Method for routing electronic messages

• US 20040068440A1
• Filed: 11/17/2003
• Published: 04/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sagem SA (Safran SA)
• Original Assignee: Sagem SA (Safran SA)
• Inventors: Porato, Marc
• Application Number:
  US10/450,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20040068440A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/08 Metering calls to called party , i.e. B-party charged for the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0184 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions, volume discounts, cell discounts, group billing, frequent calling destination(s) or user history list
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/28 SMS billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/62 Called party billing, e.g. reverse billing, freephone, collect call, 0800 or 0900
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

After making to an agreement with a mobile telephony operator (123), an entity (130) may offer his customers the possibility of sending SMS messages free of charge. The sending of messages is then actually subsidized by the entity. A user (101) of this method then indicates his wish to send a message free of charge, and the entity subsidizes the sending of this message along with a second message to the same recipient. The contents of the second message can be chosen by the entity. This second message is composed automatically by the server (123) if it detects a flag, in the message, indicating that a first message is being conveyed through a subsidy from the entity. The conveyance of such messages may be limited in number and time. The contents of the second message are selected from a list that may be updated by the entity.

Claims

1. - A method for the conveying of electronic messages wherein:

a first electronic message is composed,

an identifier of a recipient is entered,

the message and the identifier are validated,

the first message is conveyed to the apparatus identified by the identifier through a network,

wherein;

the identifier of the recipient is retrieved during conveyance if information is entered in an interception flag,

a second electronic message is produced,

the second message is conveyed to an apparatus identified by the identifier through a network.

2. - A method according to claim 1, wherein the second message comprises the first message and an additional part, the first message, as composed, being then not conveyed up to the recipient.

3. - A method according to one of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the first message comprises a field to indicate that the identifier of the recipient of this message can be retrieved in order to produce the second message.

4. - A method according to one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the first message is conveyed through a first dedicated server whose address is used as an intermediate recipient, to compose the second message.

5. - A method according to one of the claims 1 to 4, wherein a count is made of the number of second messages produced per first message sender identifier.

6. - A method according to claim 5, wherein a record is produced, per message contents supplier, of the second messages produced from a table of correspondence between second message contents suppliers and first message sender identifiers, and the result of the counting.

7. - A method according to one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein a record is produced, per message contents supplier, of the second messages produced.

8. - A method according to one of the claims 1 to 7, wherein the first and second messages are of a same nature, preferably electronic mail or SMS message.

9. - A method according to one of the claims 1 to 8, wherein the first and second messages are of different natures, preferably electronic mail and SMS message or vice versa.

10. - A method according to one of the claims 1 to 9, wherein the second message is produced as a function of a message table and an identifier of the sender of the first message.

11. - A method according to claim 10, wherein the contents of the message table are updated.

12. - A method according to one of the claims 1 to 11, wherein the second message is composed in incorporating a link to an Internet site therein.

13. - A method according to one of the claims 1 to 12, wherein a second message is composed in using a description language of presentation adapted to the medium receiving the second message.