Anonymous Email Address Management
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for generating an anonymous email address, comprising:
- receiving transaction identification information identifying a customer and a merchant;
generating an anonymous email key associated with the transaction identification information; and
generating an anonymous email address associated with the customer using the anonymous email key.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system, method, and a computer program product generates an anonymous email address corresponding to a pair of customer and merchant. Based on the received customer identifier and merchant identifier, an anonymous email key and address are generated. The anonymous email address is then used in communications between the customer and merchant.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method for generating an anonymous email address, comprising:
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receiving transaction identification information identifying a customer and a merchant; generating an anonymous email key associated with the transaction identification information; and generating an anonymous email address associated with the customer using the anonymous email key. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for generating an anonymous email address, comprising:
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receiving from a customer a request to generate an email message to a merchant; providing the customer with an interface, which allows the customer to create an anonymous email address; receiving transaction identification information identifying the customer and the merchant; generating an anonymous email key associated with the transaction identification information; and generating an anonymous email address associated with the customer using the anonymous email key. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for communication between a customer and a merchant using an anonymous email address, comprising:
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receiving, from the merchant, an email addressed to an anonymous email address of the customer; determining a real customer email address that corresponds to the anonymous email address; determining whether the anonymous email address is active and unblocked; and responsive to a determination that the anonymous email address is active and unblocked, forwarding the email addressed to the anonymous email address to the real customer email address. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for communication between a user and a merchant using an anonymous email address, comprising:
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providing the user an account management interface for managing anonymous email addresses; generating an anonymous email address associated with the user and the merchant; receiving user input to create an email addressed to the merchant; and transmitting the email addressed to the merchant listing from the anonymous email address. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An electronic commerce system, comprising:
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an email anonymization module for generating an anonymous email address corresponding to a customer and a merchant for use in transactions between the customer and the merchant; and a communication module for allowing communication between the customer and the merchant using the anonymous email address. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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36. A system for generating an anonymous email address, comprising:
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means for receiving transaction identification information identifying a customer and a merchant; means for generating an anonymous email key associated with the transaction identification information; and means for generating an anonymous email address associated with the customer using the anonymous email key.
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37. A computer program product, including a computer readable medium storing thereon computer executable program modules, the product for generating an anonymous email address, the computer executable program modules comprising:
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a first module programmed to receive transaction identification information identifying a customer and a merchant; a second module programmed to generate an anonymous email key associated with the transaction identification information; and a third module programmed to generate an anonymous email address associated with the customer using the anonymous email key.
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38. A system for generating an anonymous email address, comprising:
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means for receiving from a customer a request to generate an email message to a merchant; means for providing the customer with an interface, which allows the customer to create an anonymous email address; means for receiving transaction identification information identifying the customer and the merchant; means for generating an anonymous email key associated with the transaction identification information; and means for generating an anonymous email address associated with the customer using the anonymous email key.
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39. A computer program product, including a computer readable medium storing thereon computer executable program modules, the product for generating an anonymous email address, the modules programmed to perform the operations comprising:
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receiving from a customer a request to generate an email message to a merchant; providing a user interface, which allows the customer to create an anonymous email address; receiving transaction identification information identifying the customer and the merchant; providing an anonymous email key associated with the transaction identification information; and generating an anonymous email address associated with the customer using the anonymous email key.
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40. A system for communication between a customer and a merchant using an anonymous email address, comprising:
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means for receiving, from the merchant, an email addressed to an anonymous email address of the customer; means for determining a real customer email address that corresponds to the anonymous email address; means for determining whether the anonymous email address is active and unblocked; and means for responsive to a determination that the anonymous email address is active and unblocked, forwarding the email addressed to the anonymous email address to the real customer email address.
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41. A computer program product, including a computer readable medium storing thereon computer executable program modules, the product for managing communication between a customer and a merchant using an anonymous email address, the modules programmed to perform the operations comprising:
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receiving, from the merchant, an email addressed to an anonymous email address of the customer; determining a real customer email address that corresponds to the anonymous email address; determining whether the anonymous email address is active and unblocked; and responsive to a determination that the anonymous email address is active and unblocked, forwarding the email addressed to the anonymous email address to the real customer email address.
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Specification