A METHOD FOR DETERMINING COMPLEMENTARY DATA RELATING TO AT LEAST ONE CONTENT, METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING SAID COMPLEMENTARY DATA, AND ASSOCIATED PROCESSING DEVICE, AND APPLICATION SERVER

The invention relates to a method for determining complementary data which relates to at least one content intended to be transmitted over a network and associated with at least one address portion of said content.

The invention further relates to a method for transmitting complementary data based on at least one content address intended to be transmitted over a network.

The invention further relates to a data-processing device and an application server for implementing such methods.

The term "content" refers to sets of data defining a television, video, or audio (radio or music) program, or games, or multimedia, or a computer data file.

"Network" shall mean any type of fixed or mobile network (e.g. of the GSM, GPRS, UMTS or WLANs, or even an Internet or cable network) capable of transmitting, by means of wires or wirelessly, content to terminals which are coupled to said network, and to exchange data or messages with those same terminals.

Any content transmission mode may be considered, particularly point-to-point (or "unicast") mode, point-to-multipoint (or "multicast") mode, or broadcast mode.

Furthermore, in this case "terminal" shall mean any type of equipment capable of receiving content from a network of the aforementioned type, and of exchanging data, messages and requests with that same telecommunications network.

It may, for example, be a land-line or mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (or PDA), an encrypted video or television program decoder, a set-top television program receiving device, a video or music program receiving device, a desktop or portable computer, or a vehicle on-board device (such as a car, truck, bus, train, or other).

In order to satisfy a large number of customers, content providers offer their customers increasingly personalized services, for example interactive services, by means of application servers. The increasing number of these services has offered the user a growing range of choices.

In this case "applications" refers to an application, whether interactive or not,
which is loaded when it is executed in order to offer a service to a terminal's user. Such an application may come, for example, in the form of an executable script or executable program.

Interactive service applications particularly include, gambling voting, purchasing, and downloading applications, or content-sharing applications, such content including telephone ringtones, texts, videos, advertisements, and games.

Conventionally/the content transmitted by content providers is associated with information, such as metadata, which serves to identify and describe that content.

The metadata is formed of sets of elements or attributes which provide context, thereby enabling the application server to access the information, to extract it and understand it, in order to enable, for example, the management and use of the content.

However, for some content, this metadata is optional.

Furthermore, whenever it is associated with a piece of content, it may be minimal and require heavy analysis resources from the application server.

Furthermore, this metadata is generally fixed and does not change, for example
for adaptation based on the users' interest in the associated content.

The purpose of the invention is therefore to improve known interactive services, by making it possible to provide information about content that may be adapted over the course of time, automatically, and requiring few analysis resources.

To that end, the object of the invention is a method for determining complementary data about at least one piece of content intended to be transmitted over a network associated with at least one address portion of said content, comprising the following steps:

- an address of at least one piece of content is received, along with complementary data associated with said received address,

- said received address is compared with saved content addresses to determine at least one common address portion,

- at least one piece of recurring complementary data is identified from among the complementary data associated with said received address and with said saved addresses having a common address portion, and

- said common address portion and associated identified recurring complementary data is saved.

Preferentially, the addresses and associated complementary data and the
common address portions and associated: recurring complementary data, ware both saved in memorization means comprising a knowledge base.

Preferably, said network is an IMS multimedia subsystem network which implements the IP Internet communication protocol.

Advantageously, said method for determining complementary data comprises the following steps:

- the communications on said network are analyzed so as to be able to extract complementary data associated with a content address,

- the extracted complementary data is transmitted, and

- the transmitted extracted complementary data is saved.

A further object of the invention is a method for transmitting the complementary
data from at least one content address intended to be transmitted over a network,
comprising the following steps:

- at least one content address is received,

- it is determined whether said received address comprises at least one address portion in common with saved address portions associated with complementary data, said complementary data being determined from a method for determining complementary data regarding at least one piece of content intended to be transmitted over a network and associated with at least one address portion of said content, comprising the following steps:

• an address of at least one piece of content is received, and complementary data associated with said received address,

• said received address is compared with saved content addresses to determine at least one common address portion,

• at least one piece of recurring complementary data is identified from among the complementary data associated with said received address and with said saved addresses having a common address portion, and

• said common address portion and associated identified recurring complementary data is saved.

- the complementary data associated with the determined address portions is
transmitted.

A further object of the invention is a data-processing device comprising at least one processing means for:

- receiving both an address of at least one piece of content, and complementary data associated with said received address,

- comparing said received address with recorded data to determine at least one common address portion, x .

- identifying at least one piece of recurring complementary data from among the complementary data associated with said received address and with said saved addresses having a common address portion, and

- saving said common address portion and the identified associated recurring complementary data.

A further object of the invention is a data-processing device comprising at least one processing means for:
- receiving at least one content address,
- determining whether said received address comprises at least one common address portion with saved address portions associated with complementary data, said complementary data being determined from a method for determining complementary data regarding at least one piece of content intended to be transmitted over a network and associated with at least one address portion of said content, comprising the following steps:

• an address of at least one piece of content is received, and complementary data associated with said received address,

• said received address is compared with saved content addresses to determine at least one common address portion,

• at least one piece of recurring complementary data is identified from among the complementary data associated with said received address and with said saved addresses having a common address portion, and

• said common address portion and associated identified recurring complementary data is saved.

- transmitting the complementary data associated with the determined address
portions.
A further object of the invention is an application server comprising at least one processing means for:

- receiving both an address of at least one piece of content, and complementary data
associated with said received address,

transmitting a request to determine recurring complementary data associated with at least one address portion of said received address, said request comprising both said received address and also the associated complementary data.

A further object of the invention is an application server comprising at least one
processing means for:

- receiving at least one content address,

- sending a request to generate complementary data based on said address, said request comprising said address, and

- receiving complementary data associated with at least one address portion of said address, said complementary address being determined from a method for determining complementary data regarding at least one piece of content intended to be transmitted over a network and associated with at least one address portion of said content, comprising the following steps:

• an address of at least one piece of content is received, and complementary data associated with said received address,

• said received address is compared with saved content addresses to determine at least one common address portion,

• at least one piece of recurring complementary data is identified from among the complementary data associated with said received address and with said saved addresses having a common address portion, and

• said common address portion and associated identified recurring complementary data is saved.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention shall become apparent upon examining the following description below, provided by way of example but not of limitation, in view of the attached drawings, on which: . N

- Figure 1 schematically depicts the general structure of a system for implementing a method for determining complementary data according to the invention and a method for transmitting that complementary data according to the invention,

- Figure 2a depicts an example for determining complementary data,
- Figure 2b depicts an example for determining complementary data,
- Figure 3a depicts the successive steps of a method for determining complementary data according to the invention, and
- Figure 3b depicts the successive steps of a method for generating the transmission
of that complementary data according to the invention.

Figure 1 depicts a network 1, such as a fixed-line or mobile telecommunications network (for example GSM, GPRS, UMTS or WIFI or a cabled network or Internet network).
Network 1 can be any type of network capable of transmitting content, by means of wires or wirelessly, to terminals which are coupled to said network, and to exchange data or messages with those same terminals.

Any content transmission mode may be considered, particularly point-to-point (or "unicast") mode, point-to-multipoint (or "multicast") mode, or broadcast mode.

Preferably, the network 1 implements the IP (Internet Protocol) communication protocol.
The network 1 may thereby transmit information in the form of packets, each packet comprising a header indicating an IP address of the packet recipient, such that the packets can take different paths to reach the recipient.

A content provider 3 is connected to the network 1 and transmits content over the network 1, such as in the form of streams to terminals 5 capable of receiving and displaying, for example on a screen, the transmitted content.

The content transmitted by the network 1 may be audiovisual content, for example television or radio programs, or videos, or games.

The terminal 5 may, for example, be a mobile or fixed-line telephone, a personal digital assistant (or PDA), a piece of television-program-receiving equipment, a piece of video- or music-program-receiving equipment, or a portable or desktop computer, or a piece of equipment installed in a vehicle (car, truck, bus, train, and likewise).

The terminal 5 is furthermore capable of exchanging data, messages, and • requests with the telecommunication network 1, and in particular with an application server 7 connected to network 1 as will be described later on.

Whenever the terminal 5 displays a piece of content received from a content provider 3 via the network 1, a user of the terminal 5 may obtain a service related to the received content, for example to mark and/or share the received content.

To do so, the terminal 5 comprises at least one processing means for:

- selecting the received content,
- saving an address 9 (see Figure 2a) of the selected content,

- generating and associating with the address 9 of the complementary data 11, for example the title of the selected content, comments on the selected content, the television channel that transmitted the content, the format of the content, or any other content description and/or information data, and

- transmitting over the network 1 the address 9 and the associated complementary data, for example in a service request 13. This request 13 may further comprise at least one piece of data to identify the terminal 5 that generated the request 13.

The address 9 of the content is advantageously a string of characters encoded according to a character-encoding standard, such as ASCII for the "American Standard Code for Information Interchange".

According to one preferential embodiment, the address 9 is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) which is used to indicate how to access the content that it identifies.
Take for example the following fictive URL: "rtsp://TV.alu.com/pres/pat802602.wmv", see Figure 2a.

This URL comprises:

- the indication of the communication protocol used to access this resource, here rtsp for Real Time Streaming Video, followed by the mandatory separation character":", and

- a set of parameters for locating, on the network, the resource hosting the content, this set of parameters comprising:

• the character string "//" is used to specify the resource hosting the content before the content access path,

• the domain name of the resource hosting the content; here "TV.alu.com" regarding the television channel "TV",

• The absolute path for accessing the content; this path begins with the character "/". Here, for example, the access path is 7pres/pat802602",

• an extension, here ".wmv", which enables the server 7 to tell how to process the content.

In the remainder of the description, "address portion" will refer to any parameter which is included within the protocol indication and the extension and also delimited by a V character. In the example above, the address portions "TV.alu.com", "pres", and "pat802602" are therefore identified.

Preferentially, the application server 7 comprises at least one processing means for receiving the request 13, and processing that request 13.

While processing the request 13, the server 7 then accesses the address 9 of the selected content, the associated complementary data 11, and potentially the identification data of the terminal 5 that generated the request 13.

It may be stipulated that for a single content address 9, the server 7 receives different associated complementary data 11 generated by users of different terminals.

In this situation, the server 7 comprises at least one processing means for analyzing the various complementary data 11 that is received in order to determine a set 11' of keywords relevant to the information contained within that various complementary data 11.

More specifically, the server 7 is, for example, capable of:

- identifying common complementary data from among the various received complementary data 11,

- verifying whether the number of complementary data 11 comprising the identified common data has reached a predefined threshold, and

- in this situation, associating the common complementary data forming a^set 11' of keywords with the address 9.

The server 7 may further comprise at least one processing means for sorting the set 11' of keywords, in order to classify the keywords in a predetermined order.
Preferentially, the server 7 comprises that most one processing means for sending the terminal 5 that generated the request 13 a service response 15. This service response 15 may comprise a confirmation message, or a queryNmessage related to the provided service.

Preferably, the server 7 further comprises content management means.

Furthermore, the server 7 further comprises at least one processing means for transmitting to a data processing device 17 of the network 1 a request 19 for determining recurrent complementary data associated with at least one address portion of address 9 "rtsp://TV.alu.com/pres/pat802602.wmv".

This request 19 comprises the address 9 and the associated complementary data 11.

Advantageously, the complementary data transmitted is the common complementary data forming the set 11' of keywords, for example, here the keywords "TV, presentation, patent" associated with address 9.

According to one advantageous embodiment, the processing device 17 may be coupled to the server 7.

The inventive server 17 comprises at least one processing means for

- receiving a content address 9, here "rtsp://TV.alu.com/pres/pat802602.wmv", and additionally complementary data 11, 11' associated with the address 9, here "TV, presentation, patent", transmitted, for example, by the server 7 within the request 19,

- comparing the address 9 received with the saved identification^ data 10 "rtsp://TV2.alu.com/ad/20080331.wmv" and "rtsp://TV.alu.com/pres/clm1.wmv" in the example depicted in Figure 2a, in order to determine the common address portions, here "TV.alu.com", and "pres",

- identifying at least one piece of recurrent complementary data

• first, from among the complementary data 11, 11' "TV, presentation, patent" associated with address 9 that was received and "TV, advertisement" and "TV, presentation, claim" associated with the identification data 10 having the common address portion "TV.alu.com", and

• furthermore from among the complementary data 11, 11' "TV, presentation, patent" associated with the received address 9 "TV, presentation, claim" associated with address 10 having the common address portion "pres", and

- respectively saving the common address portions, "TV.alu.com" and "pres" respectively saving the identified associated recurring complementary data "TV and "presentation".

Preferentially, the processing device 17 saves the addresses 9, 10 and the associated complementary data 11, 11', as well as the common address portions and recurring complementary data, in the memorization means. These memorization means may comprise a knowledge base 18. This knowledge base 18 may be internal or external to the processing device 17.

Advantageously, the complementary data 11, 11' saved in the knowledge base 18 has been generated by the users of a group or community, so that the identified recurring complementary data is personalized and adapted to the users of that group.

This knowledge base 18 is enriched based on the complementary data 11, 11' added by the group's users. This is because the more the users transmit identification data and associated complementary data, the more the number of common address portions and identified associated recurrent complementary data increases.

Preferentially, the network 1 is a multimedia subsystem network using the IP protocol "IMS" for Internet protocol Multimedia Subsystem, and in this case makes it possible to provide fixed and mobile multimedia services, such as IP (VoIP), instant messaging, or presence information.

Advantageously, a component incorporated into the IMS network comprises at least one processing means for analyzing communications on the IMS network so as to be able to extract complementary data associated with an address of at least one piece of content selected by a user of a terminal. The network component then transmits the extracted complementary data, advantageously to the processing device 17.

Naturally, the processing device 17 comprises at least one processing means for receiving extracted complementary data transmitted by the network component, and saving the extracted complementary data in the knowledge base 18.

The network component is, for example, a presence agent "PNA" for "Presence Network Agent".

The network component may be constructed in the form of an IMS proxy server, or an IMS application server.

Thus, whenever a user sends an address 9 of a piece of content by an IMS communication means, for example an instant text message, an e-mail, or a voicemail, the information contained within that IMS communication means may be transmitted to the processing device 17, so. that it is also associated with the address 9. The knowledge base 18 may thereby enrich itself automatically.

It is obvious that the user will have first given his or her agreement for the use of the information that he or she is transmitting via the IMS network. Thus, the processing device 17 may, in addition to the complementary data 11, 11' voluntarily generated by the user via the server 7, use information traveling through the IMS communication means.

Preferentially, the server 7 and/or a third-party application server 27 of the network 1 comprises at least one processing means for:

- receiving at least one content address 21 "rtsp://TV5.alu.com/pres/20071231.wmv" in the example depicted in Figure 2b, for example one transmitted by a terminal of the network 1 in a service request,

- sending a request 23 to transmit complementary data 25 based on the address 21, said request 23 comprising the address 21, and

- receiving complementary data 25 associated with at least one address portion of the address 21.

Advantageously, the server 7, 27 that transmitted the request 23 is capable of using the received complementary data 25.

Advantageously, the processing device 17 comprises at least one processing means for

- receiving a content address 21, for example a fictional address "rtsp://TV5.alu.com/pres/20071231.wmv", transmitted within a request 23 to transmit complementary data,

- determining whether the received address 21 comprises at least one address portion in common with the saved address portions, here "TV.alu.com" and "pres" respectively associated with the complementary data "TV" and "presentation", and

- transmitting the recurrent complementary data 25 "TV" and "presentation" respectively associated with the determined address portions "TV.alu.com", and "pres".

Advantageously, the processing device 17 comprises at least one processing means for

- verifying whether the received address 21 is already saved, for example in the knowledge base 18, and

- transmitting the complementary data associated with that address 21, when it is already saved.

According to one embodiment variant, the processing device 17 comprise at least one processing means for automatically deleting the data saved in the knowledge base 18 if the usage quota compared to the uptime is less than a predetermined threshold.

Consequently, the knowledge base 18 is no longer cluttered with obsolete data.

As depicted in Figure 3a, the method for determining complementary data regarding at least one piece of content intended to be transmitted over a network 1 and associated with at least one address portion of the content comprises multiple steps detailed below.

According to the invention, the processing device 17 receives, during a step 31, an address 9 of at least one piece of content, and complementary data 11, 11' associated with the address 9, transmitted, for example, by an application server 7 within a request 19 to determine complementary data.

At the end of step 31, the processing device 17 may save the identification data 9 and the associated complementary data 11, 11'. Advantageously, it is sayed in the knowledge base 18.

During the step 33, the processing device 17 compares the received address 9 with the saved addresses 10, in order to determine at least one common address portion.

The processing device 17 then identifies, during step 35, at least one piece of recurring complementary data from among the complementary data associated with the received address 9 and the saved addresses 10 having a common address portion.

Next, the processing device 17 saves, during the step 37, the common address portion and the identified associated recurring complementary data. Advantageously, it is saved in the knowledge base 18.

Preferably, the network is a multimedia subsystem network using the "IMS" IP protocol, for Internet protocol Multimedia Subsystem, and a component integrated into the IMS network advantageously analyzes the communications on the network 1 so as to be able to extract complementary data associated with the address 9, then transmitting the extracted complementary data to the processing device 17. The processing device 17 then receives this additional data during step 31.

This method for determining complementary data is advantageously implemented by a system comprising at least one data processing device 17 and at least one application server 7 as described above.

As depicted in Figure 3b, the method for transmitting complementary data based on at least one content address comprises multiple steps detailed below.

During a step 39, the processing device 17 receives at least one content address 21, transmitted, for example, by an application server 7, 27 of the network within a request 23 to transmit complementary data.

The processing device 17 may verify whether the received address 21 is saved, for example in the knowledge base 18, in which case it may be stipulated that processing device is capable of comparing the saved identification data with the received address, which is step 41.

For example, if the received address 21 is new, the processing device and 17 determines, during step 43, whether the received address 21 includes at least one address portion in common with the address portions saved, for example, in the knowledge base.

Next, during step 45, the processing device 17 transmits the saved recurring complementary data with the determined address portions.

Advantageously, following step 41, whenever the received address 21 is already saved, for example within the knowledge, base 18, the processing device and 17 transmits during step 47 additional data associated with that address 21

This method for determining complementary data is advantageously implemented by a system comprising at least one data processing device 17 and at least one application server 7, 27 as described above.

It is understood that would such a method, the processing device automatically provides information that may be directly used by the application server and adapted to the users.

Additionally, this information is not fixed, and varies over time depending on the users' activity, and their interest for a given piece of content.

The more address portions associated with complementary data are saved, the more relevant information is provided regarding a given piece of content based on the address of that content, even if it had never been saved before, for example within the knowledge base.

CLAIMS

1. A method for determining complementary data which relates to at least one
content intended to be transmitted over a network and associated with at
least one address portion of said content, comprising the following steps:

- an address (9) of at least one content, as well as complementary data (11,11') associated with said address (9), are received.

- said received address (9) is compared with recorded content addresses (10) in order to determine at least one common address portion,

- at least one piece of recurring complementary data is identified from among the complementary data (11, 11') associated with the received address (9) and with the saved addresses (10) having a common address portion, and

- said common address portion and associated identified recurring complementary data are saved.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said addresses (9, 10) and the associated complementary data (11, 11'), as well as common, address portions and the associated recurring complementary data are saved in memorization means comprising a knowledge base (18).

3. A method according to one of the claims 1 or 2, wherein said network is an IMS multimedia subsystem network which implements the IP communication protocol.

4. A method according to claim 3, comprising the following steps:

- the communications on said network are analyzed so as to be able to extract complementary data associated with a content address,

- the extracted complementary data is transmitted, and

- the transmitted extracted complementary data is saved.

5. A method for transmitting complementary data based on at least one content
addressed intended to be transmitted over a network, comprising the
following steps:

- at least one content address (21) is received,

- it is determined whether said received address (21) comprises at least one address portion in common with saved address portions associated with complementary data, said complementary data being determined from a method for determining complementary data regarding at least one piece of content intended to be transmitted over a network and associated with at least one address portion of said content, comprising the following steps:

• an address (9) of at least one piece of content, as well as complementary data (11, 11') associated with said address (9), is received.

• said received address (9) is compared with saved content addresses (10) to determine at least one common address portion,

• at least one piece of recurring complementary data is identified from among the complementary data (11, 11') associated with the received address 9 and the saved addresses 10 having a common address portion, and

• said common address portion and associated identified recurring complementary data is saved.

- the complementary data (25) associated with the determined address
portions.

6. A data processing device, comprising at least one processing means, for.

- receiving at least one address (9) of at least one: piece of content, as well as complementary data (11,11') associated with said received address (9),

- comparing said received address (9) saved content addresses (10) to determine at least one common address portion,

- identifying at least one piece of recurring complementary data from among the complementary data (11, 11') associated with the received address 9 and the saved addresses 10 having a common address portion, and

- saving said common address portion and the identified associated recurring complementary data.

7. A data processing device, comprising at least one processing means, for

- receiving at least one content address (21),

- determining whether said received address (21) comprises at least one
address portion in common with saved address portions associated with complementary data, said complementary data being determined from a method for determining complementary data regarding at least one piece of content intended to be transmitted over a network and associated with at least one address portion of said content, comprising the following steps:

• an address (9) of at least one piece of content, as well as complementary data (11, 11') associated with said address (9), is received.

• said received address (9) is compared with saved content addresses (10) to determine at least one common address portion,

• at least one piece of recurring complementary data is identified from among the complementary data (11, 11') associated with the received address 9 and the saved addresses 10 having a common address portion, and

• said common address portion and associated identified recurring complementary data is saved.

- transmitting the complementary data (25) associated with the
determined address portions.

8. An application server, comprising at least one processing means for

- receiving an address (9) of at least one piece of content, as well as complementary data (11,11') associated with said address (9).

- transmitting a request (19) to determine recurring, complementary data associated with at least one address portion of the received address (9), said request 19 comprising the received address (9) and the associated complementary data (11,11').

9. An application server, comprising at least one processing means for.

- receiving at least one content address (21),

- sending a request (23) to transmit complementary data based on said address (21), said request comprising said address (21), and

- receiving complementary data (25) associated with at least one address portion of said address (21), said complementary address being determined from a method for determining complementary data regarding at least one piece of content intended to be transmitted over a network and associated with at least one address portion of said content, comprising the following steps:

• an address (9) of at least one piece of content, as well as complementary data (11, 11') associated with said address (9), is received.

• said received address (9) is compared with saved content addresses (10) to determine at least one common address portion,

• at least one piece of recurring complementary data is identified from among the complementary data (11, 11') associated with the received address 9 and the saved addresses 10 having a common address portion, and

• said common address portion and associated identified recurring complementary data is saved.