Abstract:
A method and apparatus for assuring delivery of paid advertising to a user may involve asking a question about an advertisement or requiring data about the advertisement to be entered. In one embodiment, a human presence indicator, such as stylized letters, may be displayed during or after the presentation of an advertisement to be copied by a user to indicate presence during the advertisement. When the challenge relating to ad viewing is correctly answered, a value associated with viewing the ad may be credited to a user account, either locally or at a clearinghouse or other repository.

Description:
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/092,041, publication number 20060227364, filed Mar. 29, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,669,056, which is incorporated by reference for all purposes. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Advertisers, tool suppliers, search engines, etc. are willing to compensate users for viewing ads or using tool bars or menu bars. Verification of actual use or display of the underwritten content can be difficult and fraud prone. Simply sending data to an electronic device does not guarantee consumption. Some techniques require sending data back to a server to verify consumption of the underwritten content. This can be difficult in developing areas where network access may be limited and frustrating to users who want an immediate and measurable result from viewing or using underwritten content. 
     SUMMARY 
     A security module in an electronic device may use direct access to display memory to verify that underwritten content is being displayed. To accomplish this, an ad server or intermediate processing point may select all or a portion of displayable data and take a first measurement of the displayable data. In one embodiment, the measurement may be a hash of the ad or portion. The ad and the measurement, including metadata about the measurement process, may be downloaded to an electronic device, such as a pay-per-use computer. When the ad data is reported to be displayed, the security module may read the display memory and copy the ad or portion to the security module where the original measurement may be repeated. If the first and second measurements match, a value packet representing the value associated with display of the displayable data may be immediately added to a local value account. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified and representative block diagram of a system for delivering and verifying presentation of sponsored content on an electronic device. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a representative electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a security module; 
         FIG. 4  is a representative layout of a packet sent to the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 5  is flow chart of a method of delivering and verifying presentation of sponsored content. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Although the following text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of the description is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this disclosure. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims. 
     It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘ —————— ’ is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term by limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph. 
     Much of the inventive functionality and many of the inventive principles are best implemented with or in software programs or instructions and integrated circuits (ICs) such as application specific ICs. It is expected that one of ordinary skill, notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choices motivated by, for example, available time, current technology, and economic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principles disclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such software instructions and programs and ICs with minimal experimentation. Therefore, in the interest of brevity and minimization of any risk of obscuring the principles and concepts in accordance to the present invention, further discussion of such software and ICs, if any, will be limited to the essentials with respect to the principles and concepts of the preferred embodiments. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a system  10  for verifying display of a graphical information and, when called for, compensating a user for the display of the graphical information. The graphical information may be an advertisement, a menu or tool bar, a video, a picture, a bitmap, a text object with additional data. The methods and apparatus described below are effective on virtually any displayable data. For the purpose of illustration, the description following will use an advertisement with graphical information as an example but does not limit the claims to an advertisement. The display of graphics information of any type may be of value to an underwriter or sponsor and may even part of a business model. When value, such as usage time or even currency is involved, a tamper-resistant verification mechanism for determining when the graphics information has been displayed may be the difference between the success or failure of the business model. Other embodiments may not be limited to graphical information, but may include any presentation data that is stored in memory while being presented, including, but not limited to, audio data such as an MP3 containing sponsored content. 
     An advertising server  12  may serve an advertisement  20  to an intermediate service  14  using a communication interface inherent to the advertising server  12 . Alternatively, the advertising service  12  and the intermediate service  14  may be the same entity and may even be hosted on the same physical device, such as a server. When separate, the advertising server  12  may include a routing function that directs the advertisement  20  to the intermediary service  14  even though the ultimate target is an electronic device  18 . The intermediate service  14  may extract and process data from the ad  20  and forward the ad  20  through a network  16  to the electronic device  18 . The electronic device  18  may display a graphical component of the ad  20  on a display  19 . Any number of display types may be supported. For example, if the electronic device  18  is a computer, graphical output may be to a CRT or LCD monitor. When the electronic device  18  is a cellular telephone, personal organizer, etc. graphical output may be to a display integral with the electronic device  18 . 
     Looking at the major components in more detail, the intermediate server  14  may include an advertisement processor  24  that takes the advertisement  20  and identifies a measured portion  22  that may be all or a portion of the advertisement  20 . The measured portion  22  may be processed into a result, such as a hash, or may be kept in tact. In some cases, the measured portion  22  may be a particular feature, such as a digital watermark or steganographic information. When the ad  20  is served real time, such as during a browsing session, destination information (not depicted) may be included in the advertisement  20  or a data packet (not depicted) containing the advertisement  20 . The measured portion  22 , raw or processed, may be sent to a packet generator  26  for incorporation into a packet for distribution to the electronic device  18 . If less than the whole advertisement is measured, metadata may be created that indicates what portion of the advertisement  20  was measured. If a credit is to be applied at the electronic device  18  when the advertisement  20  is displayed, the packet generator may further incorporate information that can be used by the electronic device  18  to update a local value account, for example, a packet used for provisioning. 
     The packet, when finally constructed, may include a.) the results of the measurement, b.) metadata pointing to the portion of the advertisement  20  measured, and c.) provisioning information related to credits to be added to a local value account upon verification of the display of the ad  20 . A cryptographic function  30  may operate on the generated packet to encrypt, sign, or both. A packet service  28  may forward the packet to the electronic device  18  and may be responsible for assuring once and only once delivery of the packet. 
     The ad  20  may be sent via data path  32 , while the packet may be sent over the same connection  32  or a different connection  34 , or even in the same transmission. The two are shown separate to indicate that they may be logically separated, with the ad  20  addressed to a browser process on the electronic device  18 , while the packet may be addressed to a security module  48  in the electronic device  18 . 
     Within the electronic device  18 , a system memory  36  may incorporate memory allocated as display memory  38 . This may be the case if a unified memory architecture (UMA) is used. Other architectures may have physically separate memories for the display memory  38 , such as, in a video card. 
     When the ad  20  is being displayed, its binary image  40  and any measured portion  42  will be present in the display memory  38 . A security module  48  may incorporate a bus master function  50 , capable of accessing and controlling the system bus  46 . Using metadata incorporated in the packet, the security module  48  may take control of the system bus  46  for a timed interval to directly read the contents of the display memory  38 , or at least the measured portion  42 . In one embodiment, the system bus is a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus. 
     The security module  48  may also include a stored value function  52 . The stored value function  52  may store value used to pay for usage of the computer, pay for application usage, network connection time, etc. In some embodiments, the stored value may be used similar to currency or points for purchase of goods or services. 
     The cryptographic function  54  may be used to decrypt, authenticate a signature, or both. For example, when a packet related to an advertisement  20  is received, it may be signed or encrypted, to ensure authenticity and integrity since a fraudulent packet could lead to giving improper credit when an advertisement is displayed. The security module is discussed in more detail below with respect to  FIG. 3 . 
     A side effect of the verification process used to convert the display of sponsored content on the electronic device  18  into local value is that the electronic device  18  becomes bound to the intermediary service  14 . That is, only intermediary services, such as service  14 , for which the security module  48  has keys will be able to decode and use value packets associated with viewing of the content. Because the keys may be tied to an underwriter, this assures the underwriter that ad-based revenue will flow through an authorized channel and not via a rogue channel. 
     With reference to  FIG. 2 , an exemplary electronic device for implementing the claimed method and apparatus may include a general purpose computing device in the form of a computer  110 . Components shown in dashed outline are not technically part of the computer  110 , but are used to illustrate the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 2 . Components of computer  110  may include, but are not limited to, a processor  120 , a system memory  130 , a memory/graphics interface  121 , also known as a Northbridge chip, and an I/O interface  122 , also known as a Southbridge chip. The system memory  130  and a graphics processor  190  may be coupled to the memory/graphics interface  121 . A monitor  191  or other graphic output device may be coupled to the graphics processor  190 . 
     A series of system busses may couple various system components including a high speed system bus  123  between the processor  120 , the memory/graphics interface  121  and the I/O interface  122 , a front-side bus  124  between the memory/graphics interface  121  and the system memory  130 , and an advanced graphics processing (AGP) bus  125  between the memory/graphics interface  121  and the graphics processor  190 . The system bus  123  may be any of several types of bus structures including, by way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus and Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus. As system architectures evolve, other bus architectures and chip sets may be used but often generally follow this pattern. For example, companies such as Intel and AMD support the Intel Hub Architecture (IHA) and the Hypertransport architecture, respectively. 
     The computer  110  typically includes a variety of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computer  110  and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology. CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can accessed by computer  110 . Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media. 
     The system memory  130  includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM)  131  and random access memory (RAM)  132 . The system ROM  131  may contain permanent system data  143 , such as identifying and manufacturing information. In some embodiments, a basic input/output system (BIOS) may also be stored in system ROM  131 . RAM  132  typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processor  120 . By way of example, and not limitation,  FIG. 2  illustrates operating system  134 , application programs  135 , other program modules  136 , and program data  137 . 
     The I/O interface  122  may couple the system bus  123  with a number of other busses  126 ,  127  and  128  that couple a variety of internal and external devices to the computer  110 . A serial peripheral interface (SPI) bus  126  may connect to a basic input/output system (BIOS) memory  133  containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer  110 , such as during start-up. In some embodiments, a security module  129  may reside on the SPI bus  126 . The security module  129  may manage pay-per-use operation, provide secure storage, or control the boot process by managing if the BIOS  133  is used to boot the computer  110 , or an alternate boot memory stored in the security module  129 . The security module may also have a PCI bus connection  123  that allows the security module  129  to participate on, or in some cases control, the PCI bus  123 . The security module  129  is discussed in more detail below with respect to  FIG. 3 . 
     A super input/output chip  160  may be used to connect to a number of ‘legacy’ peripherals, such as floppy disk  152 , keyboard/mouse  162 , and printer  196 , as examples. The super I/O chip  160  may be connected to the I/O interface  122  with a low pin count (LPC) bus, in some embodiments. The super I/O chip  160  is widely available in the commercial marketplace. 
     In one embodiment, bus  128  may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, or a variation thereof, may be used to connect higher speed peripherals to the I/O interface  122 . A PCI bus may also be known as a Mezzanine bus. Variations of the PCI bus include the Peripheral Component Interconnect-Express (PCI-E) and the Peripheral Component Interconnect-Extended (PCI-X) busses, the former having a serial interface and the latter being a backward compatible parallel interface. In other embodiments, bus  128  may be an advanced technology attachment (ATA) bus, in the form of a serial ATA bus (SATA) or parallel ATA (PATA). 
     The computer  110  may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only,  FIG. 2  illustrates a hard disk drive  140  that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media. Removable media, such as a universal serial bus (USB) memory  152  or CD/DVD drive  156  may be connected to the PCI bus  128  directly or through an interface  150 . Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. 
     The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in  FIG. 2 , provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer  110 . In  FIG. 2 , for example, hard disk drive  140  is illustrated as storing operating system  144 , application programs  145 , other program modules  146 , and program data  147 . Note that these components can either be the same as or different from operating system  134 , application programs  135 , other program modules  136 , and program data  137 . Operating system  144 , application programs  145 , other program modules  146 , and program data  147  are given different numbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies. A user may enter commands and information into the computer  20  through input devices such as a mouse/keyboard  162  or other input device combination. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processor  120  through one of the I/O interface busses, such as the SPI  126 , the LPC  127 , or the PCI  128 , but other busses may be used. In some embodiments, other devices may be coupled to parallel ports, infrared interfaces, game ports, and the like (not depicted), via the super I/O chip  160 . 
     The computer  110  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer  180  via a network interface controller (NIC)  170 . The remote computer  180  may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer  110 . The NIC  170  may serve as a port for sending and receiving data with host computers, such as an advertising service  12  of  FIG. 1 . The logical connection between the NIC  170  and the remote computer  180  depicted in  FIG. 2  may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or both, but may also include other networks. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet. 
     In some embodiments, the network interface may use a modem (not depicted) when a broadband connection is not available or is not used. It will be appreciated that the network connection shown is exemplary and other means of establishing a communication link between the computers may be used. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a representative security module  300 , such as the security module  48  of  FIG. 1  or security module  129  of  FIG. 2 . The security module  300  may be used to validate advertisements, but may also be used to measure and manage pay-per-use time or subscription terms for a metered-user computer, such as computer  110  of  FIG. 2 . The security module  300  may include a module processor  302 . The module processor  302  may be a part of single chip processor or may be a processor core, such as an ARM® core from ARM Ltd. The processor may be connected to external circuitry by a communication port  304  coupled to a bus  306 . The bus  306  may be, in some exemplary embodiments, an SPI bus connected to an I/O interface sometimes called a Southbridge chip. The module processor  302 , in addition to or instead of the connection to bus  306 , may be connected to a second bus  308 , such as a PCI bus or other internal data bus. The module processor  302  may use a bus master  310  to couple to the second bus  308 . The bus master  310  may allow control of the second bus  308 , allowing the security module  300  to take over the second bus  308  to directly interact with any other component on the second bus  308  without intervention from a system main processor, such as processor  120  of  FIG. 2 . One advantage of direct interaction between the security module  300  and another component is that rogue or malicious processor code will not have an opportunity to alter data requested by the security module  300  via a normal programmatic process. 
     The security module  300  may also include an internal bus  312  coupled to a cryptographic function  314  and a secure memory  320 . The crypto function  314  may also include a random number generator and can provide cryptographic capabilities for use in encryption, decryption, and signature processing. The cryptographic function  314  may support public key infrastructure processing, symmetric key processing, or both. In other embodiments, a hardware cryptographic function  314  may be replaced or supplemented by cryptographic algorithms  324  implementing software cryptographic functions. 
     The secure memory  320 , in addition to cryptographic algorithms  324 , may store cryptographic keys  322 , program code  326 , advertising data  328 , and stored value  330 . The program code  326  may include both executable instructions for the processor  302  and code, such as an alternate BIOS, for use by the main system processor, such as processor  120  of  FIG. 2 . 
     The advertising data  328  may be measurement and metadata related to a currently displayed advertisement, such as ad  40  of  FIG. 1 . Alternatively, the advertising data  328  may include a block of measurement and metadata corresponding to a plurality of ads either already queued to the electronic device  18  or likely to be sent to the electronic device  18 . 
     The stored value  330  may be currency, minutes, or a subscription expiration date. In any case, the stored value  330  has value to a user/owner of the electronic device  18  in the form of future use of the electronic device  18  or for purchase of goods or services. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a representative packet  400  used to send ad data, metadata, and a value packet from an ad service  12  or intermediate service  14  to an electronic device  18 . The packet  400  may include a header  402 , advertisement measurement data  404 , such sa a result of a cryptographic function, metadata  406  that may include address or offset/length data about the measure portion of an ad, such as ad  20  or  40  of  FIG. 1 . The measurement data  404  may be a hash of the ad, an encryption of raw data of the ad, or signed raw data from the ad. A digital signature  408  may be used to verify the authenticity and integrity of the packet  400 . Optionally, a value packet  410  may be included. The value packet  410  may include secure data related to the amount to credit to be added to the stored value  330  of  FIG. 3  upon verification of the presence of the ad  40  in the display memory  38 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart depicted an exemplary method  500  of verifying display of an advertisement and applying credit to a local stored value account for such a display. At block  502 , an advertisement  20  or other displayable data, such as a tool bar or menu bar, may be selected for delivery to an electronic device, such as electronic device  18  of  FIG. 1 . The selection may be responsive to query data such as key words used in a search. Alternatively, the advertisement may be selected based on advertising from a sponsor or underwriter of a pay-per-use business model for delivery of the electronic device  18  to a user. At block  504 , the ad  20  may be measured, such as taking a cryptographic hash of the full ad  20  or a portion  22  of the ad  20 . The measurement or cryptographic result may be a digital watermark or steganographic information embedded in the ad  20 . When a portion  22  of the ad  20  is measured, an ad processor  24  may develop metadata, such as metadata  406  of  FIG. 4 . The metadata  406  may define the portion  22  of the ad  20  over which the measurement was taken. The metadata  406  may be stored at block  504 . 
     At block  406 , the ad  20  may be sent to the electronic device  18  and stored in normal program memory, such as in system memory  36 . At block  508 , in no particular order with execution of block  506 , a packet  400  may be prepared including the measurement data  404  corresponding to the ad  20 , metadata  406 , if needed, a digital signature  408 , and a value packet  410  representing value associated with the ad  20 . The value packet  410  may be the same as or similar to value packets sent when additional usage time, etc. is purchased for consumption by the electronic device  18 . At block  510 , the packet  400  may be sent to the electronic device  18 . In some embodiments, a series of packets may be sent to the electronic device  18  in anticipation of sending multiple ads or streaming data to the electronic device  18 . At block  512 , the packet may be received at the electronic device  18  and the measurement data and metadata prepared for processing. Processing may include decrypting and verification of the signature using keys stored in the security module  48 . The value packet may be stored for processing following verification of the display of the ad  20 . 
     At block  514 , the electronic device  18  may load the ad, shown as ad  40  in  FIG. 1 , into display memory  38 . At block  516 , a security module  48  may directly read the display memory to either capture the full ad  40  or the portion  42  over which the first measurement was made. The measurement may be taken in response to a trigger signal from a main processor  120  of  FIG. 1 , indicating the ad  40  is present in display memory  38 . The trigger signal may include an ad  40  identifier and a timing mark to allow the bus master  310  to take over the bus and read the display memory  38  without disturbing other processing. While the direct read without intervention of exact knowledge of the main processor  120  helps prevent fraudulent presentation of ad data, there is little motivation to hack the trigger signal since verification of the ad  40  is beneficial to the use. 
     At block  518 , after the data is loaded into the security module  48 , the measurement taken at block  504  may be repeated, using the metadata to identify the portion  42 , if the whole of the ad  40  is loaded and is not required for the measurement. If keys are used to encrypt the ad  40  or portion  42 , the key or keys  322  may be loaded from the secure memory  320  of the security module  300 . After the second measurement data is generated, at block  520 , the second measurement may be compared to the first measurement downloaded in the packet. In other embodiments, another criteria may be used, such as matching a given watermark or steganographic information. When the measurements match at block  520 , the ‘yes’ branch may be followed to block  524  where the value packet may be processed and the value added to a locally maintained value account  330 . 
     If, at block  520 , the two measurements do not match, the ‘no’ branch may be followed to block  522 . At block  522 , the value packet will not be processed. Rather, data corresponding to the measurement may be logged to allow analysis for determination of a root cause for the failure. 
     The use of display data verification, be it streaming media, static advertisements, tool bars, menu bars, etc. allows users and underwriters alike to benefit from verified consumption of sponsored content. The security module allows local verification and immediate, viewable, credit applied to a local value account. High speed access to display memory by the security module limits exposure to fraud while allowing even streaming media to be verified. The technique is applicable with some variation to many different types and architectures of display memory, while complicating attempts to fraud the system because when data is in the display memory, the data is necessarily being displayed. 
     Although the forgoing text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that the scope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possibly embodiment of the invention because describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims defining the invention. 
     Thus, many modifications and variations may be made in the techniques and structures described and illustrated herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that the methods and apparatus described herein are illustrative only and are not limiting upon the scope of the invention.