IP Library Granted Patent US 12,695,925
Granted Patent B2
US 12,695,925 · App. 19/437,131 · Granted Jul 28, 2026

Systems and methods for dynamic stitching of advertisements in live stream content

Inventor: Thomas Hamilton Link (Pasadena, CA)
Assignee: SnifferCat, Inc.
H04N21/23424G06Q30/0277H04L65/1089H04L65/612H04L65/75H04L65/765H04N21/2187H04N21/26258H04N21/2668H04N21/47217H04N21/812
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,695,925
App. No.
19/437,131
Filed
Dec 30, 2025
Granted
Jul 28, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2444
USPC
725/32
Abstract

Receiving a first portion of a live stream of a content item being either prerecorded or being captured from a live event, the content item comprising or to comprise a set of stream-enabled video segments, the first portion of the live stream comprising a first subset of stream-enabled video segments. Identifying insertion point(s) within at least one stream-enabled video segment. Generating a first playlist based on the one or more identified insertion points, the first playlist associated with at least a first sub-subset stream-enabled video segments. Providing the first playlist to a consumer system. Receiving a second portion of the live stream comprising a second subset of stream-enabled video segments. Receiving a second playlist associated with the second portion of the live stream. Updating the first playlist based on the second playlist, and providing the updated first playlist to the consumer system.

Claims (41)

1 . A playback system, comprising:

one or more processors;

data storage storing a modified playlist, the modified playlist including a set of uniform resource locators (URLs) identifying content of a content item and assisting in identifying one or more advertisements, a first URL of the set of URLs identifying a first network location associated with a first video segment of the content item, a second URL of the set of URLs identifying a second network location associated with a second video segment first portion stored by a segment modification service, a third URL of the set of URLs identifying a third network location associated with the one or more advertisements, and a fourth URL of the set of URLs identifying a fourth network location associated with a second video segment second portion stored by the segment modification service, the second video segment first portion and the second video segment second portion being portions of a second video segment of the content item, wherein a segment modification service generated at least a portion of the modified playlist by,

receiving the content item from a content provider service, the content provider service being different than the segment modification service;

obtaining an original playlist, the original playlist comprising a set of original URLs to a set of video segments including the first video segment and the second video segment, the first video segment not having any advertisement insertion points and the second video segment having an advertisement insertion point;

identifying no advertisement insertion points in the first video segment;

identifying the advertisement insertion point in the second video segment, thereby identifying the second video segment first portion of the second video segment before the advertisement insertion point and identifying the second video segment second portion of the second video segment after the advertisement insertion point;

storing the second video segment first portion and the second video segment second portion by the segment modification service;

assigning the second URL to the second video segment first portion;

assigning the fourth URL to the second video segment second portion; and

generating the at least a portion of the modified playlist to include at least the first URL, the second URL, and the fourth URL; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the playback system to perform:

requesting the modified playlist;

receiving the modified playlist from a server device;

using the first URL to obtain the first video segment from the first network location for playback;

using the second URL to obtain the second video segment first portion from the second network location for playback after the first video segment;

using the third URL to obtain the one or more advertisements for playback after the second video segment first portion; and

using the fourth URL to obtain the second video segment second portion from the fourth network location for playback after the one or more advertisements.

2 . The playback system of claim 1 , wherein the content item is prerecorded content.

3 . The playback system of claim 1 , wherein the advertisement insertion point includes a set of black frames.

4 . The playback system of claim 1 , wherein the segment modification service is part of the playback system.

5 . The playback system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more advertisements are stored by the segment modification service.

6 . The playback system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more advertisements are stored at the third network location.

7 . The playback system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more advertisements are stored by an advertisement provider system, and wherein the third network location is used to identify the advertisement provider system to select the one or more advertisements.

8 . The playback system of claim 1 , wherein the first network location and the second network location belong to different domains.

9 . The playback system of claim 1 , wherein the segment modification service receives the original playlist from the content provider service, and in response to identifying no advertisement insertion points in the first video segment, the segment modification service discards the first video segment.

10 . A method, comprising:

requesting a modified playlist, the modified playlist including a set of uniform resource locators (URLs) identifying content of a content item and assisting in identifying one or more advertisements, a first URL of the set of URLs identifying a first network location associated with a first video segment of the content item, a second URL of the set of URLs identifying a second network location associated with a second video segment first portion stored by a segment modification service, a third URL of the set of URLs identifying a third network location associated with the one or more advertisements, and a fourth URL of the set of URLs identifying a fourth network location associated with a second video segment second portion stored by the segment modification service, the second video segment first portion and the second video segment second portion being portions of a second video segment of the content item, wherein a segment modification service generated at least a portion of the modified playlist by,

receiving the content item from a content provider service, the content provider service being different than the segment modification service;

obtaining an original playlist, the original playlist comprising a set of original URLs to a set of video segments including the first video segment and the second video segment, the first video segment not having any advertisement insertion points and the second video segment having an advertisement insertion point;

identifying no advertisement insertion points in the first video segment;

identifying the advertisement insertion point in the second video segment, thereby identifying the second video segment first portion of the second video segment before the advertisement insertion point and identifying the second video segment second portion of the second video segment after the advertisement insertion point;

storing the second video segment first portion and the second video segment second portion by the segment modification service;

assigning the second URL to the second video segment first portion;

assigning the fourth URL to the second video segment second portion; and

generating the at least a portion of the modified playlist to include at least the first URL, the second URL, and the fourth URL; and

receiving the modified playlist from a server device;

using the first URL to obtain the first video segment from the first network location for playback;

using the second URL to obtain the second video segment first portion from the second network location for playback after the first video segment;

using the third URL to obtain the one or more advertisements for playback after the second video segment first portion; and

using the fourth URL to obtain the second video segment second portion from the fourth network location for playback after the one or more advertisements.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 30, 2025
From: LINK, THOMAS HAMILTON
To: SNIFFERCAT, INC.
Reel/Frame 073340/0936 →
Continuity (13)
Continuation 19067134 · Feb 28, 2025
Continuation 18587223 · Feb 26, 2024
Continuation 18079761 · Dec 12, 2022
Continuation 17689485 · Mar 8, 2022
Continuation 17080446 · Oct 26, 2020
Continuation 16552264 · Aug 27, 2019
Continuation 15973477 · May 7, 2018
Continuation In Part 15854608 · Dec 26, 2017
Continuation 15438365 · Feb 21, 2017
Continuation In Part 15232561 · Aug 9, 2016
Continuation 15199789 · Jun 30, 2016
Provisional Application 62441286 · Dec 31, 2016
Related Publication 20260129250A1 · May 7, 2026
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