Method and System for Controlled Distribution of Information Over a Network

• US 20090049149A1
• Filed: 10/24/2008
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cheah, Chris
• Granted Patent: US 7,996,468 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4535 using an address exchange platform which sets up a session between two nodes, e.g. rendezvous servers, session initiation protocols [SIP] registrars or H.323 gatekeepers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

An information management and distribution system is disclosed. The information management and distribution system includes a client-side application and a server application that interact to facilitate the controlled exchange of contact information over a network. The client-side application can provide creation and design, rolodex, exchange, and update features. The information management and distribution system can also include a corporate administrator application. Still another aspect of the invention is that contact information can be distributed to registered users in a common format.

Claims

1. In a network-based information exchange system, a computer-implemented method for exchanging electronic information in a controlled manner, said method comprising the acts of:

receiving, from a requester, a designation of a requested party with which an information exchange is desired, where the designation comprises information sufficient to identify the requested party;

receiving, from the requester, a request for an information exchange with the requested party; and

thereafter exchanging electronic information between the requestor and the requested party over a network to the extent permitted by the requested party.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the information sufficient to identify the requested party comprises an electronic mail address exclusively associated with the requested party.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the receiving the designation comprising the information sufficient to identify the requested party comprises receiving, through an open user text entry form field of a user interface displayed to the requester, the information sufficient to identify the requested party.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the receiving the designation comprising the information sufficient to identify the requested party comprises receiving through the text entry field a user name of the requested party.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said exchanging electronic content information comprises:

identifying, from instructions received from the requested party designating the extent of exchange permitted by the requested party, a profile of a plurality of profiles exclusively associated with the requested party; and

providing the requester with access, via the network, to the profile of the plurality of profiles exclusively associated with the requested party.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a pre-approval defined by the requested party and associated by the requested party with at least the electronic information associated with the requested user;

determining whether the requester is pre-approved to access the electronic information in accordance with the identified pre-approval; and

implementing, when it is determined that the requester is pre-approved to access the electronic information, the exchanging the electronic information to the requester to the extent permitted according to the pre-approval by the requested party.

7. A method of providing accessing to a database of user information across a communication network, said method comprising:

(a) registering a plurality of users with a central system;

(b) for each of the plurality of users, storing corresponding user information;

(c) receiving a request from a particular requesting user seeking to receive user information from the central system for a particular registered user, where the request specifies an electronic mail address that the requesting user designates as being associated with the particular registered user;

(d) identifying, in response to receiving the request, the particular registered user utilizing the specified electronic mail address;

(e) notifying, in response to the identifying, the particular registered user that the requesting user has requested to receive user information associated with the particular registered user;

(f) determining, in response to said notifying (e), whether the particular registered user agrees to authorize access to the user information associated with the particular registered user; and

(g) supplying at least some of the user information associated with the particular registered user from the central system to the particular requesting user to the extent permitted by the particular registered user.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein said supplying (g) the user information associated with the particular registered user comprises:

identifying, in accordance with the extent permitted by the particular registered user, one profile of a plurality of profiles exclusively associated with the particular registered user; and

supplying the one profile, via the network, to the particular requesting user.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein said identifying (d) the particular registered user comprises identifying the particular registered user utilizing the specified electronic mail address when the particular registered user and the particular requesting user are non-affiliated in the database at the time of the identification.

10. In a network-based information exchange system, a computer-implemented method for exchanging electronic information in a controlled manner, said method comprising:

registering a plurality of users;

for each of the plurality of the registered users, receiving from over a network, electronically storing and maintaining profile information in a database;

providing a requesting user with access, over the network, to a user interface, the interface comprising a fillable field;

receiving, from over the network from the requesting user, an entry in the fillable field comprising identifying information sufficient to identify another registered user;

identifying, in response to receiving the identifying information, a particular registered user exclusively associated with the identifying information; and

providing the requesting user with access, over the network, to at least a portion of the profile information exclusively associated with the particular registered user to the extent permitted by the particular registered user.

11. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 10, wherein said identifying the particular registered user comprises identifying the particular registered user utilizing the specified electronic mail address when the particular registered user and the requesting user are non-affiliated in the database at the time of the identification.

12. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 10, wherein the identifying information comprises an electronic mail address exclusively associated with the requested party.

13. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 10, wherein the identifying information comprises a user name of the requested party.

14. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 10, wherein the identifying information comprises a telephone number associated with the requested party.

15. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

requesting, via the network, that the requesting user supply a password;

implementing the providing the requesting user with access to at least the portion of the profile information when a password received from the requesting user corresponds with a password associated with the profile information; and

preventing the requesting user with access to at least the portion of the profile information when the password received from the requesting user does not correspond with the password associated with the profile information.

16. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

identifying that the requested party is to be disabled;

identifying, in response to the identifying that the requested party is to be disabled, those of the registered users that currently have access to profile information associated with the requested party, including the requester; and

disabling use of the profile information for the requested party by those of the registered users that currently have access to the profile information associated with the requested party, including the requester.