Maintaining a file specifying a “donut” of dynamic, hierarchical, shared user-profile information. The donut contains a user profile or acts as a key to a data repository containing it, and it specifies user-profile information such as user characteristics, viewing preferences, hobbies, and spending...http://www.google.de/patents/US7949722?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7949722 - Enhanced video programming system and method utilizing user-profile information
