The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 19, 1999
Filed:
May. 29, 1996
Marcy Casement, San Jose, CA (US);
Andrew Burgess, San Jose, CA (US);
David Folker, Fremont, CA (US);
StarSight Telecast, Inc., Fremont, CA (US);
Abstract
A television schedule system with a user interface which allows a user to control access to television programs by time, rating, content, and/or channel. Criteria for blocking television programs from being viewed are entered by a user with a password. A television program listing is selected for viewing or recording from an on-screen program guide. A viewer is prompted on the screen to enter a password if the selected program meets the blocking criterion, If a viewer enters the appropriate password, the selected program that meets the blocking criterion is unblocked. The blocking criterion is restored after the program is over or the program is no longer tuned to. Furthermore, the user may set a limit on pay-per-view (PPV) spending to limit the purchase of PPV programs.