WO2020171725A1 - Method and system for presenting targeted textual and graphic information during the making and receiving of a phone call - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and method for displaying advertising content, counterpart profile information and counterpart status information to a smartphone user while the user is placing or receiving a telephone call, wherein such content and information are selected through an algorithm that includes the called number, the calling number and, optionally, time/date and GPS location information, combined with optional user preference information and user profile data. The system comprises a mobile component running on the smartphone, a server component containing the algorithms and content to be displayed, and a website with the ability to orchestrate advertising campaigns based on a plurality of targeting criteria, including called number and calling number. The invention solves problems related to the intrusiveness and undesirability of advertisements for smartphone users and provides benefits for calling/called party identification and for providing status information that can be shared with the called/calling user even before the call is established.

Description

[0001 ] TITLE OF THE INVENTION

Method and system for presenting targeted textual and graphic information during the making and receiving of a phone call

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of displaying targeted advertising cam paigns and contact information while placing and receiving a phone call with no interference in the call setup and connection, and more particularly to a method and system to select, provide and display targeted ads to mobile users while placing a phone call to, or receiving a phone call from, any num ber, fixed or mobile, such advertisements being selected through a plurality of criteria including the called number and the calling number, while simultaneously displaying enhanced remote party information contact information optionally combining a local address book with a server address book and status/call intention messages.

[0004] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention im plements a means to display advertising content, counterpart profile information and counterpart status information to a smartphone user while placing or receiving a telephone call, such advertising content, counterpart profile information and counterpart status information being selected through an algorithm that includes the called num ber, the calling num ber and, optionally, time/date and GPS location information, being com bined with optional user preference information and user profile data. The invention solves problems related to the intrusiveness and undesirability of advertisements for smartphone users and provides benefits for calling/called party identification through a centralized database and for providing status information that can be shared with the called/calling user even before the call is established.

[0006] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 depicts a standard call-state diagram for telephone calls, displaying the call establishment phase in which the invention performs its main activity.

Figure 2 depicts the architecture of a preferred embodiment of the invention, comprising a client component being executed on smartphones and a server component being executed on a network-connected server.

Figure 3 depicts a high-level diagram of the different blocks of the invention. Figure 4 depicts the call setup and call reception screens of the invention, executing on a smartphone, and illustrates the main visual and information components the invention provides.

Figure 5 depicts the message sequence between client, server and database components of the invention, in a typical case in a preferred embodiment.

[0007] CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0008] BRIEF CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT PHONE CALLS

[0009] The term "phone call", as used in this document, refers to an audio conversation between two parties, performed at a distance through wired or wireless transmission means. In a wider sense, a phone call may also signify a conversation between more than two parties, known as a group call of conference call. Yet in another sense, a phone call may see the transmission of audio information accom panied by the transmission of video information from each party during the call.

[0010] A phone call is established using terminal devices, such as phones, connected to a com munications network that includes means of transmission and signaling and transmission devices that allow the call to be established and relevant signaling information to be transmitted to terminal devices.

[001 1 ] Each terminal device connected to a com munications network is assigned an identifier, traditionally a number, that uniquely identifies said terminal device and allows users of the com munications network, using other terminal devices, to elicit from the network the establishment of a phone call between their device and said terminal device.

[0012] A phone call between two parties typically takes place in three stages : the establishment stage, in which one of the parties (the calling party) initiates the call to the other party (the called party); a conversation stage, in which an audio communication channel is established and transmission of audio information between parties occurs; and a disconnection stage during which the phone call is disconnected. [0013] SUBSISTING PROBLEMS IN INDUSTRY

[0014] BRIEF CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT SIGNALING

[001 5] Phone calls were invented in the 19th century, the first telephone having been patented in 1876; at the time existing technology allowed only for the transmission of audio information; a means was needed to notify the user to whom a call was being placed that he had an incoming call that he could choose to answer; the first solution was a bell incorporated on the terminal device that could be made to ring repeatedly by changing the intensity of current in the telephone wires - this was the invention of phone ringing; also the need was felt to inform the calling user of relevant status changes in the phone call and transition between different call phases; signaling protocols were introduced and different sounds and sound patterns that the user could recognize and interpret as meaning that the destination phone was ringing, busy, or disconnected. The use of audio tones was also used, initially as a technical signaling protocol between terminal devices and other devices in the telecommunications network.

[0016] As time went by and technology evolved, signaling methods between devices in the com munications network evolved into alternate technical methods where signaling information is transmitted in a separate channel from audio information; and yet the way in which the called and the calling user are notified of call status and call progress has remained significantly the same.

[0017] A significant advancement in voice call signaling consisted in the introduction of Caller Id systems (CLID) in the 1960s, and Caller ID type II from the 1990s. These systems allow, through signaling, to convey to the called party the unique subscriber identifier of the calling party, and, in some cases, the name of the actual subscriber of the calling line (CNAM), as it stands in the telecommunications provider database. CLID is pervasive nowadays and is available in the vast majority of voice telecom operators.

[0018] CNAM, however, has seen limited use and is not present in many telecom munications operators' networks and there is no global standard way of conveying the caller name to the called party.

[0019] EXISTING PROBLEMS RELATING TO REMOTE PARTY IDENTIFICATION IN CALLS [0020] The first problem is that CNAM does not solve the problem at hand, as explained in [0014] Furthermore, modern need and expectations go far beyond the mere caller name, and expect a picture, a company or function, and other information to be present in order to facilitate remote party identification. CNAM does not provide a mechanism to address any of these needs.

[0021] Conventional phone systems are numeric by nature and long numbers are not an easily remembered identifier that can instantly allow us to associate a number with a specific person or business. Even with the introduction of SIP addresses in VOIP networks we soon found that SIP addresses can be as cryptic as phone numbers.

[0022] A significant extant problem with remote party identification in calls arises from a hybrid telephony solution marketed as "mobile voice VPN", characterized as follows:

a) a customer, typically an company, has:

1. an internal PBX system

2. a plurality of extensions connected to the PBX

3. a communications trunk connected to the PBX

4. (optionally) more than one business location, with an internal data network connecting all business locations

5. a number of mobile phones assigned to company users

b) the customer requests:

1. that company mobile phones can dial other company phones with no communications cost

2. that company mobile phones can dial an extension number directly, with no communications cost

3. that all calls made from extensions to company mobile phones are free, as are internal calls between extensions

4. that all calls made from extensions to company mobile phones are identified with the extension number as Caller ID, so that the user of the mobile phone can call the extension back [0023] A typical implementation of such solution by a telecommunications provider assigns each company mobile phone with two different numbers:

N1. one number corresponding to an actual mobile network number connected to wireless network service

N2. one number being a virtual number, said "mobile extension number" chosen with the customer inside the customer's internal extension numbering plan in such a way that by virtue of the number length or the number prefix said virtual numbers can be distinguished from any actual mobile network number

This allows the telecommunications provider to implement the following example rules in their internal call routing and call billing systems:

R1. All calls made from the company SIP trunk to numbers matching a mobile extension number in the group of phones assigned to the customer are routed to the actual mobile number with the calling extension as Caller ID

R2. All calls made from a mobile phone in the group of phones assigned to the customer to an extension number (required to be numbered in such a way that by virtue of the number length or the number prefix it is recognizable as customer extension number) are routed to the SIP trunk with the virtual "mobile extension number" as Caller ID

R3. All calls made from a mobile phone in the group of phones assigned to the customer to numbers matching a mobile extension number in the group of phones assigned to the customer are routed to the actual mobile number with the virtual "mobile extension number" as Caller ID

R4. Calls made under rules R1 to R3 are not billed to the customer

R5. All other calls made from the company SIP trunk are routed to the public telephone network and treated according to standard call routing and agreed billing rules

R6. All other calls made fa mobile phone in the group of phones assigned to the customer are routed to the public telephone network and treated according to standard call routing and agreed billing rules

[0024] This kind of solutions, which are frequent in the industry, create a solvable problem regarding remote party identification of the virtual extension number assigned to the mobile phones when they call an internal extension. Provided that the customer PBX supports this, the virtual extension numbers assigned to mobiles may be created as "virtual extensions" with an appropriate name or description, for instance "John Smith - Mobile". This will allow calls from a company mobile phone to be correctly identified at user's internal extensions. [0025] This kind of solutions also create a problem of remote party identification when two com pany mobile phones call each other or when an extension calls a company mobile phone through the assigned virtual mobile extension number. Since extension num bers will not have been previously saved in the mobile phone address book as being associated to contacts, the mobile phone will just display the calling num ber with no indication of caller name or any other information. Since virtual mobile extensions will also not have been previously saved in the address book, the same situation will happen when com pany mobile phones call each other using the virtual mobile extension num ber. Workaround solutions may be im plemented, such as creating an address book entry for each internal extension and each virtual extension number in each of the company mobile phones, but this may be a daunting task if the company has several hundreds or thousands of extensions and mobile phones. Even if the number of entries to be created in each address book is limited to the most frequently contacted nu mbers, this will still be a hard task, compounded by the need to keep the extension numbers and names updated and the inconvenience to the mobile phone user of having a phone book overwhelmed with hundreds of entries representing internal company extensions.

[0026] This kind of solutions further create a problem where, when remote party identification information such as caller name and other information is not provided originally from the remote party and a server is used for retrieving such information from a database using Caller ID, duplicate Caller ID numbers may exist if the telecom munications operator has more than one customer - which is normal - and is more than one of those customers use similar extension num bering schemes in their PBX systems - which is also normal - leading to the existence of apparent duplicate num bers. Illustrating with an exam ple, a mobile phone belonging to customer A may receive a call from company A front desk, extension 1000, which will be presented to him, as desired, with Caller ID 1000. If using a server based system to query for remote party identification, the server system will need to hold in its database the relevant information for Caller ID 1000. If a new customer B is set up with the same kind of solution, and also has as extension with the num ber 1000 in his PBX system, corresponding to the HR department, the remote party identification information may not be able to be loaded in the server database because the Caller ID number is a duplicate. Any query for remote party identification information presented by a mobile phone of company B to the server will return the information pertaining to the reception of company A.

[0027] PRIOR ART AND EFFORTS IN SOLVING THE REMOTE PARTY IDENTIFICATION PROBLEM

[0028] The first technical solution for identifying remote parties came in the form of a phone book. Electronic address books built into telephone devices have been know for decades and persist as the standard solution in mobile phones and smart phones. Electronic address books - or phone books - serve the dual purpose of providing a directory of names of persons or organizations that can be associated with a phone number (or any other kind of unique subscriber identifier, according to the communications network) in order to be contacted, and also providing a machine-searchable index that, given a phone number, can provide us with a relatable name. This solution is limited in its scope, cannot identify numbers not previously known, and requires maintenance from the device owner in order to keep the phone book up to date.

[0029] Private Branch Exchange systems (also know as switchboards for historic reasons), especially digital ones built after the 1990s, provide a better solution for corporate environments. A large corporate phone book is kept in the centralized system, and all phones use it to identify the calling extension and display a name for the device user. Additionally, a personal phonebook may be kept either on the phone or centrally saved in the PBX system. This solves the problem of identifying people calling from an internal phone (extension) connected and managed by the PBX system, but does not solve the problem for external (public) numbers any more than the personal phone book can.

[0030] Mobile phones and smart phones show the same problem as in [0018] The lack of a standard centralized protocol or solution for sharing or consulting caller names or caller profiles makes the internal phonebook the only resource most phones can count on to query remote party profile information.

[0031] Since the 1990s there have been synchronization solutions available between desktop systems and phone systems, for instance synchronizing a Nokia mobile phone's address book with a Microsoft Outlook address book, that merely simplify the process of editing and maintaining a phone book and keeping several distinct phone books in sync. Today we can edit out Android phone book on the web at a Google website, but this solution still only provides us withe information we put in ourselves.

[0032] As early as 2010 Facebook introduced "contacts sync" in its iOS application (and later in its Android application), enabling users to "synchronize" their contacts between their phone book and the respective Facebook profiles, if those contacts were on your Facebook friends list. The system synchronized the person name, profile picture and some other contact information such as emails and contact numbers, and allowed many people, for the first time, to have profile pictures associated with their contacts, not always with the best results - frequently users of social networks such as Facebook configure their Facebook profile with data they intend to use on that social network alone - an ironic picture or avatar, a quirky job description, sometimes even a funny name. Depending on the data item used to synchronize local phone book and social network profiles - it may be a match of an email address or a mobile phone number configured on both data stores - some contacts on users' phone books could be changed in a dramatic way. And yet this system did not solve the problem of users not in your phone book nor in your Facebook friends list.

[0033] Patent US2018198910 by Yao et al. (201 1 , Facebook as patent applicant) describes a method for - in real-time - looking up a phone number in the profiles of people in your social graph in a social network and fetching a name, a picture, and some other information from your social network profile, and displaying such information as a form of enhanced caller-id. This is an evolution when compared to [022] but still maintains some of the same problems - the person name on the social network profile may not be the name they wish to be shown when they call someone, and the same happens with their profile picture, which they may wish to have on the social network but not be the one to be shown on a call. Different people have different names and attire for different social situations, and may object to be identified as "Ron 'Surfer' Smith" and depicted in a bathing suit while making a professional phone call.

[0034] Patent US2018234541 by Rensburg et al. (2014, Ringcentral as patent applicant) describes a method for fetching enhanced Caller ID information from a plurality of databases, but, like [0023], does not define a way to process and select such information in a way that complies to the wishes of the information owner - the caller. Furthermore US2018234541 defines that the callee - the recipient of the call and to whom the information about the caller will be shown - must be a known user of the system implementing the method, and have a profile from which the relevance of each item of the enhanced Caller ID information of the remote party may be ascertained. This restricts usage of the system to displaying information to the called party, and does not allow, in a symmetrical way, that information is shown to the calling party.

[0035] Remote party identification is relevant not also to the callee but also to the caller. When dialing a previously unknown number, be it a number found on a website, a number a friend gave us on a piece of paper, or the number of a plumber we saw on the street, it is reassuring to have our phone display the name, logo or picture of the called party in addition to the number dialed.

[0036] Patent CN101072401 by Zhao (2007, SHENZHEN RONGHE SHIXUN SCI 8i T as patent applicant) presents a system where a caller mobile phone sends caller id information directly to a called mobile phone in realtime. The presented system does not take into account the existence of previous information, such a contact with a determined name and image already in the phone book of the called mobile phone, that the called user might prefer to be presented, so, again, the system fails to provide control to the owner of the information, in this case the called user that might have already created a contact file for his own use. The system is also lacking in that it only works for mobile-to-mobile communication and requires both mobile phones to have the functionality introduced by the system.

[0037] Other proposed solutions include the updating of image and data content on the receiving device, such as patent US2013023238 by Kaplan et al. (2005, Kyocera as patent applicant) that merely updates the contact picture on a mobile phone address book entry by means of a picture server in case a contact picture is not previously associated with the contact but makes no provision for updating pictures as time goes by - it also only applies to inbound calls and cannot be used on outbound calls -, and patent application WO2010056025 by Ahn (2008, ID Media Co as applicant) that covers the setup of multimedia content by a caller to be sent to potential called parties to be used, potentially, as ringtones or visual identifiers (avatars), wherein potential called parties would receive the multimedia content as operator-push and would have to choose whether to accept or reject the content - that defines the method as a voluntary act from a potential caller that sends information to a potential receiver, before any call is even initiated, but merely highlights the need for profile information sharing and accessibility but also the wish and the need for the owner of the profile to be in control of what their profile is on other users' phones. Still it is also a solution that does not solve most of the existing problems.

[0038] Patent US2014148139 by Chaterjee (2007, Centurylink Ip as applicant) defines a method for providing additional information about a party to a telephone call, based on identifying the Caller ID or the dialed number and sending that information to a repository where additional information is stored. Chaterjee defines that the 4th step of the method defined in claim 1 returns location information about the first party of the call, which, in some scenarios, will not be necessary, and in most scenarios may not be possible to ascertain without additional complex implementation. Claim 3 also defines that static information about the first party may be available locally. Claims 3 to 6 fail to take into account that some of the information about the first party may be locally generated, such as a nickname for a user or a preferred image for contact identification, and the user may desire to update some of the information about the first party but be able to retain another. No provision is made by Chaterjee for combining locally stored information with remotely obtained information or for taking into account the preferences of the user of the phone for that combining operation. Also, the proposed system does not solve the problem identified in [0026]

[0039] Patent US201 1014900 by Gottfried (2009, Ofer Gottfried as applicant) defines a method in which the called device ascertains the Caller ID of the remote party and queries a server for the purpose of obtaining additional information about the remote party. All information presented in the proposed solution is obtained remotely and no guidance is given for what the solution behavior should be when no packet switched data can be received or sent or when degraded network conditions prevent the information from being received in a timely manner. More significantly, no provision is made for taking into account information already present in the local device contact book nor for combining locally stored information with remotely obtained information or for taking into account the preferences of the user of the phone for that combining operation. Also, the proposed system does not solve the problem identified in [0026]

[0040] PROBLEMS RELATING TO PRE-CALL INFORMATION SHARING, CONTEXT SIGNALING AND AVAILABILITY STATUS

[0041 ] In the same way that CNAM remains a problem to be effectively solved, signaling, especially in the call setup phase and all the time that precedes call establishment, still does not provide all the desirable functionalities for information exchange between the parties in pre-call, which leads to a number of solution implementation attempts materialized in prior art

[0042] Desirable functionalities corresponding to real use-cases include presence indication functionalities, such as being able to indicate to people that would have an interest in contacting you if you are, for instance, "Available", "Busy", In a Meeting", "In a Call", "In Traffic", "Away from my phone", such setting being accessible preferably before a message is sent or a call is placed or immediately after com munication is performed - such functionalities have been pervasive in messaging apps since at least the initial release of messaging application ICQ in 1996, but are somehow still missing from mobile phones as a standard platform functionality, which means they are difficult to use for telephone-call related implementations - if well implemented, presence functionalities could be integrated with phone sensors and phone activity, setting your status to "In a Call" if a call is in progress or to "Busy" if you are using, for instance, the Email app; personalized non action related context messages, such as having a personalized status message that can be set by the user independently of presence information and presented to prospective callers, for instance; and personalized action related context messages, which are set by the user and sent along with or in short vicinity of a com munication action and provide meaningful information about the action to follow - for instance a context message could accompany or precede a call with the text "need to ask you a quick question about today's meeting", which would provide the called user with meaningful information about the subject and duration of the call, and be prompted to answer even if he disposes of limited time and was previously inclined not to take any calls.

[0043] PRIOR ATTEMPTS AT SOLVING THE UNAVAILABILITY OF AVAILABILITY STATUS AND PRE CALL MESSAGING [0044] SMS, the Short Message Service, was originally conceived to operate within the signaling channels of GSM networks, but was never intended as an application-to-application protocol outside the core functionality of the mobile device, therefore integration, although possible, is not very elegant or performant. Also, due to SMS relevance in operator price plans, SMS is generally more expensive than the equivalent transmission of IP data, which compromises its use as application transport for presence indication or very heavily conversational protocols. Additionally the desired functionality can only be obtained through applicational integration in a coherent user experience for the mobile phone user.

[0045] RCS, the Rich Communication Suite is an industry initiative that began in 2007 with the purpose of designing and providing the next generation of standard inter-operable messaging protocols, gradually replacing SMS and becoming closer to the functionality of any modern proprietary messaging application. RCS provides chat functionality with multimedia attachments and includes extensions to the mobile operating system phone book and system messaging application (replacement of the SMS application). RCS requires specific support to be implemented by the network operator. RCS provides presence information which typical implementations expose to the system messaging application buy may or may not be exposed to the call dialer application or to other phone sensors and applications depending on mobile device manufacturer decision, therefore limiting RCS utility and making it comparable to just another proprietary application. RCS still does not propose a solution for context messages or action- context messages.

[0046] Patent GB2370728 by Stephen et al. (2000, Symbian as patent applicant) describes additional prior art, sets the motivation for presence information and action-related context messages and defines a method for sending mobile user information in call initiation, proposing a solution adaptable to presence indication and action-related context messages. The proposed solution requires at least two mobile devices implementing the solution and does not cover fixed device to mobile device communications or vice versa.

[0047] Patent US2010322396 by Southerland (2009, Southerland, Cristopher Paul as patent applicant) defines a method for sharing information between devices prior to setup concerning the Carrier ID corresponding to each device's communications network operator. Does not elaborate on how such information is obtained, transmitted or shown to users. [0048] Patent EP3200438 by Gray et al. (2016, Mitel Networks as applicant) cites additional prior art, and defines a method for sending of context information in call setup, and also for handling context information in call setup, namely by integrating it with a rules engine, switching system and call distribution system outside the scope of the patent. The proposed solution does not elaborate on how such information is obtained, transmitted outside the systems of the described embodiment, or shown to users.

[0049] PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES RELATING TO ON-CALL AND ON-CALL-SETUP ADVERTISING

[0050] The moment when a mobile phone user looks at the screen of a ringing phone has two particular characteristics: is it a moment when the user's attention is captured, and the screen, especially on recent phones, is much larger than the space required to present the information relevant for deciding what disposition to give the call. The same happens when a user dials a call: he will look at his phone to make sure the call is starting to progress before holding up the phone to his ear and listen to call progress tones.

[0051] This combination of available screen real estate and nearly undivided user attention creates an excellent opportunity to leverage these two moments for presenting the user with advertisement media. Proof of interest in that opportunity is the large number of patent applications relating to in-call, on-call, after-call and on-call-setup advertisement that have emerged in recent years, even if they are not accompanied by actual products on the market

[0052] Call related advertisement is not new. On the contrary, it has been tried several times, often with dismal results. The first solutions tried to play audio ads to the user in exchange for free call time allowances or discounted rates. A more recent example, patent US6009150 by Kamel (1998, Broadpoint Communications as applicant) proposes just that.

[0053] We propose that the main reason for failures in advertising solutions, especially when related to voice calls and phone calls in general, is intrusiveness, as we will define blow.

[0054] Advertising, in the broadest sense, is the action of calling something to the attention of the public. This is frequently but not always done with commercial objectives, to inform the public of a new product, a new feature or a new price, or to remind the public of the existence of a product or brand, or to convey to the public a suggested association of a product or brand with desirable facts or emotions. Advertising may also have multiple other motivations, including cultural, associative, political, religious or social, to name but a few. Furthermore, advertisement can be personal, be it commercial advertising of personal services rendered or promoting one's desired image to an audience of friends, acquaintances, customers, fans or followers.

[0055] Three of the main methods through which advertising realizes its function are:

1. reaching as large as group of people as possible;

2. playing/displaying the ad in such a way and at such a time as to capture a person's attention; and

3. providing a captivating ad that will, by way of its content or presentation, draw the person's attention

[0056] To reach as many people as possible, advertising is frequently placed in highly visible spaces, either (but not limited to) physical (e.g. billboards and posters), benefiting from an ideally large number of passers-by , in broadcast media (e.g. advertising on TV or radio), trying to reach a wide number of people that watch or hear a given program at a given time, in print (e.g. newspapers and magazines) reaching the people that buy print media but also those that borrow it to read or simply pass a newsstand on the street, and online in websites and applications, including mobile applications.

[0057] People will sometimes have a negative reaction to advertising, frequently not reacting negatively to the advertisements in themselves but to the fact that advertisements exist at all on a given platform or media.

The main objections to advertising are related to intrusiveness, being defined as something that obstructs, distracts or delays the person in using the platform or media they intended.

[0058] A notable example comes from television ads, of which some people complain about the frequency and duration of commercial breaks, sometimes, reportedly, taking longer than the TV show they are shown in. Another example is website banners and popups, that sometimes make websites harder to read and slower to load. Yet another example is mobile app banners and popups, that disrupt application experience by delaying and distracting, and obstruct use by taking up valuable screen space. [0059] Objections to advertising may induce people to stop watching or using a platform or media because they feel saturated with the intrusiveness and disruptions caused by excessive advertising.

[0060] More frequently people will try to circumvent the advertising so they can enjoy the platform or media. This has happened in TV, for instance, with Digital Video Recorders that enabled people to records shows while skipping the commercials, still happens with Digital TV solutions that enable you to watch programs aired earlier and then fast-forward through the commercials, or people that download series they have available on TV but would rather watch them as a download because of the lack of commercials.

In online advertising, recent years have seen a proliferation of ad-blocking software that an increasing number of people have installed in order to avoid popups, longer page loading times and harvesting of personally identifiable information by advertisers.

[0061] Mobile advertising has also seen a number of countermeasures and solutions to eradicate ads, from mobile browser ad-blockers to combines VPN and DNS solutions that block app ads from loading.

[0062] Another problem with mobile app advertising is that people use some mobile apps for a long time (e.g. Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, some games) while other are used occasionally or only for a short time. This seriously compromises the potential advertising revenue of less popular applications and applications that are not games, messaging platforms, social networks or browsing solutions, by exposing the advertisements to less people, diminishing advertisement reach.

[0063] Another problem in advertising is ensuring relevance of the ad to people. Selection of the most relevant ads to show a given user, and of the best users to be shown a certain ad is known as targeting. In most cases, ads to be shown on a given platform or media are selected by advertisers based on the platform or media content, broad regional areas and approximate metrics of the average demographic that usually uses said platform or consumes said media. Major effort is made by advertisers, platforms and media providers to enhance the information available about users in order to offer advertisers more and better targeting information, namely to obtain specific data about the user's demographic, location, likes and dislikes, that will improve targeting. Any solution that significantly enhances ad targeting capability is a major improvement to the advertising community. [0064] We propose that the main problems with mobile phone advertisement today are: intrusiveness; targeting; and reach.

[0065] As far as advertising is concerned, and in a near-real-time situation such as the placement, establishment and duration of a phone call, intrusiveness can be defined as anything that delays the call; interrupts the call; obstructs the call or call related operations; diverts the call; distracts from the call; intercepts the call, exposing the parties to potential privacy concerns; or interferes with call flow, potentially introducing additional points of failure in the call path, degrading audio quality or introducing delay.

[0066] Intrusiveness in any call-related advertising solution will lead to user discontent and low adhesion to the solution, requiring further benefits to be provided to the users in exchange for being the recipients of advertising, lowering the profit advertising system owners and operators may obtain from the solution, and potentially leading to the solution's ineffectiveness on the market and its eventual demise.

[0067] Reach in a mobile call-related advertising solution depends largely on the number of users the solution may attract, said number being dependent on multiple factors of which the technical merits of the solution are just one. Reach, on the other hand, may be diminished if the solution is perceived as intrusive.

[0068] Targeting is the ability to select from a universe of users which ones will be the recipients of a particular ad or ad campaign. Targeting is based on many factors and is studied by advertising professionals using a plurality of algorithms. But the vectors on which a targeting strategy is built haven't changed much in recent years. Targeting is built, for instance, on user demographic characteristics, user manifest interests, and locations. In media advertising targeting may be based on media content, subject or general theme. Online advertising replicated much of the print media and TV strategies by focusing on the kind of site offering the ads and the kind of content being shown. Recent advancements in advertising strategies are merely online, more modern and faster versions of age-old strategies like sponsored content or infomercials. The advent of Al may be a game changer but it will take some time to bear fruit.

[0069] The last major breakthrough on targeting was the introduction, around 1998, of search- based advertising. Advertisers finally could target their ads to something users were actually looking for. 20 years later, search-based advertising is one of the principal revenue streams of one of the world's largest companies by market cap. [0070] Ad targeting on a call-related situation creates a completely new targeting vector that may be used by advertisers. By using a combination of the calling number and the called number, which only occurs in the context of a call, advertisers, by combining said combination with all the other available target vectors - demographics if the user is know, location when available, time of day, day of week, etc., create new and innovative advertising campaigns and opportunities. Potentially, looking at the number of mobile users in the world and the number of phone calls made each day, ad-related targeting may become a very relevant segment both from a visibility and a profitability standpoint.

[0071] Using the combination of called number / calling number associated with existing target vectors advertisers may offer campaigns such as, for example:

1. Any mobile numbers being called from the Car Brand A call center will be shown a promotional video of Cars Brand A's new Model 7 car

2. Any mobile numbers that call the helpdesk line of Company X will receive a video ad highlighting how Company Z's products are much more reliable

3. Friends of Mr. John Smith, contained on a list of numbers provided by John Smith to a personal advertising website associated with the invention, that call John Smith's mobile or landline number in the next 6 days will be greeted by a video of John Smith inviting them to his upcoming 50th birthday 7 days from today

4. Any women between 20 and 45 in a radius of 1 km to Hairdresser H between the hours of 10:00 and 15:00 today will be shown an ad about new hair treatments and a special Happy Hour promotion today after 17:00

5. Anyone that makes or places a call between 1 1 :30 and 13:00 every weekday while being inside a defined geographic polygon located around Restaurant R will be shown an image with the day's specials menu and prices.

[0072] A final problem in call-related advertising comes from the difficulties and costs in implementing some of the proposed solutions themselves. Some solutions require software changes to mobile operating systems, placing the solutions solely in the hands of equipment manufacturers or system owners, and forcing a rolling upgrade of existing hardware of software already deployed to users. Others require changes to the switching or server infrastructure of network and telecom operators, imposing costs and risks of performing changes to critical infrastructures, and limiting the reach of the solution to operator networks that have already deployed the solution. [0073] PRIOR ATTEMPTS AT GRABBING THE OPPORTUNITIES AND SOLVING THE PROBLEMS STATUS OF CALL-RELATED ADVERTISING

[0074] Some proposed ideas, in our opinion, miss the opportunities and fall prey to the problems. Patent KR101631292 by Shin (2015, Shin Jeong Hun as applicant) proposes a pop-up-like ad to be shown after a call is terminated. This corresponds to intrusive behavior by consuming the user's time and forcing a delay between the end of a call and continues usage of the mobile phone. Furthermore, the method presented by Shin shows a randomized or algorithmized ad, not using the Caller Number or Called Number information for inclusion in the ad selection criteria.

[0075] The system and method presented by Patent US2018089721 by Abraham (2016, Abraham Alexandre as applicant) is intrusive by introducing delay and interfering with call reception mechanisms, as it delays connection of the call until after an ad is played to the receiving user. Furthermore, neither the Caller Number or Called Number nor a combination thereof are used as a potential vector for ad targeting.

[0076] Patent KR20180052338 by Jung (2016, Implus Co as applicant) proposes a mobile advertisement system based on smartphone application that does not provide good targeting capabilities by not proposing an algorithm for selection of the ad to show and by not sending either the Caller Number or Called Number to the ad selection server. Furthermore it introduces intrusiveness by forcing the receiving user to wait for a minimum specified period of time while the ad plays before the user is allowed to answer the call.

[0077] Patent US2003092432 by Hwang (2001 , Hwang Woo-Won as applicant) proposes an integrated caller id with the capability of also presenting an ad. The proposed solution only works on inbound calls, therefore limiting the reach of the solution, and presents no method for selecting the ad, not using either the Caller Number or Called Number nor a combination thereof are used as a potential vector for ad targeting.

[0078] Patent US2015036810 by Rashid et al. (2004, Rashid et al. as applicants) proposes a system that requires a call management system that requires new infrastructure setup in the telecommunications operator network and requires the call management system to take an active part in the sending of the advertisement message. It is also limited to voice and text messaging. [0079] Patent US201 3052997 by Killick et al. (201 1 , Cisco tech Inc as applicant) provides a method for selecting multimedia as a caller device and playing it at a called device, by attaching multimedia content to the outgoing call. It has no capability of showing an ad on an outgoing call or being compatible with an ad server selecting and showing campaigns without calling user intervention.

[0080] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0081 ] The following paragraphs describe the invention and how it solved the extant problems in the field.

[0082] UTILITY AND PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION

[0083] The invention enables the use of the screens of smartphones, com puters, or other display and com puting devices used in establishing voice calls, to display information while the user waits for the counterpart to answer the call in the case of calls placed from the device, and on the screen that alerts you to incoming calls, for incoming calls on the device.

[0084] This information can be of two types, textual or visual.

[0085] The textual information corresponds to a line of text, typically defined by the counterpart of who receives the information.

[0086] In the case of calls to the user's number, the information is displayed to anyone that calls the user's num ber, even before the user answers the call, rejects the call, or performs any action, even when the user's phone is out of cell range or turned off. This information can be used by a user to, for example, define status messages that inform their counterparts of any particular situation that affects their ability to answer calls during a given period - for example, in a meeting, without battery, or abroad.

[0087] In the case of calls made by the user, the information is displayed to the counterparty whom the user calls, being presented even before the counterparty answers or rejects the call. It can typically be used to convey relevant information that may affect the decision of the counterparty to answer the call from the user.

[0088] Visual information can be subdivided into two types - images and videos. [0089] Like textual information, visual information is defined by a user to be displayed to its counterparts, whether the user initiates the call or receives it.

[0090] It can be used, for exam ple, as a form of personalization, with an illustrative audio parallel being custom ringtones that are commonly used in com munications operators. It may also be used for the transmission of useful information by the user, for example a change of address or profession, or information about an event of personal or professional life.

[0091 ] In a context of professional use, a user may use a visual message, in the form of a video, to announce and inform all those who call or who call him about the services he provides or goods he sells, about a new offer or about a promotion.

[0092] In another, possibly more relevant, aspect the information to be displayed may be defined not by the user but by an entity that exploits and manages the system implementing the invention. In this scenario, advertising information for a specific target audience and defined criteria, such as called number, caller number, date and time, location of the mobile device, and so on may be displayed in each call.

[0093] INVENTIVE CHARACTER AND DIFFERENTIATING CHARACTERISTICS

[0094] As an advertising channel, the invention creates a new type of advertising medium, ads on calls, covering a huge num ber of potential users - all users of smartphones or other com munication equipment with a screen and the ability to run applications - at a time prone to capturing the user's attention - when calls are made and received, where all users look at the screen of their phones - and with innovative audience selection capabilities through fine selection criteria that include calling numbers and the number called.

[0095] As a communication and information channel, the invention provides users with the ability to transmit text, image and video messages to all callers who call or call them, even before the telephone call is established.

[0096] By creating the technical means for a low-intrusive, high-visibility advertising com munication channel anchored in a base functionality of the equipment and mobile network such as telephone calls, this invention allows a new model of funding in the mobile com munications sector by opening doors for advertising-based funding, controllable by com munications operators and / or equipment manufacturers and integrators.

[0097] The invention is innovative by solving the technical problems identified in [0019] through [0026], pertaining to the subject of remote party identification, with significant advancement in regard to prior art mentioned in [0032] through [0039]; the invention also solves the technical problems identified in [0040] through [0042], pertaining to the subject of pre-call information sharing, with significant advancement in regard to prior art mentioned in [0044] through [0048]; the invention furthermore solves the technical problems identified in [0049] through [0072], pertaining to the subject of on-call-setup advertisement, with significant advancement in regard to prior art mentioned in [0073] through [0079]

[0098] SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0099] The invention describes a method and system that allows information, not related to the technical establishment of the call, to be sent to one or both parties to the call during the call set up phase. This information may be textual, graphic or videographic in nature, and is presented independently to each party initiating or receiving the call in a device containing an implementation of the invention. The information to be sent is dynamically selected and can be based on the device num ber, called number or caller, device location at the time of the call, device date and time, or other the user or any combination of parameters. This information is not related to the technical establishment of the call and does not alter or interfere with the existing call establishment or the existing signaling mechanisms and is therefore fully com patible with existing telephone systems and networks. Mixed calls are thus possible involving devices containing an implementation of the invention and others which do not contain it, without this posing any technical difficulty for either the users or the operators of the com munications network.

[0100] DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE SUPPORTING THE PREFERRED IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INVENTION

[0101 ] In its preferred embodiment, represented schematically in [Figure 2], the invention is implemented by means of a com puter program called "client" running on a smartphone or other equivalent function device such as those represented in [F2.101 ] and [F2.102], which com municates via the Internet, represented in [F2202] with a server com puter system [F2.301 ] in which a com puter program said "server" of the invention is executed.

[0102] In the preferred implementation of the invention the client program is an application [F3.001 ] for mobile operating systems (Android and others), available in the standard application distribution channels of this type. After user installation on a compatible terminal device, the preferred implementation of the application registers with the operating system to receive notifications of call set-up and call reception events using the standard mobile operating system mechanisms. In this way, the application will be invoked and can execute code whenever an event of this nature occurs in the system. When this notification is received and during the call setup phase [FI .001], the application will activate a screen of the application [F4.001 ] or [F4.002], which will override the standard establishment or reception windows of calls. This screen, called the call setup mask [F4.001] and the call reception mask [F4.002], will allow communication to the user, even before the call is established, that is, respectively, while the telephone of the other party touches, and before answering the call, additional textual information [F4.009] and graph [F4.004] previously defined by the other party, or by third parties, according to rules of identification of called number and caller number, location geographical, moment of time, and others.

[0103] Once the transition from call state to the subsequent states [F1.003], [F1.006] or [F1.007] is made, the application screen [F4.001] or [F4.002] disappears automatically, giving rise to to the normal screen of the mobile operating system.

[0104] In an alternate implementation of the invention, the application screen [F4.001 ] or [F4.002] does not automatically disappear in the transition to the states [F1.003], [F1.006] or [F1.007], being present throughout the duration of the call and disappears, immediately or after a programmable delay, once the call is finished. In a variant of this implementation, the application [F3.001] can use distinct visual messages throughout each of the steps of the call and after the conclusion of the call, and may allow the interaction of the user with the visual message by clicking on the same or an identified area of it, which will cause the opening of a link or an application in the device.

[0105] In another alternative implementation of the invention, the manufacturer or the integrator of the mobile operating system incorporates screens equivalent to [F4.001] and [F4.002], namely containing the additional textual information [F4.009] and / or graphic [F4. 004] in the screens of the mobile operating system for establishing and receiving calls, in practice replacing the screens of the mobile operating system by the screens of the invention.

[0106] [Figure 3] represents, in the preferred implementation of the invention, a computer program [F3.001] which is executed in a device [F3.002], a computer program [F3.007] which is executed on a server [F3. 008], a database [F3.009] which stores parameterization and information necessary for the operation of the invention and a support website [F3.006] which provides a complementary way for users to interact with the invention using a standard browser [F3 .004]

[0107] In the preferred implementation of the invention, the application [F3.001], whenever notified by the mobile operating system of an event of establishment or reception of a call, communicates with the component [F3.007] of the invention implemented in the server, sending it the information [F5.001] referring to the direction of the call (established or received), called number and caller number, geographical coordinates of the device at the time of the call (actual or approximate, obtained via GPS or mobile network through the functionalities of the mobile operating system ), date and local time of the device, telephone status information (available load, wifi on or off, mobile network type - GPRS, 3G, 4g) and a true / false indication of the presence or absence of the other party's number in the device's contact list, as well as any contact groups to which it belongs, if that feature is available on the mobile operating system.

[0108] The server's [F5.002] response [F3.007] will include the preferred user name of the called or called telephone number, if registered as a user of the invention, its contact image (user's picture or another picture by him selected), a user defined textual message and a user defined picture message. Additional information concerning both the textual message and the visual message may be transmitted, in particular a description of each message and a URL associated with each message. In alternative implementations the textual and / or graphic message may, in cases defined according to business rules, be replaced by a message, correspondingly textual and / or graphic defined by the manager of the im plementation of the invention.

[0109] Com munication between the application [F3.001 ] and the server [F3.007] is performed using the standard protocol HTTPS or HTTP or similar protocol, the data being sent and received encoded in XML or JSON or similar encoding, depending on the implementation. The preferred implementation of the application uses HTTPS and JSON. Whenever a binary object, such as an image or video, is referenced, this reference is made through a URL served by the Webserver of the website [F3.006] or another website managed by the implementation manager of the invention, the binary object being downloaded from the server to the application using the HTTPS protocol.

[01 10] FUNCTIONALITIES OF THE INVENTION

[01 1 1 ] FUNCTIONALITY: REGISTRATION

[01 12] The invention contains, at server level [F3.008], a database [F3.009] of registered users. Registration is performed at the time of installation of the application [F3.001] or alternatively through the website [F3.004]

[01 13] In the registration process the user is provided the following information:

[01 14] Userid to use

[01 1 5] Password to use

[01 16] Name

[01 17] Company (optional)

[01 18] Address (optional)

[01 19] Date of birth

[0120] Email address

[0121 ] Photo or Representative Image (Avatar)

[0122] Other Alternate Contacts [0123] In the registration process the user chooses an identifying name - userid - and password to access the invention website [F3.004] and application server [F3.007]

[0124] In the registration process, the user is obliged to provide the telephone number to which the registration should be associated. The telephone number is confirmed through the usual means of confirming access and ownership, such as sending an SMS or making a confirmation call, to prevent third parties from improperly registering phones that do not belong to them.

[0125] In some implementations of the invention, it will be allowed to register, for the same user, more than one associated telephone number, each being verified.

[0126] FUNCTIONALITY: DEFINITION OF CUSTOM NAME AND IMAGE

[0127] The invention allows the user to define their own name and contact image, this being a photo or other image which the user understands representative. This contact image will be the one that is displayed to other users of the app when they call you or receive a phone call from you. This allows the user to manage his or her own personalized image with his contacts, since he is the user who controls the name and photo with which he is identified in the calls, instead of being represented by the name and image with which the your contacts have registered you in your device's contact list. Compared with other alternatives such as connecting the device contacts to a social network and using the contact image present in that network, the invention has the advantage of being specific for the purpose of making or receiving calls, being independent of other social networks, and allow each user a different image in social networks and in telephone contacts.

[0128] In the preferred implementation, the user also has the ability to define multiple names and identifying images and associate each one with rules that allow to select to whom and under what circumstances each of them is shown.

[0129] For the sake of convenience and safety of all users, the preferred implementation will identify, in the establishment and reception of calls, distinctively the names and images provided by the users of the invention, distinguishing them from the names and images present in the contact list of the user's device.

[0130] The preferred implementation, through an individual preference screen, will allow each application user [F3.001] to choose:

[0131] See, preferably, names and images of the database of the invention, and see names and images of the contact list of the device only when they do not exist in the database of the invention

[0132] See, preferably, names and images of the device's contact list, and view names and images of the invention database only when they do not exist in the device's contact list [0133] Preferably, see names and images of the invention database only when the num ber exists as a contact in the contact list of the device, and see names and images of the contact list of the device only when they do not exist in the database of the invention

[0134] View only names and pictures from your device's contact list

[0135] The implementer of the invention shall im plement measures, whenever possible and appropriate, to verify the veracity of the names and images recorded by the users in the database; you can, for exam ple, inhibit non-validated names from being displayed to other users, or mark validated and non-validated names and images differently.

[0136] FUNCTIONALITY: DEFINITION OF TEXTUAL INFORMATION TO TRANSMIT

[0137] The invention allows the user to define a textual message of limited length, to be displayed on the call set-up screen of all users who call it, and to be displayed on the call receiving screen of all users to whom it is called.

[0138] In the preferred implementation, the user also has the ability to define multiple textual messages and associate each of them with rules that allow us to select to whom and under what circumstances each of them is shown.

[0139] The user may, at any time, change his message or textual messages, thus allowing a dynamic communication with his interlocutors about situations that may affect his ability or availability to receive calls, or transmit any other information he understands.

[0140] FUNCTIONALITY: DEFINITION OF VISUAL INFORMATION - IMAGE AND VIDEO - TRANSMIT

[0141 ] The invention allows the user to define an image or video message of limited length to be displayed on the call set-up screen of all users who call it and to be displayed on the call receiving screen of all users to whom it is called .

[0142] In the preferred im plementation, the user also has the ability to define multiple visual messages and associate each one with rules that allow one to select who and under what circumstances each of them is shown.

[0143] The user can, at any moment, change his message or visual messages, thus allowing a dynamic com munication with his interlocutors even before the establishment of the telephone call. [0144] FUNCTIONALITY: RECEIVING AND TRANSMITTING INFORMATION PRIOR TO CALL ESTABLISHMENT

[0145] The invention has the capability of presenting to the user, at a time prior to the establishment of a telephone call, the following information:

[0146] Call information:

[0147] Caller number or caller number depending on whether the call is outgoing (established from the device to another number) or incoming (received on the device and originating from another number);

[0148] Name of the called contact or caller;

[0149] Photo or picture of the called contact or caller;

[0150] Functional Information;

[0151] A custom textual message, defined by the other party, called or called;

[0152] A personalized visual message, in the form of an image, defined by the other party;

[0153] A custom video message, defined by the other party.

[0154] The invention also presents the user with Call Control Buttons to allow standard interaction with the voice call:

[0155] In the preferred embodiment, the following buttons may be presented in Inbound

Calls:

[0156] Answer;

[0157] Reject;

[0158] Ignore.

[0159] In the preferred embodiment, the following buttons may be presented in Outbound

Calls:

[0160] Cancel.

[0161] Under certain conditions the textual and / or visual messages mentioned in [0150] through [0153] may be defined by the entity administering the network implementing the invention. [0162] USE WITH FIXED NETWORK NUMBERS AND OTHER NUMBERS THAT DO NOT ALLOW USE OF THE APPLICATION

[0163] The invention allows a user to register and configure his communication options - identity, profile image, textual messages, visual messages - from the invention's website [F3.006] This capability of the invention allows identity and message parameterization to be parameterized for num bers in which application [F3.001 ] is not possible, thus enabling the identity and personalized messages of fixed business num bers, home fixed numbers, mobile phones without smartphone functionalities or incom patible with the application [F3.001 ]

[0164] SETTING CALL SELECTION CRITERIA

[0165] The invention allows the com munication of each piece of information, be it the identification (name and image) of the user; the textual message; and visual message are conditioned by user-definable call selection criteria using application [F3.001 ] or site [F3.006]

[0166] The invention allows the selection and filtering of calls by any combination of the following criteria:

[0167] Called num ber

[0168] Calling number

[0169] Called mobile number network

[0170] Caller number mobile network

[0171 ] GPS zone of origin of the call

[0172] Destination GPS zone

[0173] Date the call starts

[0174] Time the call starts

[0175] Day of the week the call starts

[0176] Day of the month the call starts

[0177] Presence of the called / caller num ber in the device's contact list

[0178] Incoming call from an unidentified num ber

[0179] Presence of the called / calling party in the database of the invention [0180] REVIEWING MESSAGES, PICTURES, AND VIDEOS RECEIVED IN CALLS

[0181 ] The invention allows a user to access a list of the recently made and received calls in which textual, image or video information has been received and displays:

[0182] The data of the call (called number and caller, identification of the other party, date and time of the call)

[0183] The received text message

[0184] The visual message - image or video - received, including the ability to view and play the video

[0185] A descriptive text associated with each image or video received, parameterized by the user who defined the message

[0186] A URL associated with each image or video received, parameterized by the user who defined the message, able to interact with that URL to open the associated website.

[0187] REVIEWING MESSAGES, PICTURES, AND VIDEOS VIEWED BY OTHERS

[0188] The invention allows a user to access a list of textual, image and video messages that he has defined and presented to other parties and displays:

[0189] The data of the call (called number and caller, identification of the other party, date and time of the call)

[0190] The received text message

[0191 ] The visual message - image or video - received, including the ability to view and play the video

[0192] A descriptive text associated with each image or video received, parameterized by the user who defined the message

[0193] A URL associated with each image or video received, parameterized by the user who defined the message, able to interact with that URL to open the associated website

[0194] Indication of whether, yes or no, the other party viewed the associated descriptive text; if yes, date and time of this event [0195] Indication of whether, yes or no, the other party interacted with the associated URL; if yes, date and time of this event

[0196] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0197] ARCHITECTURE & COMPONENTS

[0198] The invention includes a standard web server [F3.008], running a specialized com puter program [F3.007] that accepts and responds to requests over the HTTP and HTTPS protocol, receiving specific data structures and responding with specific data structures, encoded in XM L, JSON, or similar encoding.

[0199] The program [F3.007] com municates with, accesses, and stores information in a database [F3.009], using a data model adequate to representing the information required for invention functionality.

[0200] The invention also includes [F3.001 ] a com puter program (application) specifically designed for running on application-capable mobile phones, so-called smartphones. The use of the invention requires the installation of the application [F3.001 ] on one or more devices [F3.002] connected through a data network, such as the internet, to the server [F.3.008], as illustrated in [ Figure 2).

[0201 ] The preferred implementation takes into account that the data connection between the application [F3.001 ] and the server [F3.008] may be permanent or transient in nature, there may be connection failures and times when the connection is not possible to be established.

[0202] APPLICATION INSTALLATION

[0203] The installation of the application in the device is done by any of the standardized ways of installing applications in the equipment, namely being downloaded from an "Application Store", downloaded from a site, received through a file or installed by physical connection to a com puter. In some embodiments, the application may be embedded in another application, providing extended functionality.

[0204] USER REGISTRATION ON THE WEBSITE [0205] The use of the invention presupposes registration of the users in the database [F3.009] of the invention.

[0206] It is possible to register the user at the site of the invention [F3.006] prior to installing the application on the mobile device [F3.002]

[0207] Registration at the site of the invention is done by selecting a userid (userid) and choosing a password, and filling in an information form identifying the user. The information to be collected, which is recorded in the database, is that indicated in [01 1 1 ] through [0125]

[0208] The userid are unique throughout the system. In the preferred implementation of the invention, the userid corresponds to an e-mail address.

[0209] In the preferred im plementation of the invention, the email address reported by the user is checked before the registration becomes effective. For e-mail verification, a random verification code with, for example, 8 characters is generated, this code being sent by e-mail to the address indicated by the user at the time of registration. The completion of the registration process, called "registration confirmation", will require the introduction of this code on the site [F3.006] of the invention, in a specific option available for this purpose.

[0210] Between the time of registration and the time of confirmation of registration the user account is created but is not available for any other functionality. In the preferred im plementation of the invention, the registration account remains in this state for a maximum period of 60 to 120 minutes and is subsequently automatically deleted by a periodic process. After the registration is confirmed, the account becomes permanent and remains so until it is explicitly deleted from the system.

[021 1 ] The site of the invention [F3.006] provides, in addition to the Registration functionality, Login functionality. Consultation of User Registration in the Database, Modification of User Data, Registration and Management of Telephone Numbers, Consultation and Management of Associated Devices, and Elimination of Registration.

[0212] USER REGISTRATION IN THE APPLICATION

[0213] User registration is possible when the Application is installed on the Device. The Application will request, like the site, the choice of a userid and a password. The userid and password created through the application are valid for use on the site.

[0214] Registration through the application will request the same information requested in the registration process on the website, which is indicated in [01 1 1 ] through [0125] [021 5] The application will have functionality to select, in the image bank of the device, the image that the user wishes to represent in the invention (photo or avatar), or, alternatively, take a photograph using the camera of the device.

[0216] Registration through the application will, in the preferred im plementation of the invention, also be subject to validation of the user's email address, similarly to the registration on the website, the confirmation code being introduced in this application, this time.

[0217] USE IN THE APPLICATION FOR CREDENTIALS OF A RECORD MADE ON THE SITE

[0218] A user who has previously registered on the site and has a valid userid and password can use these credentials to authenticate to the application instead of re-registering.

[0219] USE OF THIRD PARTY AUTHENTICATION

[0220] In some implementations of the invention, the user may elect instead to register with the application or the site by logging on using third party authentication that provides authentication and identity verification APIs such as OAuth or others. Exam ples of third parties that make this feature available in 2016 are Google and Facebook. Through authentication via third parties, the invention will obtain from the third party the data required for registration indicated in [01 1 1 ] through [0125]

[0221 ] REGISTRATION OF TELEPHONE NUM BERS

[0222] A registered user can associate a phone number with your registration. This telephone num ber will be recorded in the database and will be used by the invention to determine the telephone calls that originate or target this user.

[0223] In some implementations of the invention, more than one telephone number may be associated with the same user record.

[0224] To associate a phone number with a user record, the user must use the appropriate functionality available on the site and in the application. After indicating the telephone number to associate, the system will generate a random secret code, which will be com municated to the user via SMS or voice telephone call, to the telephone number to be associated. The phone num ber combination will only take effect once you enter the com municated secret code on the website or in the application. In this way you can ensure that a user can only associate with his registration telephone numbers that he owns or has access to.

[0225] Each phone number will be associated with at most one user record. Joining a new record from a previously associated phone number to another will delete the original record association.

[0226] CAMPAIGN PREPARATION

[0227] The main object of the invention is the distribution of personal, institutional or commercial information to others through the screens of making and receiving calls.

[0228] The information to be made available is organized into campaigns; each campaign is composed of one or more pieces of information to make available (images, videos and / or texts), a set of campaign execution criteria, and one or more campaign target definitions. Campaign targets let you select the users and devices to whom the information will be displayed.

[0229] This selection may be made by any of the criteria listed in [0166] through [0179]

[0230] Each user can create campaigns.

[0231] Campaigns may be active or inactive.

[0232] The system implementing the invention only displays information contained in the active campaigns.

[0233] For each campaign you can set your start and end dates. For each campaign you can set a priority; the preferred implementation of the invention will display the information of the different campaigns according to the priority defined by the user.

[0234] Example of using priorities, 1 user, 3 campaigns, for 60 calls

[0235] A maximum num ber of views can be set for each cam paign. Once displayed as many times as you set by your cap, the campaign will be inactivated.

[0236] Cam paigns are recorded in the database of the invention according to the data model.

[0237] The pieces of textual and visual information, whether messages, images or videos, are recorded in the database of the invention, associated with the campaign to which they belong.

[0228] In some implementations of the invention it will be possible to define cam paigns which are not associated with a user but which apply to any call recorded in the invention, according to the campaign execution criteria and the defined targets. These cam paigns are called System Cam paigns. The display of information from these cam paigns is toggled by displaying the user's campaigns according to a priority table.

[0239] Example of use of user versus system priorities (merely illustrative), for 50 calls

[0240] In some implementations of the invention it will be possible to define priority cam paigns. These campaigns are not associated with a user and appear on all calls that meet your criteria and target. They are used for the dissemination of urgent or priority information, either on the system and the invention or from public institutions, such as civil protection services,

[0241 ] RUNNING THE APPLICATION IN LISTENER MODE

[0242] Once started, the application runs in the device as a service in the background, not displaying any active screen in its operation. The application registers itself with the mobile operating system in order to be notified whenever an incoming or outgoing call is detected. Whenever this occurs, the application is notified and runs a routine program med specifically for this event.

[0243] ACTIVATION OF THE APPLICATION AT THE TIME OF THE CALLS [0244] When an event corresponding to an incoming or outgoing call is detected, the application is invoked and starts a set of tasks that are detailed:

[0245] PREPARATION OF THE DATA FOR REQUEST TO THE SERVER

[0246] The application collects, through calls to functions of the operating system, the following information:

[0247] Call direction (inbound / outbound)

[0248] Own number

[0249] Counterparty number

[0250] Information (yes / no) on the presence of the counterpart number in the device directory

[0251] Device GPS coordinates

[0252] Date and local time

[0253] SCHEDULING THE APPLICATION WINDOW DISPLAY

[0254] In some implementations of the invention, the establishment and reception of calls trigger, on the part of the operating system of the device, the display of screens specific to that operating system for the purpose of receiving and placing the call. In these situations, it is necessary for the application to overlay the operating system windows with its own application window, in which it will display the necessary information to the user [Figure 4] In these implementations, it will be necessary to define a delay, calculated according to the operating system and the performance of the device, but normally located between 1 and 3 seconds, to trigger the application window to be displayed so that it conveniently overlaps the operating system windows.

[0255] In some implementations of the invention the operating system maintains, in all cases, partial windows with indication of incoming or outgoing call, as well as controls to answer and reject the call. In this implementations, the application screens [F4.001 ] and [F4.002] will be formatted in order to maintain the visibility of the application elements.

[0256] In some implementations it will be possible for [F4.001] and [F4.002] screens to completely replace the operating system screens. This is the ideal situation. [0257] REQUEST INFORMATION TO THE SERVER

[0258] The application makes a request to the server, presenting as parameters all the data collected in the above paragraph - see [Figure 5]

[0259] The response from the server will include:

[0260] Identification of the counterpart in the database of the invention (if any)

[0261 ] Name

[0262] Company

[0263] Associated image (photo or avatar)

[0264] Cam paign information

[0265] Text information to display (text to display)

[0266] Visual information to display (URL of image or video to display)

[0267] Cam paign Criteria Information

[0268] Cam paign target information

[0269] There will be only one counterpart identification block in the answer; there will be one or more blocks of cam paign information in response, depending on the applicable campaigns determined by the server according to cam paign criteria, targets, and priorities.

[0270] Upon receipt of the server response, the data will be put into memory, updating two internal tables of the application. In these tables will be placed, in addition to the information received, an indication of the date and time the information was received from the server. One of the tables will contain the counterpart information; the other table will contain the cam paign information.

[0271 ] APPLICATION WINDOW VIEW

[0272] The display of the application window [F4.001 ] or [F4.002] will occur, according to the implementation of the invention, immediately or a few seconds after the detection of the calling event. [0273] QUERYING THE LOCAL DATA STRUCTURE - VISUAL AND TEXTUAL MESSAGES

[0274] The application window [F4.001 ] or [F4.002], when displayed, will read from the internal campaign information table, mentioned in [0270], The textual and visual message information to be displayed, and make that information visible , respectively, in the fields [F4.009] and [F4.004]

[0275] QUERYING THE LOCAL DATA STRUCTURE - IDENTIFICATION OF THE OTHER PARTY

[0276] The application window [F4.001 ] or [F4.002], when displayed, will read from the internal information table of the campaign, mentioned in [0270], The information of the counterparty to be displayed.

[0277] According to the rules defined in user preferences, according to [0126] through [0135], the application will identify the name of the counterpart and its identifying image in the internal counterpart information table or in the contact list of the device.

[0278] The application will make this information visible in the [F4.007] and [F4.003] fields.

[0279] The application will make the counterparty's phone number visible in the [F4.006] field.

[0280] BEHAVIOR IN CASE OF TIMEOUT OR INABILITY TO CONTACT THE SERVER

[0281 ] The process implemented for query in the campaign and counterpart information server presents, as an intrinsic characteristic, the ability to function well in degraded mode when there is no possibility of obtaining information from the server in a timely manner.

[0282] The fact that the request made to the server will asynchronously update an internal table means that, if it is not updated, it still contains the data of the last update made for the information in question.

[0283] Thus, the impossibility of com munication only leads to the outdated information of contacts and cam paigns, not being catastrophic or im peding the operation of the application. The fact that the received cam paign information contains the display and target criteria means that it can be used repeatedly correctly, regardless of its timeliness.

[0284] DEACTIVATING THE APPLICATION WINDOW [0285] Once the call is terminated, the application window [F4.001 ] or [F4.002] will be hidden, returning the device to its normal operation.

[0286] In some implementations of the invention, the application window [F4.001 ] or [F4.002] will only be active during the call setup phase, being hidden once the voice com munication is established.

[0287] IN-APP HISTORY QUERY

[0288] A window can be activated in interactive mode to provide historical query functionality as described in [0181 ]

[0289] SITE HISTORY QUERY

[0290] It will be possible to consult the historical information described in [0181 ] on the site [F3.006] of the invention.

[0291 ] REPORT AGGREGATE DATA TO THIRD-PARTY CAMPAIGNS

[0292] The System Campaigns, as defined in [0226] through [0240], when carried out in favor of third parties, as for example in the case of advertising cam paigns carried out using the invention, will be the subject of informative reports on the num ber of times each piece of information the distribution of these views by times and geographic zones, and by targets defined in macro terms was shown. The information reports communicated to third parties will never contain any type of information that allows a user to be identified.

[0293] SUBSEQUENT COMMUNICATION OF OUTGOING CALLS AND MESSAGES DISPLAYED IN CASE OF DATA NETWORK FAILURE

[0294] Whenever a situation occurs in which a request can not be obtained from the server, or where the request could not even be placed, the application will keep a record of this, together with all the information that would have been com municated to the server if there were conditions techniques.

[0295] Whenever these conditions are reestablished the application will inform the server, in block, of those events.

[0296] PREVIOUS LOADING OF CRITERIA AND MESSAGES FOR PRE-POPULAR INTERNAL TABLES (CACHE)

[0297] In some im plementations of the invention, the application periodically prompts the server for information about ongoing campaigns, pieces of information and counterparts, in order to pre-populate their internal tables with information that can be used immediately in the case of a call.

[0298] In some implementations of the invention, the application will call a server function that will identify, at the server level, which cam paigns, pieces of information, and counterparts to be pre-populated in that particular device.

[0299] APPLICATION CONTACT FREQUENCY CONTROL WITH THE SERVER

[0300] In some im plementations of the invention, the server will produce a listing of users and devices (apps) that did not com municate with the server within a defined interval of time. This listing will identify users who have stopped using the application or for some reason it is not transmitting data. This may be useful in a com mercial application context in which users receive consideration or benefits for the use of the application and the reception of advertising cam paigns permitting knowledge of users who are actually using the invention and distinguish them from those who are not.

[0301 ] INNOVATIVE FEATURES

[0302] The invention presents the following innovations against the state of the art:

[0303] It allows the user to be presented, in the context of establishing or receiving a call, a customized image or video, without this image or video interfering with the normal establishment or progress of the call

[0304] Allows the displayed image or video to be defined by the other part of the call [0305] Allows the image or video to be displayed even if the user who defined them is not available, can not answer, is busy, or has the phone turned off

[0306] Allows the image or video to be displayed even if the user who defined them does not have a terminal device compatible with the invention

[0307] It allows the user to be presented, in the same context of establishing or receiving a call, a customized text message, without this message interfering with the normal establishment or progress of the call

[0308] Allows this message to be defined by the other party to the call

[0309] Allows the message to be displayed even if the user who defined it is not available, can not answer, is busy, or has the phone turned off

[0310] Allows the message to be displayed even if the user who defined it does not have a terminal device compatible with the invention

[031 1] Allows user-defined call selection criteria based on:

[0312] Called number

[0313] Calling number

[0314] Called mobile number network

[0315] Caller number mobile network

[0316] GPS zone of origin of the call

[0317] Destination destination GPS zone

[0318] Date the call starts

[0319] Time the call starts

[0320] Day of the week the call starts

[0321] Day of the month the call starts

[0322] Presence of the called / caller number in the device's contact list

[0323] Incoming call from an unidentified number

[0324] Presence of the called / calling party in the database of the invention

[0325] Allows multiple user-defined images and videos to be defined by the user, associating each of them with one or more call selection criteria

[0326] Allows multiple user-defined textual messages to be defined by the user, associating each of them with one or more call selection criteria [0327] It allows each user to define a name and a personal image (photo or avatar) to be displayed as their identification to the other users of the invention

[0328] Allows multiple user name and image sets to be defined by the user, each associating each with one or more call selection criteria

[0329] Allows, at the option of the user of each device, the received name and personal picture sets to be viewed in the calls on that device instead of those defined in the device's contact list

[0330] Allows, at the option of the user of each device, that the personal name and image sets received in calls on this device can update those defined in the contact list of the device

[0331 ] It allows, at the option of the user of each device, that a set of personal name and image received in a call can be used to create a new contact in the contact list of the device

[0332] It allows the operator or manager of the service that supports the invention and makes it available to users, either in person or in conjunction with third parties: call selection criteria; custom images and videos; messages, and apply the rules arising from those definitions to calls made.

[0333] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0334] The invention has industrial applicability in the creation of a com mercial advertising network where targeted advertisements are shown whenever the user places or receives a call, without such advertisements having a negative impact on the call experience.

[0335] The invention has industrial applicability in the creation of a social-network-like com munity where each user defines his own profile and avatar and has such information presented to other users of the network at the moment when they place or receive a phone call.

[0336] The invention has industrial applicability in a social-network-like community such as described in [0335] where each user may create personal image or video messages or personal advertisements and have such advertisements presented to other users of the network at the moment when they place or receive a phone call.

[0337] The invention has industrial applicability for owners of commonly called numbers, such as contact centers, where company identity, such as name and logo, can be presented to externally calling users or to called users whenever said users are running the invention on the calling or called smartphone.

[0338] The invention has industrial applicability for owners of commonly called numbers, such as contact centers, where image or video advertisements can be presented to externally calling users or to called users whenever said users are running the invention on the calling or called smartphone.

[0339] The invention has industrial applicability for companies owning a mobile VPN that allows users do dial extensions to reach company mobile numbers, by allowing extension caller ID information to be presented, in a corporate controlled manner, in the company smartphones.

Claims

CLAIMS [1] A method for selecting a matching advertisement or list thereof to be shown to a calling user initiating a communication over a communications network or to a called user being the recipient of the communication, whether or nor the communication actually takes place, comprising: a) ascertaining or receiving an unique subscriber identifier for the calling user (USICU), the USICU being the identifier used in the communications network to identify the calling user b) ascertaining or receiving an unique subscriber identifier for the receiving user (USIRU), the USIRU being the identifier used in the communications network to identify the receiving user c) having a criteria table constituted of lines, each line comprising:

1. a calling identifier pattern

2. a called identifier pattern

3. (optionally) a calling network identifier pattern or list thereof

4. (optionally) a called network identifier pattern or list thereof

5. (optionally) a GPS target area or list thereof

7. (optionally) a starting date-time value consisting of a specific date and time and a time-zone string, said time-zone string being left blank to signify local date and time

8. (optionally) an ending date-time value consisting of a specific date and time and a time-zone string, said time-zone string being left blank to signify local date and time

9. (optionally) a day-of-week selection pattern consisting of a binary value of 7 bits length

10. (optionally) an hour-of-day selection pattern consisting of a binary value of 1440 bits length

1 1. (optionally) an device-phonebook-status indicator

12. (optionally) an server-phonebook-status indicator

13. (optionally) an include-undisclosed-numbers indicator

14. (optionally) a list of user profile preferences

15. (optionally) a weighting value

16. an advertisement campaign id

17. (optionally) a partition id

d) (optionally) ascertaining or receiving the calling network identifier

e) (optionally) ascertaining or receiving the called network identifier

f) (optionally) ascertaining or receiving the GPS location of the calling user if the method is being carried out by the calling user or on behalf of the calling user, or the GPS location of the called user if the method is being carried out by the called user or on behalf of the called user

g) (optionally) ascertaining or receiving the local time and date of the calling user if the method is being carried out by the calling user or on behalf of the calling user, or the local time and date of the called user if the method is being carried out by the called user or on behalf of the called user

h) (optionally) ascertaining or receiving an indication of whether the USIRU is present in the local address book if the calling user is using a device to initiate the communication and the device is equipped with a local address book containing unique subscriber identifiers for one or a plurality of user contacts or indication of whether the USICU is present in the local address book if the called user is using a device to receive the communication and the device is equipped with a local address book containing unique subscriber identifiers for one or a plurality of user contacts

i) (optionally) ascertaining or receiving an indication of whether the USIRU is present in a server address book available to the device executing the method if the method is being carried out by the calling user or on behalf of the calling user, or indication of whether the USICU is present in a server address book available to the device executing the method if the method is being carried out by the called user or on behalf of the called user j) (optionally) ascertaining or receiving a user profile associated with the calling user if the method is being carried out by the calling user or on behalf of the calling user, or with the called user if the method is being carried out by the called user or on behalf of the called user, wherein the user profile comprises one or more of: age; age group; gender; socio economic setting; profession; place of residence; place of work; and list of personal interests;

k) comparing the ascertained or received information with each line of the criteria table defined in step c) to evaluate each of the parameters obtained in steps a), b) and d) through i) against a rule defined by applying the criteria defined in numbers 1 through 14 of step c), such that:

1. the USICU obtained in step a) must match the calling identifier pattern

2. the USIRU obtained in step b) must match the called identifier pattern

3. the calling network identifier optionally obtained in step d), if obtained, must match the calling network identifier pattern or one of the calling network identifier patterns in the calling network identifier patterns list

4. the called network identifier optionally obtained in step e), if obtained, must match the called network identifier pattern or one of the called network identifier patterns in the called network identifier patterns list

5. the GPS location optionally obtained in step f), if obtained, must fit geographically within the GPS target area or one of the GPS target areas in the GPS target areas list

6. the local time and date optionally obtained in step g) or, if not obtained, the local time and date of a device executing the method, must be greater than or equal to the starting date-time value and lesser than or equal do the ending date-time value, taking specified time-zone strings into consideration

7. the local time and date optionally obtained in step g) or, if not obtained, the local time and date of a device executing the method must match a day of the week set to the binary value 1 in the day-of-week selection pattern, such pattern being interpreted to signify the leftmost bit corresponding to Sunday and the following bits corresponding to the next days of the week in sequence, with the rightmost bit corresponding to Saturday

8. the local time and date optionally obtained in step g) or, if not obtained, the local time and date of a device executing the method must match an hour and minute of the day set to the binary value 1 in the hour-of day selection pattern, such pattern being interpreted to signify the leftmost bit corresponding to 00:00 and the following bits corresponding to the next minutes of the day in sequence, with the rightmost bit corresponding to 23:59

9. the indication of presence in local address-book optionally obtained in step h), if obtained, must match the device-phonebook-status indicator

10. the indication of presence in server address-book optionally obtained in step i), if obtained, must match the server-phonebook-status indicator

1 1. the user profile

12. if the USICU is blank and the include-undisclosed-numbers indicator is false, the rule will fail

I) if the rule succeeds by successfully applying all the criteria as defined in step j), the advertisement campaign id and the weighting value are added to a list of candidate campaigns m) after processing the lines of the criteria table the resulting list of candidate campaigns is sorted in decreasing order of weighting value

n) the list of candidate campaigns, once ordered, is read and each line is processed in such a way that:

1. each advertisement campaign id is matched on a campaign ad lookup table defined as each line comprising the advertisement campaign id; an advertisement id; and an ad- enabled flag

2. if the ad-enabled flag is true, the advertisement id is added to an advertisement list o) the advertisement list contains the relevant advertisement of list of relevant

advertisements to be shown to the calling user or the called user

p) if invoked remotely, return a response comprising the advertisement list and the list of candidate campaigns

[2] The method of claim [1] wherein the method is being carried out by a terminal

communications equipment that implements the method and all information from steps a) to j) of the method is obtained by ascertaining each piece of information through invoking a plurality of functions local to the terminal communications equipment that implements the method, wherein: the criteria table is obtained locally from a copy of a server criteria table accessed through a caching mechanism and persisted in a non volatile manner; each of the advertisements is obtained locally from a copy of a server advertisement accessed through a caching mechanism and persisted in a non volatile manner and accessible locally through an equivalent reference, further comprising:

i) if the criteria table cannot be obtained locally, a default criteria table will be generated and used as the criteria table

ii) if none of the advertisements can be obtained locally, a set of default advertisements stored locally in a persistent manner will be used as the advertisements

[3] The method of claim [1] wherein the method is being carried out by a server device that implements the method and all information from steps a) to j) of the method is obtained by receiving each piece of information through a request sent by a different device through a means of data communication available to the server device and the response mentioned in step p) is sent to the different device that sent the request

[4] The method of claim [1] wherein step k) of the method uses a more efficient algorithm to accelerate comparison.

[5] The method of claim [1] wherein the USICU cannot be determined by the called user because of privacy options set by the calling user and is represented as a blank string. [6] The method of claim [1] wherein the calling identifier pattern is a unique subscriber identifier.

[7] The method of claim [1] wherein the calling identifier pattern is a partial subscriber identifier.

[8] The method of claim [1] wherein the calling identifier pattern is a regular expression such as defined by Kleene 1961 and subsequent derivations and embodiments.

[9] The method of claim [1] wherein the called identifier pattern is a unique subscriber identifier.

[10] The method of claim [1] wherein the called identifier pattern is a partial subscriber identifier.

[1 1] The method of claim [1] wherein the called identifier pattern is a regular expression such as defined by Kleene 1961 and subsequent derivations and embodiments.

[12] The method of claim [1] wherein the calling network identifier is one of: a specific mobile network operator identifier; a specific fixed network operator identifier; a specific company identifier; and a set of one or a plurality of number patterns expressed as regular expressions.

[13] The method of claim [1] wherein the called network identifier is one of: a specific mobile network operator identifier; a specific fixed network operator identifier; a specific company identifier; and a set of one or a plurality of number patterns expressed as regular expressions.

[14] The method of claim [1 ] wherein each of the GPS areas in the criteria table c) is defined as one of:

1. a circle, being defined as:

1.1. a geographical latitude coordinate

1.2. a geographical longitude coordinate

1.3. a radius, defined as a quantity in meters or other

measurement unit

2. a line, being defined as:

2.1. a geographical latitude coordinate for point A

2.2. a geographical longitude coordinate for point A

2.3. a geographical latitude coordinate for point B

2.4. a geographical longitude coordinate for point B

2.5. a radius, defined as a quantity in meters or other

measurement unit

3. a polygon, being defined as:

3.1. an ordered set comprising a plurality of points, each point being defined as:

3.1.1. a geographical latitude coordinate for the point

3.1.2. a geographical longitude coordinate for the point

3.2. a radius, defined as a quantity in meters or other

measurement unit

4. a blank value.

[15] A method for obtaining a contact information preferences record (CIPR) from a user, said CIPR comprising:

a) a preference for showing the name of a contact, the options for which comprise: from local address book (LAB) only; from server address book (SAB) only; from LAB if exists, from SAB if it doesn't; from SAB if newer than last LAB contact update; from SAB only if verified contact, from LAB if not; and never show

b) a preference for showing the description of a contact, the options for which comprise: from LAB only; from SAB only; from LAB if exists, from SAB if it doesn't; from SAB if newer than last LAB contact update; from SAB only if verified contact, from LAB if not; and never show

c) a preference for showing the image of a contact, the options for which comprise: from LAB only; from SAB only; from LAB if exists, from SAB if it doesn't; from SAB if newer than last LAB contact update; from SAB only if verified contact, from LAB if not; and never show

d) a preference for showing the message of a contact, the options for which comprise: from SAB; from SAB only if verified contact, do not show if not; and never show, the method comprising:

a) reading a saved CIPR from a storage, if the saved CPIR exists is present in the storage b) creating a transient CIPR by copying the saved CIPR in memory, if said saved CPIR was read from the storage, or creating a new CIPR in memory setting all comprised

preferences in the transient CIPR to "from LAB if exists, from SAB if it doesn't" except the preference for showing the message of a contact which sill be set to "from SAB" c) if the saved CIPR was not read from the storage, save the transient CIPR to the storage d) displaying a screen to a user, said screen containing a human readable and editable representation of the transient CIPR, preferably using widgets for selection of options, wherein the screen contains a selectable option for saving the CIPR and a selectable option to cancel edition

e) if the user selects the selectable option for saving the CIPR, save the transient CIPR to the storage

f) if the user selects the selectable option to cancel edition, close the screen.

[16] A method for producing a hybrid combined contact record based on a combination of locally-stored and server-stored information and on user preferences, comprising:

a) on a computer named client device, identifying a phone number for a party of a conversation using caller id identification or called number information

b) on the client device, using the phone number, locate in the local phone book a local contact record that matches the phone number said local contact record comprising one or more of a contact name; (optionally) a contact description; a contact image;

c) on the client device, using the phone number, construct a request for information about the party

d) on the client device, send the request to a computer named address book server, which may be different or the same as the device

e) on the address book server, receive the request at the address book server and locate and read, in an address book server database, a server contact record that matches the phone number, said contact record comprising one or more of a contact name;

(optionally) a contact description; a contact image; (optionally) a contact verification status; and (optionally) a contact status message;

f) on the address book server, read from the address server database a last modification timestamp for each of the contact name; the contact description; and the contact image of the server contact record and store the timestamps in memory as a list of timestamps g) on the address book server, construct a response with information about the party, comprising the server contact record and the list of timestamps

h) on the address book server, send the response in reply to the request

i) on the client device, read a contact information preferences record (CIPR) from a storage j) on the client device, create a transient contact record comprising: a contact name; a contact description; a contact image; a contact message; and a contact validation status k) on the client device, create a contact data origin record comprising: a contact name data origin indicator; a contact description data origin indicator; and a contact image data origin indicator wherein all data origin indicators are originally populated with an implementation defined value indicating that the corresponding field was not populated

L) on the client device, copy each field from the local contact record to the transient contact record, if appropriate according to a set of rules obtained by parsing the CIPR m) on the client device, for each field copied to the transient contact record from the local contact record, update the name-wise corresponding data origin indicator with the character 'L'

n) on the client device, copy each field from the server contact record to the transient contact record, if appropriate according to a set of rules obtained by parsing the CIPR, a set of timestamps obtained by parsing the list of timestamps and a last modification timestamp of the contact in the local phone book

o) on the client device, for each field copied to the transient contact record from the server contact record, update the name-wise corresponding data origin indicator with an implementation defined value indicating that the corresponding field populated from a validated server contact record if the contact verification status exists and is equal to an implementation defined value indicating that the server contact record is validated, or update the the name-wise corresponding data origin indicator with an implementation defined value indicating that the corresponding field populated from a non-validated server contact record if the contact verification status does not exist or is not equal to the implementation defined value indicating that the server contact record is validated n) on the client device, create a combined contact record by copying the transient contact record into a new memory area and destroy the transient contact record

[17] A method for displaying a call establishment screen comprising: a name of a remote party; an image associated with a remote party; a description of a remote party; a status message of a remote party; and an advertisement, on a device display, the method comprising:

a) detecting an inbound call event or an outbound call event

b) creating a presentation data structure for passing to the ad display window, comprising the values of fields to be displayed in the call establishment screen

c) obtaining a local number and a remote number d) preparing a message

d) executing the method defined in claim 16, providing the remote number in case of the inbound call event or the remote number in case of the outbound call event

e) in parallel with step d), perform actions comprising:

i) executing steps a) through j) of at least one of the methods defined in claims [1] through [14] storing all the ascertained information in an ad request data structure ii) sending the ad request data structure to an ad server

iii) receiving the reply consisting of an advertisement list and a list of candidate campaigns

iv) read an ad reference from the advertisement list, requesting an ad corresponding to said ad reference from a server implementing the method of claim 1, said request being performed through a caching mechanism that persists a requested object in a non volatile manner during an implementation specified period of time, said object being retrieved locally is already present in the cache, repeating this step until an ad is successfully read, the advertisement list is exhausted, or an implementation defined timeout has expired

v) if an ad was not obtained in the previous step, read a default ad from a local storage

f) obtain from the execution of step d) a combined contact record and a contact data origin record

g) populate the presentation data structure with the combined contact record information, copying each field of the combined contact record into the corresponding field of the presentation data structure

h) populate the presentation data structure with the ad reference, copying the ad reference into the corresponding field of the presentation data structure

j) display the call establishment screen on the device display

k) if the ad reference is of a video or animated image, instruct the video to be played k) wait for a call termination event

L) remove the the call establishment screen from the device display

[18] A computing device comprising:

a) one or more processors; b) computer memory;

c) a local operating system;

d) one or more computer programs stored in the computer memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors and including instructions for performing at least one of the methods defined in claims [1 ] through [14].

[19] The computing device of claim [18] wherein the computing device comprises a

networking capability and can receive through that networking capability the necessary information for performing at least one of the methods defined in claims [1] through [14].

[20] The computing device of claim [18] wherein the computing device can ascertain, using local data and resources of the local operating system, the necessary information for performing at least one of the methods defined in claims [1 ] through [14].

[21] The computing device of claim [20] wherein the computing device comprises a

networking capability and can communicate with at least one the devices defined in claim [19].

[22] A system comprising one or a plurality of the devices defined in claim [19] and one or a plurality of the devices defined in claim [21 ] wherein method [1] is executed by multiple devices using distributed computing protocols and methods.

[23] The computing device of claim [21] wherein the method of claim [1] is requested from the server of claim [19] and executed remotely on the server.

[24] A computing device comprising:

a) one or more processors;

b) computer memory;

c) a local operating system; d) one or more computer programs stored in the computer memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors and including instructions for performing the method defined in claim [15].

[25] A computing device comprising:

a) one or more processors;

b) computer memory;

c) a local operating system;

d) one or more computer programs stored in the computer memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors and including instructions for performing the method defined in claim [16].

[26] A computing device comprising:

a) one or more processors;

b) computer memory;

c) a local operating system;

d) the capability to perform voice or video communications with another device over a communications network;

e) one or more computer programs stored in the computer memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors and including instructions for performing the method defined in claim [17].

[27] A computing device comprising:

a) one or more processors;

b) computer memory;

c) a local operating system;

d) the capability to perform voice or video communications with another device over a communications network; e) one or more computer programs stored in the computer memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors and including instructions for performing the method defined in claim [15].

[28] A method to provide contextualized contact information from a central database, said database containing a plurality of entries each consisting of:

a) a display name;

b) a display description;

c) a company name;

d) a profile picture;

e) a status text message;

f) a personal multimedia message;

g) a partition identifier;

h) a contact number;

wherein the contextualized contact information returned is one or a plurality of the information a) through f) and where said method is invoked remotely over a computer network using the parameters:

u) a contact number;

v) an other party number;

w) a flag indicating whether the contact number is present in the other party phonebook on a local device;

x) a list of group identifiers wherein each group identifier corresponds to a contact group in the party phonebook on a local device, of which group the contact number is a member of;

y) a partition identifier;

the method consisting of finding in the central database the existing entries a) to f) for which there is a match of the contact number u) with the contact number h) and of the partition identifier y) with the partition identifier g) and returning said entries a) to f).

[29] A computing device comprising: a) one or more processors;

b) computer memory;

c) a local operating system;

d) the capability to perform voice or video communications with another device over a communications network;

e) one or more computer programs stored in the computer memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors and including instructions for performing the method defined in claim [28]

[30] A computing device comprising:

a) one or more processors;

b) computer memory;

c) a local operating system;

d) the capability to perform voice or video communications with another device over a communications network;

e) one or more computer programs stored in the computer memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors and including instructions for allowing a user to query and update the central database referred to in claim [28]

[31] A system wherein a computing device as defined in claim [29] acts as the address book server defined in claim [16].

[32] A system as defined in claim [30] wherein a user can query and update the central database referred to in claim [28] only for a specific value of the partition identifier described in claim [28]

[33] The method defined in claim [15] wherein the user can define and save a partition identifier.

[34] The method defined in claim [16] wherein the request of information about the party includes a partition identifier. [35] A computing device comprising:

a) one or more processors;

b) computer memory;

c) a local operating system;

d) the capability to perform voice or video communications with another device over a communications network;

e) one or more computer programs stored in the computer memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors and including instructions for allowing a user to query and update the criteria table referred to in claim [1 ]