Da IP Corp.

Delivery Agent, Inc.

Wei Hu

David M Rudnick

Christopher A Lee

Michael R Fitzsimmons

Jared R Wolf

Brian Joe

An apparatus and method for enabling a viewer to watch television in the usual manner, while providing the viewer with an opportunity to indicate interest in products contextually associated with, but not necessarily displayed, in the television programs viewed, are described. Viewer interest might be indicated, for example, by launching a widget from an icon located on the TV video receiver using a handheld remote controller in communication with a set-top box during the program. The program being viewed may then be identified, for example, by the selected channel, the name of the program, the episode, and the time of the selection, or a combination of these indicators. The selections are transmitted by the set-top box to a remote search server, which returns information to the viewer on a portion of the TV video receiver concerning available products contextually related to the program being viewed at the time the widget was launched by the viewer, as well as purchase information. A selected product may as well be purchased through the set-top box in communication with an e-commerce server. Use of a mobile telephone in combination with a TV set-top box for product purchasing is also described.

Contextual commerce for viewers of video programming

Leveraging the wealth of information available on-line to accelerate and facilitate commercial transactions initiated by viewers of television programming, both during conventional programming and while using interactive features such as shopping channels, application channels, executing downloaded applications, and the like, for reducing the amount and frequency of user input required by accelerating and simplifying the process of accessing stored profiles and payment methods in these transactions, and by reducing user efforts in maintaining their on-line presence without compromising user security, is described. The motivation for such simplification derives from concerns apparent in emerging t-commerce transactions, where the means by which viewers may engage in two-way transactions directly in the context of the television programming are different and frequently more constrained than in traditional e-commerce and m-commerce modes.

System and method for accelerating account creation

Growing community of inventors

Englewood, CO, United States of America

Wei Hu