Multi-user intelligent call screening
First Claim
1. A method for screening a telephone call made by a calling party, the method comprising:
- receiving a telephone call at a messaging service platform;
identifying an account associated with a telephone number to which the calling party directed the incoming telephone call;
accessing configuration data related to the account;
identifying several identities associated with the account based on the configuration data accessed;
determining a first identity from among the several identities based on the configuration data accessed;
determining the availability of the first identity to receive audio data from the messaging service platform;
transmitting the audio data from the messaging service platform to a computer of a first called party associated with the first identity while the calling party is leaving an audio message, the transmission being conditioned on whether the first identity is determined to be available to receive the audio data; and
before the calling party finishes leaving the audio message, enabling perception of at least some of the transmitted audio data by the first called party.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Screening a telephone call made by a calling party includes receiving a telephone call at a messaging service platform and identifying an account associated with the telephone number to which the calling party directed the incoming telephone call. Configuration data related to the account are accessed, and several identities associated with the account are determined based on the configuration data accessed. A first identity is determined from among the several identities based on the configuration data accessed. The availability of the first identity to receive audio data from the messaging service platform is determined. Audio data is transmitted from the messaging service platform to a computer of the first called party associated with the first identity while the calling party is leaving an audio message. The transmission is conditioned on whether the first identity is determined to be available to receive the audio data. Before the calling party finishes leaving the audio message, the first called party perceives at least some of the transmitted audio data.
124 Citations
87 Claims
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1. A method for screening a telephone call made by a calling party, the method comprising:
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receiving a telephone call at a messaging service platform;
identifying an account associated with a telephone number to which the calling party directed the incoming telephone call;
accessing configuration data related to the account;
identifying several identities associated with the account based on the configuration data accessed;
determining a first identity from among the several identities based on the configuration data accessed;
determining the availability of the first identity to receive audio data from the messaging service platform;
transmitting the audio data from the messaging service platform to a computer of a first called party associated with the first identity while the calling party is leaving an audio message, the transmission being conditioned on whether the first identity is determined to be available to receive the audio data; and
before the calling party finishes leaving the audio message, enabling perception of at least some of the transmitted audio data by the first called party. - 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, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A computer system for screening a telephone call made by a calling party, the method comprising:
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a data store for storing configuration data;
a telephony interface element configured to receive a telephone call; and
a call processing element configured to;
identify an account associated with a telephone number to which the calling party directed the incoming telephone call;
access the data store to retrieve configuration data related to the account;
identify several identities associated with the account based on the configuration data accessed;
determine a first identity from among the several identities based on the configuration data accessed;
determine the availability of the first identity to receive audio data from the call processing element;
transmit the audio data from the call processing element to a computer of a first called party associated with the first identity while the calling party is leaving an audio message, the transmission being conditioned on whether the first identity is determined to be available to receive the audio data; and
before the calling party finishes leaving the audio message, enable perception of at least some of the transmitted audio data by the first called party. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86)
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87. An apparatus for screening a telephone call made by a calling party, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving a telephone call at a messaging service platform;
means for identifying an account associated with a telephone number to which the calling party directed the incoming telephone call;
means for accessing configuration data related to the account;
means for identifying several identities associated with the account based on the configuration data accessed;
means for determining a first identity from among the several identities based on the configuration data accessed;
means for determining the availability of the first identity to receive audio data from the messaging service platform;
means for transmitting the audio data from the messaging service platform to a computer of a first called party associated with the first identity while the calling party is leaving an audio message, the transmission being conditioned on whether the first identity is determined to be available to receive the audio data; and
before the calling party finishes leaving the audio message, means for enabling perception of at least some of the transmitted audio data by the first called party.
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Specification