System and method to control sending of unsolicited communications over a network
First Claim
1. A method to control sending of unsolicited communications over a network, the method including:
- generating, at a network-based commerce facility, a contact form to receive a message to be communicated to a recipient user without a sending user viewing direct contact information of the recipient user, and communicating the contact form to the sending user; and
communicating, from the network-based commerce facility, an electronic communication including the message to the recipient user over the network.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method to control sending of unsolicited communications over a network is provided. Typically, the network is the Internet and the system defines a SPAM prevention tool for users of an on-line service, such as an on-line bidding service. Users may contact an intended recipient with a contact form, which is forwarded to the recipient'"'"'s e-mail address by an on-line service provider. A link accessible from a Web site allows recipients of unsolicited e-mail to complain to the on-line service provider. Sanctions are implemented against the sender of unsolicited e-mail based on the frequency of complaints. When the complaint level against a sender reaches a certain threshold, the sender is unable to use the contact form for a predetermined time period.
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Citations
77 Claims
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1. A method to control sending of unsolicited communications over a network, the method including:
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generating, at a network-based commerce facility, a contact form to receive a message to be communicated to a recipient user without a sending user viewing direct contact information of the recipient user, and communicating the contact form to the sending user; and
communicating, from the network-based commerce facility, an electronic communication including the message to the recipient user over the network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system comprising:
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a page server to generate a contact form at a network-based commerce facility, the contact form to receive a message from a sending user to be communicated over the network to a recipient user without the sending user viewing direct contact information of the recipient user; and
a communications server to communicate an electronic communication including the message over the network. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A machine-readable storage medium tangibly embodying a sequence of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for controlling the sending of unsolicited communications over a network, the method comprising:
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generating at a network-based commerce facility, a contact form to receive a message to be communicated to a recipient user without a sending user viewing direct contact information of the recipient user and communicating the contact form to the sending user; and
communicating from the network-based commerce facility, an electronic communication including the message to the recipient user over the network. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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72. A system to control sending of unsolicited communication over a network, the system including:
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means for generating at a network-based commerce facility, a contact form to receive a message to be communicated to a recipient user without a sending user viewing direct contact information of the recipient user and communicating the contact form to the sending user; and
means for communicating at a network-based commerce facility, an electronic communication including the message to the recipient user over the network. - View Dependent Claims (73, 74, 75, 76, 77)
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Specification