Method and system for electronic messaging via distributed computing networks
First Claim
1. A method for transmitting an e-mail attachment over a network, the method comprising:
- generating an identifier for the attachment, the attachment being stored in a storage medium local to at least one computing device coupled to the network, wherein the at least one computing device includes a sender computing device;
transmitting the identifier along with a primary e-mail message from the sender computing device to a recipient computing device coupled to the network; and
retrieving the attachment by the recipient computing device, wherein retrieving the attachment further comprises;
searching for the attachment in at least one computing device coupled to the network using the identifier; and
downloading the attachment from the at least one computing device to a storage medium local to the recipient computing device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention discloses an improved method and system for sending and receiving e-mail messages in a distributed computing network and for enabling users to search for and retrieve content sent as an attachment to e-mail messages on various computing devices participating in a distributed computing network. The present invention also allows for the attachments to be accessed when the original source is not online. The e-mail system of the present invention can also be designed to enable different levels of protection in the transmission and retrieval of attachments, depending on the needs of the user in providing for security in data exchange.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for transmitting an e-mail attachment over a network, the method comprising:
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generating an identifier for the attachment, the attachment being stored in a storage medium local to at least one computing device coupled to the network, wherein the at least one computing device includes a sender computing device;
transmitting the identifier along with a primary e-mail message from the sender computing device to a recipient computing device coupled to the network; and
retrieving the attachment by the recipient computing device, wherein retrieving the attachment further comprises;
searching for the attachment in at least one computing device coupled to the network using the identifier; and
downloading the attachment from the at least one computing device to a storage medium local to the recipient computing device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for retrieving an e-mail attachment by a recipient computing device coupled to a network, the attachment having an identifier, the identifier being attached to a primary e-mail message received by the recipient computing device, the method comprising:
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searching for the attachment in at least one computing device coupled to the network using the identifier; and
downloading the attachment from the at least one computing device to a storage medium local to the recipient computing device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer program product for transmitting a file attachment over a network, the computer program product comprising:
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a computer readable program code for generating an identifier for the attachment, the attachment being stored in storage medium local to at least one computing device coupled to the network, wherein the at least one computing device includes a sender computing device;
a computer readable program code for transmitting the identifier along with a primary e-mail message from the sender computing device to a recipient computing device coupled the network; and
a computer readable program code for retrieving the attachment by the recipient computing device, the computer readable program code for retrieving the attachment further comprising;
a computer readable program code for searching the attachment in the at least one computing device coupled to the network using the identifier; and
a computer readable program code for downloading the attachment from the at least one computing device to a storage medium local to the recipient computing device. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A computer program product for retrieving an e-mail attachment by a recipient computing device coupled to a network, the attachment having an identifier, the identifier being attached to a primary e-mail message received by the recipient computing device, the computer program product comprising:
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computer readable program code for searching the attachment in at least one computing device coupled to the network using the identifier; and
computer readable program code for downloading the attachment from the at least one computing device to a storage medium local to the recipient computing device. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification