Juno Gets Two More Patents Covering Offline Email

Computergram International, Dec 15, 1998

Juno Online Services LP has secured two more patents to go with the one it got in November. New York-based Juno claims to be the world's second-largest online service provider - after America Online Inc - and offers free dial-up internet access supported by advertising. Users provide Juno with very detailed profiles, which it can use to target users with advertisements.

Both patents relate specifically to the offline nature of Juno's service whereby users download their email with some cached, targeted advertising, and while they are reading email, the Juno software continues to serve ads to them while they are offline. The patent issued in November covered the technology that cached and served the ads while offline. The first of the new patents covers ad scheduling technology, specifically the assignment of attributes to the ads. There are numerous variables that can be applied to the ads, says Richard Buchband, Juno senior VP and general counsel. These include targeting certain holiday periods, maintaining spaces between the rotations, and setting an expiration date and the maximum number of exposures, ensuring a user does not get saturated with a particular advertisements. When new advertisers are signed the technology is also used to figure out where a new ad should be replaced in the rotation for a specific user. The second new patent covers an encryption and authentication system developed by the company to block outside interference with the ad delivery. It ensures that the ad served to the user is free of glitches. The technology also maintains statistics on the ad's displays and the user's interaction with it. The next time the users dials in to Juno, the statistics get uploaded to the system while the emails and ads go in the other direction. Buchband had no comment when asked whether the company has any plans to exercise its patent rights against any particular would- be infringer. Juno also offers web access for $20 a month and an enhanced email service - including attachments - for $3, but is not prepared to release user figures for those services yet.