be called; connecting a call between the user and the person to be called via a public switched telephone network regardless of whether or not the user has opted for membership when the telephone numbers are input to the input window and a request for connection is made; and enabling the user to talk to the person over the phone for free when the call connection is made in exchange for watching the advertisement. | 12-01-2011 |
| 20130101100 | INCENTING AND ENHANCING TELEPHONY SERVICE USAGE - Mechanisms are provided to incent and enhance telephony service usage. Telephony call setup requests are monitored at a system for incenting telephony service usage and participants in a telephony service usage incentive program are identified. The system may be associated with a telephony central office. If a particular caller or call setup request is associated with a milestone, such as every n | 04-25-2013 |
| 379114120 | Discount or bargaining | 1 |
| 20130287195 | Telecommunications Service Provisioning and Banking of Customer Credits - Disclosed is a method and apparatus for providing telecommunication services based on customer groups. A customer group is offered a service plan that provides an incentive to early subscribers in the form of a more attractive pricing plan (i.e., discounts). For example, a particular subscriber may be provided a discount for each customer in the group who becomes a subscriber after the particular subscriber. The discounts and pricing plan may also be based, at least in part, on the total number of customers in the group that become subscribers. Further, in order to reduce customer churn, customer discounts or other incentives may be applied toward the end of a subscription plan period. Further, subscriber discounts and/or credits may be banked in a subscriber account. | 10-31-2013 |
| 379114130 | Advertisement | 11 |
| 20090190730 | Method and System for Using Advertisement to Sponsor International Mobile Phone Calls for Cellular Telephone Networks - A method for making telephone calls whereby advertisers sponsor free calling minutes to telephone customers. In addition, the platform is useful for placing targeted advertising. To this end, advertisers are allowed to insert audio, text and video advertising in an active telephone connection, typically at the beginning of a circuit connection, and a statistical method is exploited to accurately identify and target customers with advertisements based on profiles and past calling activities. In addition, a mathematic modeling system provides a guide to a delivery pattern so that advertiser sponsorship benefits the most customers and permits low cost advertisement placement directed to specific customers and telephone systems. | 07-30-2009 |
| 20100080371 | METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA FOR PROVIDING ADVERTISING-SUPPORTED CALL SERVICE - Methods, systems, and computer readable media for advertising-supported call service are disclosed. According to one method, a SIP call setup message associated with a first call from a calling subscriber to a called subscriber is received. It is then determined whether the calling subscriber subscribes to a play advertisement pay less (PAPL) service. In response to determining that the calling subscriber subscribes to the PAPL service, an advertisement is presented to the calling subscriber via the subscriber's telephone, the call is connected to the called subscriber, and a reduced charge is effected for the call based on the PAPL service. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20110026697 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING GENDER AND TARGETING ADVERTISING IN A TELEPHONE SYSTEM - A method of operating a telephony system includes connecting a call from a caller to a call processing entity and receiving voice information from the caller during a time period associated with the call. The voice information is processed to provide one or more elements of waveform characteristics associated with the voice information using a first computer process and the one or more elements associated with the voice information are associated to one or more categories of human entities using a second computer process. The one or more categories of the human entities are identified to predict a gender of the caller using a third computer process and one or more advertisements associated with the identified one or more categories are determined. An advertisement is provided, among the one or more advertisements, to the caller, where the advertisement is selected in part based on a match between the gender of the caller and a gender selection preference, where the selection of the one advertisement is selected in part based on an expected value calculation, the expected value calculation being an expected value to be received by the system by playing the selected advertisement among said one or more determined advertisements. | 02-03-2011 |
| 20110311035 | SYSTEM OF SUBSIDIZED PHONE CALLS - System of subsidized phone calls, is essentially a system (S) made possible by means of telecommunication networks in general to be used with great efficiency, using the existent technical resources that, organized of new way, allows the execution of calls with part or all of the chargeable time subsidized by a sponsor through the sending of advertising and/or institutional messages to the calling subscriber. | 12-22-2011 |
| 20120170730 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING AND TRANSMITTING SPEECH MESSAGES DURING VOICE CALLS OVER COMMUNICATION NETWORKS - A system and method for producing and transmitting speech messages during voice calls over communication networks is introduced. The system and method for producing and transmitting speech messages during voice calls over communication networks include an advertisement server connected to a communication network. A user uses a calling device to call the advertisement server and record advertisement in his specific voice or voice samples off which an advertisement synthesizer can generate advertisements in the user's specific voice. These advertisements are later played during voice calls between a calling device and a destination device. A billing system is used to log and bill advertisers for the advertisements played. | 07-05-2012 |
| 20120314853 | MONETIZING SERVICE CALLS THROUGH ADVERTISING - A platform service that is used by an application may be linked to an advertising service. A cost of using the platform service may be reduced based on the linking. | 12-13-2012 |
| 20130094641 | SYSTEM AND METHOD TO ANALYZE CALLS TO ADVERTISED TELEPHONE NUMBERS - A system and method for analyzing information associated with voice calls placed during a telephone number advertising campaign is described. The system receives information characterizing voice calls to advertiser telephone numbers and information from advertisers such as information about the outcome of the voice call (e.g., conversion information). The system correlates the voice call information with the advertiser information and generates reports based on the correlated information. The system can perform or enable the performance of other actions based on the correlated information. For example, the system may modify an ongoing advertising campaign based on an analysis of the correlated information. | 04-18-2013 |
| 20130294593 | NETWORK NODES PROVIDING PRE-CALL AND DURING CALL ADVERTISING - A voice call network node communicates advertisements to user terminals of a telecommunications system. The voice call network node includes a voice call handling component and an advertisement insertion component. The voice call handling component responds to a voice call from a caller user terminal by identifying characteristics of the caller user terminal and/or the callee user terminal. The advertisement insertion component communicates voice call profile information through a network to an advertisement service offering node. The voice call profile information identifies characteristics of the caller user terminal and/or the callee user terminal The advertisement insertion component also receives an advertisement from the advertisement service offering node responsive to the communicated voice call profile information, and communicates the advertisement to the caller user terminal and/or to the callee user terminal Related advertisement service offering nodes and user terminals are disclosed. | 11-07-2013 |
| 20140294166 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING SPECIAL CALL HANDLING FOR VALUED CUSTOMERS OF RETAILERS - The present invention enables users of a network service to register with the network as valued shoppers, thereby allowing them to receive specialized treatment when calling registered retailers. The present invention enables retailers to register with the network, thereby allowing them to set preferred service logic for handling valued customer calls by the network. | 10-02-2014 |
| 20140321628 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTENT PRESENTATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH A TELEPHONE CALL - A method and apparatus are provided for presenting multimedia content to a caller and/or a called party in association with a telephone call. Content may be presented pre-ring (before the called party's telephone rings), in-call, and/or post-call. Content presented to a party may be related to another party participating in the call or may be related to a third party. Presented content may be actuable, and allow a caller to change the destination of a call, take advantage of an offer presented to him, redeem a coupon, schedule or queue a subsequent call, etc. To find a desired destination party, a caller may initiate a manual or automatic search of his local contacts (on his telephone) and/or a central or global directory or contact list. A party to a call may be offered one or more payment mechanisms for completing a purchase in an on-line or real-world transaction. | 10-30-2014 |
| 20150103988 | Method and System for Non-Traditional Directory Assistance - A directory assistance service includes a database and an interface module. The database stores a set of audio advertisements, and the audio advertisements are priced based on a tiered pricing model. The interface module is in communication with the database and receives a directory assistance request from a caller, plays the caller one or more audio advertisements from the database, and charges an advertiser for playing the audio advertisements based on the tiered pricing model. | 04-16-2015 |
