. '
`
`·-
`
`DATE
`SEP 0 47.QU1_
`
`PATENT
`NUMBER
`
`FILING DATE Ci:ASS
`'c)9 5,
`0 fi /l. 9 I ·;• "7
`7/V"(
`.JOl-IN 13F<IFFITHS, BFiC:ii;!!'IFIEl...D, CO; JAI'
`
`SUBCLASS
`
`GROUP' AAT UNIT
`~~.J36
`
`vr b I
`· NWID I~CELI-IINEY,
`
`I
`
`·,
`••cONTINUIN~ DATA*********************
`VEI~IFIED
`
`~~.' ..
`
`'.
`
`GRANTED 10/06/97
`
`' . NOTE • C>ISCLA!MER
`The term of tllls patent
`tubs!ilQUGrit to G I Q I~ I c, ;1 ~
`~ll$ ooan' oiscllllmed
`\
`• • • •·• ~" f\11"• L L 1"1'rr I Tv • • • • • ·II
`
`CHRISMAN BYNUM AND JOHNSON
`1900 FIFTEENTH STREET
`BOUL0ER CO 80302
`
`'
`COMPUTER NETWORK USING
`TO MONITOR AND CONTROL THE INFORMATION
`
`---~---.
`Examiner
`
`Total Claims ..
`'-:] ~ :
`
`DungC.Dinh
`. Prlmary:~xaminer
`.
`. V1 o..
`
`. .
`
`~~?
`
`---.
`The infonnatlon disclosed herein may be. restricted. Unauthorlze.d disclosure. may be prohibited
`by the United States Code Title 35, Sections 122, 181 and 368. Possession outside the U.S ..
`Patent & Trademark Office Is restricted to authorized employee:~ and contractors' only. ,
`
`FOR~ PT0-1267·
`·
`(R.ev._11..Q2)..
`DISCLAI:MER LABEL ·
`.·Application No.
`
`()~-'65'73 1 (:, 5' Q
`
`A termihal.disclalrner has been entered .and
`.recorded under 35 U.S.C. 253in this file ..
`DO NOT DESTROY
`
`'·
`
`1
`
`Google Inc.
`GOOG 1002
`IPR of U.S. Patent No. 6,286,045
`
`Page 1 of 249
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`__________ 28. ______________________ ___
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`(FRONn
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`2
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`,. - - - - - - - - - - -
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`CHRISMAr\-JJYNUM &JOHNSON
`'
`
`CHRISMAN, BYNU>.-JOHNSON, P.C
`ATIORNEYS AND COUI'}SELORSAT LAW
`1900 FIFTEENTH STREET
`BOULDER, COLORADO 80302
`
`May 19, 1997
`
`... ··'·---·-
`
`EXPRESS MAIL POST OFFICE TO ADDRESSEE LABEL NO.
`EM484077838US
`
`Re:
`
`Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
`BOX PATENT APPLICATION
`Washington, D.C. 20231
`U.S. Patent Application: INFORMATION- STORAGE AND DELIVERY
`OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK USING CENTRALIZED
`INTELLIGENCE TO MONITOR AND CONTROL THE INFORMATION
`BEING DELIVERED
`Michael John Griffiths and James David McElhiney
`Inventors:
`Our File No.: 18022-001
`
`Sir:
`The enclosed Patent Application of the above-referenced inventors, Michael John
`Griffiths, Westminster, Colorado, and James David McElhiney, Ottawa, Ontario,
`Canada, is being filed by EXPRESS MAIL POST OFFICE TO ADDRESSEE
`(Label No. EM484077838US) with the specification, claims, abstract, and drawings
`which are sufficient to obtain a filing date under 37 C.F.R. 1.53 of the Patent Office
`Rules. The applicants will complete the application by submitting the required filing
`fee and declaration within the time allowed under 37 C.F .R. 1.53.
`The correspondence address for purposes of Rule 1.53 is as follows:
`Scott B. Allison, Reg. No. 38,370
`Attorney for Applicant
`CHRISMAN, BYNUM & JOHNSON, P.C.
`1900 Fifteenth Street
`Boulder, CO 80302
`Telephone: (303) 546-1300
`Facsimihi: (303) 449-5426
`
`cott B. Allison
`SBA:cak
`Enc.
`
`3
`
`Page 3 of 249
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`.. ,,.,.., .. ,,,, .. :,·· fY•'~.......,
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`INFORMATION STORAGE AND DELIVERY OVER
`
`A COMPUTER NETWORK USING CENTRALIZED INTELLIGENCE TO MONITOR
`
`AND CONTROL THE INFORMATION BEING DELIVERED
`
`Invented by:
`
`Michael J. Griffiths
`
`James D. McElhiney
`
`4
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`Page 4 of 249
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`\
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`-----------------
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`Applicants:
`
`Michael John Griffiths and
`James David McElhiney
`
`Serial No.:
`
`Not Yet Accorded
`
`Filing Date:
`
`Not Yet Accorded
`
`Title:
`
`INFORMATJQN STORAGE AND
`DELIVERY OVER A COMPUTER
`NETWORK USING CENTRALIZED
`INTELLIGENCE TO MONITOR AND
`CONTROL THE INFORMATION
`BEING DELIVERED
`
`Our File No.:
`
`18022-001
`
`)
`)
`)
`) Art Unit: Not Yet Accorded
`)
`)
`) Examiner: Not Yet Accorded
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`)
`
`CERTIFICATE OF EXPRESS MAILING UNDER 37 C.F.R. 1.10
`
`I hereby certify that the following documents:
`
`1.
`
`2.
`
`3.
`
`4.
`
`Patent Application (including fifty-three (53) pages of specifications, eight (8)
`pages of claims (1-42), and Abstract) entitled INFORMATION STORAGE AND
`DELIVERY OVER A COMPUTER NETWORK USING CENTRALIZED
`INTELLIGENCE TO MONITOR AND CONTROL THE INFORMATION
`BEING DELIVERED;
`
`Four (4) sheets of drawings (Figures 1-4);
`
`Transmittal Letter to Assistant Commissioner of Patents; and
`
`Post Card for return by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
`
`are being deposited with the United States Postal Service as EXPRESS MAIL POST OFFICE
`
`TO ADDRESSEE, postage prepaid, EXPRESS MAIL LABEL NO. EM484077838US, in an
`
`envelope addressed to: Assistant Commissioner for Patents, BOX PATENT APPLICATION,
`
`Washington, D.C. 20231, on this 19th day of May, 1997.
`
`5
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`Page 5 of 249
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`- - - - - - · -------------
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`--------,
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`5
`
`1.
`
`Field of the Invention:
`
`This invention relates to the system for the storage, management, and delivery of
`
`information on a computer network and, more specifically, to the efficient and reliable storage,
`
`delivery, and monitoring of advertising and other information on a computer network.
`
`10
`
`2.
`
`Description of the Prior Art:
`
`During recent years there have been rapid advancements in computers and computer
`
`~1! m
`~
`g
`• 15
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`networking. In particular, the world-wide network of computers commonly referred to as the
`
`Internet has seen explosive growth The Internet comprises a vast network of smaller wide area
`
`and local area computer networks connected together so as to allow the sharing of resources and
`
`to facilitate data communication between computers and users. The rapid growth of the Internet
`
`is due, in large part, to the introduction and widespread use of graphical user interfaces called
`
`browsers which allow users easy access to network servers and computers connected to the
`
`Internet and, more particularly, the World Wide Web.
`
`The World Wide Web forms a subset of the Internet and includes a collection of servers,
`
`20
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`computers, and other devices. Each server may contain documents formatted as web pages or
`
`hypertext documents that are accessible and viewable with a web compliant browser, such as the
`
`Netscape Navigator"' browser or the Mosaic"' browser. Each hypertext document or web page
`
`may contain references to graphic files or banners that are to be displayed in conjunction with the
`
`hypertext document or web page. The files and banners may or may not be stored at the same
`
`25
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`location as the hypertext document or web page.
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`A hypertext document often contains hypertext links to other hypertext documents such that
`
`the other hypertext documents can be accessed from the flrst hypertext document by activating the
`
`hypertext links. The servers connected to the World Wide Web utilize the Hypertext Transfer
`
`Protocol (HTTP) which is widely known protocol which allows users to use browsers to access
`
`5
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`web pages and the banners or flies associated with web pages. The files, banners, hypertext
`
`documents, or web pages may contain text, graphics, images, sonnd, video, etc. and are generally
`
`written in a standard page or hypertext document description language known as the Hypertext
`
`Markup Language (HTML). The HTML format allows a web page developer to specify the
`
`location and presentation of the graphic, textual, sound, etc. on the screen displayed to the user
`
`\110
`
`accessing the web page. In addition, the HTML format allows a web page to contain links, such
`
`n = lJ'l
`'' F
`
`as the hypertext links described above, to other web pages or servers on the Internet. Simply by
`
`selecting a link, a user can be transferred to the new web page, which may be located very
`
`different geographically or topologically from the original web page.
`
`When using a conventional browser, a user can select which web page or hypertext
`
`document the user wishes to have displayed on the user's computer or terminal by specifying the
`
`web page's Universal or Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address. Each server has a unique
`
`URL address and, in fact, so does each web page and each file needed to display the web page.
`
`For example, the URL address for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is currently
`
`http://www.uspto.gov. When a user types in this URL address into a browser,-the user's terminal
`
`20
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`establishes a connection with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the initial web page for
`
`the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is transmitted from the server storing this web page (which
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`Express Mail Label No. EM484077838US
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`may or may not be actually located at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) to the user's terminal
`
`and displayed on the user's terminal. The web page may include a number of graphic images or
`
`elements, often referred to as banners, which are to be displayed on the user's terminal in
`
`conjunction with the web page. Each of the graphic images is typically stored as a separate file
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`5
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`on the server and has its own URL address. When the web page is initially transmitted from the
`
`server to the user's terminal, the browser receives the URL addresses for the graphic images and
`
`then requests that they be transmitted from the server on which they are stored to the user's
`
`terminal for display on the user's terminal in conjunction with the web page. The server(s) on
`
`which the graphic images are stored may or may not be the same server on which the original web
`
`page is stored. More specifically, since the URL's addresses for the included graphic images are
`
`all processed separately using the HTML protocols, it is possible and, in fact, common, for these
`
`graphic images to be stored on separate and even widely distributed computers or hosts, all of
`
`~ w
`w
`i."'d.O
`w
`~
`~1
`0
`
`iJ1
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`which are accessible to the user's terminal via a computer network. For purposes of the present
`
`invention, the term "banner" is meant to be construed very broadly and includes any information
`
`displayed in conjunction with a web page wherein the information is not part of the same file as
`
`the web page. That is, a banner includes anything that is displayed or used in conjunction with
`
`a web page, but which can exist separately from the web page or which can be used in conjunction
`
`with many web pages. Banners can include graphics, textual information, video, audio,
`
`animation, and links to other computer sites, web sites, web pages, or banners.
`
`20
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`The growth of easy access to the World Wide Web and the ability to create visually
`
`pleasing web pages have helped increase the amount of advertising and other promotional
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`3
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`4
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`Page 8 of 249
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`materials created for use and display with web pages. For example, a car manufacturer may have
`
`a web page describing the company and the cars and car parts that the company manufactures and
`
`sells. Part of the web page may include advertising information or banners such as, for example,
`
`images of current car models sold by the manufacturer or the types and numbers or cars the
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`5
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`manufacturer has in stock. The car manufacturer may also contract with the owners or operators
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`lfilO
`~
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`5
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`m
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`of other web pages to have the car manufacturer's advertisement banners displayed when users
`
`access these other web pages. Similarly, an advertising agency may contract with various web
`
`sites to have the advertisement banners of the agency's clients displayed when users access the web
`
`pages stored on the web sites. For example, an advertising agency or ad-network firm may
`
`contract with a web site containing general information about cars to have advertising information
`
`or banners included on the web pages displayed to a user accessing the web site. The advertising
`
`banners may contain graphics, text, etc. about car models or car parts manufactured by on of the
`
`advertising agency's clients. Furthermore, the advertisement banners may not be stored on the
`
`salne server or computer or web site on which the web page is stored. Rather, all or a significant
`
`portion of the advertisement banners created by an advertising agency may reside on one or more
`
`information or ad servers. Typically, an advertising agency will pay a fixed amount of money for
`
`a fixed number of displays of its advertisement banners on a single web page or group of web
`
`pages. Therefore, advertising agencies are understandably very interested in knowing which
`
`advertisement banners have been displayed with which web pages and how often each
`
`20
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`advertisement banner has been displayed on terminals or otherwise served to terminals.
`
`U Dfortunately, the current state of the art is such that accurate counts are not made of how
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`/4
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`many times an banner, even a banner containing an advertisement, is displayed to users or served
`
`to terminals. Furthermore, nature and extent of the problem of miscounting displays of banners
`
`is not well-known or even understood in the industry or by people of ordinary skill in the art.
`
`Therefore, despite the well-developed state of the art in the displaying of information, banners,
`
`5
`
`and advertisements in conjunction with web pages, documents, or other information, there is still
`
`a need for a system for storing and delivering information and banners on a computer network
`
`where accurate counts of the number of times each piece of information and banner is displayed
`
`can be made and the information and banners are displayed quickly and efficiently to users or
`
`terminals. In addition, there is a need for a highly reliable, even fault-tolerant, system for storing
`
`\Ill 0
`
`and delivering the information and banners that will not significantly reduce the efficiency of the
`
`Internet or the servers on which the information and banners are stored, while providing for
`
`accurate monitoring and counting of the information and banners displayed to a user or served to
`
`~1
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`a terminal.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a system for storing
`
`and delivering information on a computer network.
`
`It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a system for the storage, delivery
`
`monitoring, and tailoring of advertising information on a computer network. ·
`
`20
`
`It is another general object of the present invention to provide a system for storing and
`
`delivering information on a computer network wherein accurate counts of the number of times the
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`Express Mail Label No. EM484077838US
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`infQrmation is displayed or served to users or terminals can be made.
`
`It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a system for storing and delivering
`
`information on a computer network wherein the operation of the computer network is not
`
`significantly affected.
`
`5
`
`It is another general object of the present invention to provide a system for storing and
`
`delivering information on a computer network wherein the system maintains a high degree of
`
`reliability and fault tolerance.
`
`Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention shall be set forth in part
`
`in the description that follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon
`
`examination of the following or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and
`
`the advantages may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and in combinations
`
`particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
`
`To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purposes of the
`
`present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the system includes terminals
`
`connected to a computer network, either directly, or indirectly through an intermediary device
`
`such as a local or proxy server, that access computer or web sites also connected to the computer
`
`network to download or transmit pages, documents, or other information from the computer or
`
`web sites for storage or display on the terminals, wherein the pages, documents, or other
`
`information served to the terminals contain references to banners to be displayed in conjunction
`
`20
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`with the pages, documents, and information. The terminal initiates access or connection to a
`
`desired computer or web site to access a desired page. After the desired page is transmitted l;llld
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`Express Mail Label No. EM484077838US
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`served to the terminal from the computer or web site, the terminal initiates and sends an initial
`
`banner request signal to an information server either requesting that unspecified banner be served
`
`to the terminal or that a specified banner be served to the terminal. The information server returns
`
`a redirect signal to the terminal telling the terminal the location on the computer network of the
`
`5
`
`banner requested or specified by the terminal or selected by the information server, which location
`
`may be the information server, the computer site, or some other information server, computer site,
`
`or location accessible to the terminal via the computer network. The terminal then initiates a
`
`second specific banner request signal to the location of the banner requested or specified by the
`
`terminal or selected by the information server and the banner is transmitted to the terminal for
`
`display on the terminal, unless the requested or selected banner has previously been stored or
`
`cached in the terminal's memory or in the memory of a local or proxy server connected to the
`
`tenninal, in which case the second banner request signal is not sent across the computer network
`
`!;1
`
`and the banner is loaded and/or displayed directly from the terminal's memory or served to the
`
`terminal from the proxy server.
`
`"irs
`
`In a second embodiment, a primary information server and at least one mirror information
`
`server are connected to the computer site, but may be separated either geographically or network
`
`topologically. The banner information stored in the primary information server is also stored in
`
`each of the mirror information servers. All of the initial banner request signals are sent to the
`
`primary information server which determines which information server is best suited for delivering
`
`20
`
`the banner to the terminal sending the initial banner request signal. As in the first embodiment,
`
`the banner may be specifically requested by the terminal or may be selected by the primary
`
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`Express Mail Label No. EM484077838US
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`information server. The primary information server then sends a signal to the terminal indicating
`
`to the terminal which information server the terminal should request the requested or selected
`
`banner from. The terminal then generates the second banner request signal to serve or transmit
`
`the banner from the information server selected by the primary information server. Should the
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`5
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`primary information server go offline, one or more of the mirror information servers can become
`
`a new primary information server.
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`Express Mail Label No. EM484077838US
`
`The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the
`
`specification, illustrate the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and together with the
`
`descriptions serve to explain the principles of the invention.
`
`5
`
`In the Drawings:
`
`Figure 1 illustrates a computer network over which the present invention can be
`
`implemented;
`
`Figure 2 shows an representative web page accessible from a computer site connected to
`
`the computer network of Figure 1;
`
`Figure 3 shows a flowchart diagram of a prior method for storing and delivering
`
`information across the computer network of Figure 1; and
`
`Figure 4 shows a flowchart diagram of the preferred method of the present invention for
`
`storing and delivering information across the computer network of Figure 1.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`A representative computer network 30 is illustrated in Figure 1 and includes computers or
`
`terminals 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44 with which users can access or connect to the computer
`
`network 30 and the resources connected to the computer network 30 such as the computer or web
`
`sites or servers 46, 48. The computer network 30 can include satellite links, microwave links,
`
`if\
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`20
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`fiber optic transmission lines, local area networks, wide area networks, etc. Terminals, such as
`
`the terminals 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, may be connected to the computer network 30 via local or
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`caching proxy servers 50, 52 or other intermediary devices (not shown). Proxy servers allow
`
`multiple terminals to access the computer network 30, while reducing the number of physical
`
`connections to the computer network 30, as will be discussed in more detail below. A primary
`
`information server 54 and mirror information servers 56, 58 may also be connected to the
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`5
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`computer network 30 to facilitate the serving and displaying of information or banners to the
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`terminals 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, as will also be discussed in more detail below .. The
`
`computer network 30 illustrated in Figure 1 is only meant tO' be generally representative of
`
`computer networks for purposes of elaboration and explanation of the present invention and other
`
`devices, networks, etc. may be connected to the computer network 30 without departing from the
`
`scope of the present invention. The computer network 30 is also intended to be representative of,
`
`and include, the Internet, the World Wide Web, privately or publicly owned or operated networks
`
`such as, for example, Tymnet, Telenet, America On-Line, Prodigy, Compuserve, Information
`
`America, and the Microsoft Network, and other local or wide area computer networks. The
`
`computer network 30 can also include or be representative of corporate or other private intranets,
`
`which are privately owned networks using Internet protocols. It should also be noted that the
`
`distinction between information servers, web site, computer sites, and generic servers is made only
`
`for the pur:Poses of elaboration and explanation of the present invention and that a device can
`
`function simultaneously or alternatively as a computer site, web site, information server, generic
`
`server, or other device, or combinations thereof without falling outside the scope of the present
`
`20
`
`invention.
`
`By way of general introduction, in a typical computer network, a user located at a terminal
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`can access the resources connected to the computer network. For example, a user at the terminal
`
`34 or terminal 36 can access the web site or computer site 46 and the information stored thereon.
`
`The computer site or server 46 may contain web pages, such as the web page 60 illustrated in
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`Figure 2, that the user can download for display on the terminal 34. For purposes of this
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`invention, the term "web page" shall be defmed broadly and will include any hypertext document,
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`information, screen displays, etc. that a user can download or otherwise retrieve from a computer
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`or web site for display and/or storage on the user's terminal, and'shall not be limited to only the
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`information, pages, or documents retrievable by a user connected to the World Wide Web.
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`Therefore, the term "web page" will be used generically to refer to information transmitted or
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`served to a terminal from a computer site, web site, server, or other device, wherein the web page
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`may contain banners or references to banners that can be served to the terminal and displayed in
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`conjunction with the web page. The web page 60 may contain textual information, such as "XYZ
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`COMPANY" and "Company History," and information configured in banners, such as the
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`banners 62, 64, 66. The banners 62, 64, 66 may contain graphics, text, video, etc. As will be
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`discussed in more detail below, the banners associated with a web page may not be stored at the
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`same place as the web page and may be downloaded or served to a user's terminal separately from
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`the web page. A significant feature and advantage of the present invention is in the way the
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`banner information is selected and downloaded or served to a user's terminal from computer sites
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`or information servers connected over a same computer network, as will be discussed in more
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`detail below. The current state of the art is such that the counts of banner displays are largely
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`inaccurate, banners are not targetable to large segments of the population using caching proxy
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`servers, and suffers when the performance gains provided by proxy servers are not taken into
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`account in prior art methods of counting banner displays, as will also be discussed in more detail
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`below.
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`In a conventional web page, such as the web page 60, if a user clicks on, or otherwise
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`activates, the button associated with the textual information, a new web page might be displayed
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`on the user's terminal. For example, if the user clicks on the button 68 associated with the textual
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`information "Company History," a new web page devoted to the history of the XYZ company
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`might be ·served from the computer site 46 to the user's terminal 34 and displayed on the user's
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`terminal 34. Similarly, if the user clicks on the button 70 associated with the textual information
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`"Product Line," a new web page devoted to the product line of the XYZ company might be served
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`from the computer site 46 to the user's terminal34 and displayed on the user's terminal34. Each
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`web page may contain similar "links" to other web pages, hypertext documents, web sites, etc.
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`(.F;
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`Activating a link available on a web page or hypertext document, therefore, provides the user with
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`an ability to navigate or move to and display or download different documents, pages, banners,
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`sites, or other information via the computer network 30.
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`When a user has a web page displayed on the user's terminal, the web page and its
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`associated banners are often stored or cached in the terminal's memory for a period of time. In
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`this fashion, if the user desires or requests that a web page previously displayed to the user on the
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`terminal be reaccessed and displayed on the user's terminal, the web page and the banners
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`associated with the requested web page can be loaded directly from the terminal's memory without
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`reconnecting to the computer or web site on which the web page is stored and from which the web
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`page was originally served and without reconnecting to the computer site or information server
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`on which the banners are stored and from the banners were originally served, thereby reducing
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`the time needed to display the web page. Similarly, if the user's terminal is connected to a local
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`or proxy server, the web page and the banners associated with the web page may be stored in the
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`memory of the proxy server. Should the user at a terminal request a redisplay of a web page
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`previously displayed on the user's terminal or previously displayed on any other terminal
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`connected to the same proxy server, the web page and the banners associated from the web page
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`can be served from the proxy server to the terminal for display on the terminal without connecting
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`to the computer or web site on which the web page is stored and from which the web page was
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`originally downloaded or served and without connecting to computer site or information servers
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`on which the banners are stored and from which the banners were originally transmitted or served.
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`Note that, in the case that the information is retrieved from a copy of the information previously
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`stored held within a proxy server connected to the terminal, the serving of the information to the
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`terminal will typically be completed by sending the information from the proxy server to the
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`terminal, i.e. ,without the participation of the computer site or server. Therefore, it is difficult for
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`the computer site or server 46 to maintain an accurate count of the terminals 36, 38, etc. on which
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`the information is displayed if the terminals are connected to caching proxy servers, if the
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`performance benefits offered by the caching proxy server are desired.
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`As previously discussed above, a significant feature and advantage of the present invention
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`is in the way the banner information is selected and transmitted and served to the user's terminal
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`from computer sites or information servers connected over a same computer network. Moi:e
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`specifically, the method of the present invention allows banner information to be served over a
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`computer network to a terminal, computer, etc. in a way which takes advantage of the
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`performance enhancements offered by caching proxy servers and such that the operation of the
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`computer network is not significantly affected while providing the ability to accurately track or
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`connt the number of times the banner information has been displayed on terminals connected to
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`the computer network, as will be discussed in more detail below. It is not unco=on for banners
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`to contain up to fifty kilobytes (KB) of information, thereby inaking the limiting of banner
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`transmissions across a computer network very significant to the efficiency and operation of the
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`computer network and to banner serving computer systems.
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`For purposes of elaboration and explanation of the present invention, the conventions and
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`protocols of the World Wide Web, and browsers therefore, will be used as examples, in particular,
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`the concept of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the
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`Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), and the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
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`(TCPIIP). It should be noted, however, that the concepts underlying the present invention can be
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`used for computer networks using other or different types of conventions and protocols. For more
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`details on these protocols, the reader is directed to: Kevin Washburn and Jim Evans, TCP/IP
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`running a successful network. 2nd Ed. (1996), published by Addison-Wesley, Douglas E. Comer,
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`lnternetworking with TCP/IP, 3rd Ed. (1995), published by Prentice Hall, John December and
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`Mark Ginsberg, HTML 3.2 and CGI Unleashed Professional Reference Edition (1996), published
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`by Sarns.net Publishing, and Jerry Honeycutt et al., Using. HTML 3 .2. 3rd Ed (1997), published
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`by Que Corporation, all of these references of which are incorporated herein by reference. Other
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`Express Mail Label No. EM484077838US
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`infoi"mation about the HTTP, HTML, TCP/IP and other network protocols can also be found in
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`U.S. Patent No. 5,617,540 issued to Civanlar et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,572,643 issued to Judson,
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`and U.S. Patent No. 5,442, 771 issued to Filepp et al., all of which are also incorporated herein
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`by reference. The linking of one web page or hypertext document to another is co=only done
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`using a hypertext markup co~ent tag. When the user clicks on or otherwise activates the
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`hypertext markup co=ent tag, a link to the new web page or hypertext doc