How Cable Systems Automatically Filter Ads for On-Demand Content
A system that checks if a cable provider is authorized and their account is active before letting them insert ads into on-demand videos.
Original patent title: “Asset qualification for content on demand insertion”
A system that checks if a cable provider is authorized and their account is active before letting them insert ads into on-demand videos. Granted to Canoe Ventures LLC in 2016 with 24 claims and 2 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This system acts as a gatekeeper for digital advertising in cable video-on-demand (VOD) services. When a cable headend requests to insert an ad (an 'asset') into a video, the system intercepts the request to verify the provider's identity and account status using specific identifiers. It then cross-references the ad's metadata—such as genre, actors, or product categories—against the content of the video to ensure the ad is a good fit. If the request is malformed or the provider is unauthorized, the system denies access or reports an empty ad slot.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover the actual delivery or streaming of the video content to the user's TV.
- Does not cover client-side ad insertion where the ad is stitched on the user's device.
- Does not cover real-time bidding or auction mechanisms for ad slots.
- Does not cover the creation or production of the video or advertisement assets themselves.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
It treats the ad insertion request as a database-style transaction that requires a 'handshake'—validating both the provider's billing status and the ad's contextual relevance before allowing the insertion to proceed.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Cable VOD advertising infrastructure
Automated ad-insertion servers for IPTV
Metadata-based ad filtering systems
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This patent addresses the technical fragmentation of the cable industry, where different regional providers needed a standardized way to manage ad inventory. By centralizing the 'qualification' of assets, it allowed cable companies to automate ad insertion across disparate networks, which was essential for scaling VOD advertising revenue in the early 2010s.
Filed
September 27, 2012
Granted
July 19, 2016
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Canoe Ventures was a joint venture of major US cable operators including Comcast, Cox, and Charter. Their work in standardizing ad insertion paved the way for the current automated ad-tech stacks used by major telecommunications providers to manage regional ad inventory.
Market impact
This technology helped cable providers transition from manual, tape-based ad insertion to a digital, automated workflow. It enabled the 'dynamic ad insertion' (DAI) market for cable, allowing providers to monetize on-demand content with targeted ads at scale.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This system acts as a gatekeeper for digital advertising in cable video-on-demand (VOD) services. When a cable headend requests to insert an ad (an 'asset') into a video, the system intercepts the request to verify the provider's identity and account status using specific identifiers. It then cross-references the ad's metadata—such as genre, actors, or product categories—against the content of the video to ensure the ad is a good fit. If the request is malformed or the provider is unauthorized, the system denies access or reports an empty ad slot.
The clever bit
It treats the ad insertion request as a database-style transaction that requires a 'handshake'—validating both the provider's billing status and the ad's contextual relevance before allowing the insertion to proceed.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover the actual delivery or streaming of the video content to the user's TV.
- Does not cover client-side ad insertion where the ad is stitched on the user's device.
- Does not cover real-time bidding or auction mechanisms for ad slots.
- Does not cover the creation or production of the video or advertisement assets themselves.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Early stage
Citation count
10/40
Early citations
Claim breadth
16/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
10/20
Granted 5–10 years ago
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$48K – $153K
Midpoint $96K · 6.3 yr remaining · industry ×1.4
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
24 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Dilger, B. C., Moretto, T. M., Whitton, T. R., Rippe, C. M., & Farb, J. E. (2016). How Cable Systems Automatically Filter Ads for On-Demand Content (U.S. Patent No. 9,398,340). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9398340/netflix-skip-intro
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Cable Systems Automatically Filter Ads for On-Demand Content cover?
A system that checks if a cable provider is authorized and their account is active before letting them insert ads into on-demand videos.
Who owns patent US 9398340?
Canoe Ventures LLC owns this patent, granted in 2016.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on July 19, 2036, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 9398340 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 2 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This patent addresses the technical fragmentation of the cable industry, where different regional providers needed a standardized way to manage ad inventory. By centralizing the 'qualification' of assets, it allowed cable companies to automate ad insertion across disparate networks, which was essential for scaling VOD advertising revenue in the early 2010s.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover the actual delivery or streaming of the video content to the user's TV.
Patent monitoring