ADDRESSEE-DEFINED MAIL ADDRESSING SYSTEM AND METHOD
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A mail delivery system and method for delivery of mail to addressees are disclosed. The system is particularly suitable for implementation in the context of an email or similar electronic messaging system, and is particularly useful for managing and/or discouraging unsolicited junk mail. The system comprises a plurality of unique delivery addresses, each for a corresponding addressee, and a plurality of delivery codes. The delivery codes are generally defined or otherwise controlled by the addressees, with each addressee controlling a specific subset of the delivery codes. Any given delivery code does not comprise a unique delivery address or any essential portion thereof, and instead comprises distinct, essentially arbitrary addressee-controlled information. The method comprises addressing a selected piece of the mail with a selected delivery address, and associating a selected delivery code with the selected delivery address of the piece of mail. The selected delivery code may be (and from the mail sender'"'"'s viewpoint, preferably is) one defined by the addressee of the particular piece of mail. The method further comprises delivering the piece of mail to the addressee if the delivery address is associated with a valid delivery code defined by the addressee, and dispatching the piece of mail as directed by the addressee, if it does not have a valid, addressee-defined delivery code. For example, mail lacking a valid delivery code may be deleted or destroyed without delivering to the addressee. The system further comprises means for performing steps of the method, such as an application operable in a computer memory.
78 Citations
56 Claims
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1-25. -25. (canceled)
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26. A computer-readable medium containing instructions operable with a computer to:
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receive user-defined codes associated with an electronic mail account that are not used to specify the electronic mail account by a mail server for the electronic mail account; place the user-defined codes as distinct from and prefixed to a root delivery address specifying the electronic mail account in respective return-address fields of outgoing electronic mail messages, so that each of the codes comprises a dot-separated character-based prefix to the root delivery address and appears to be part of an apparent subdivided SMTP address for the electronic mail account; receive incoming electronic mail addressed to apparent subdivided SMTP addresses including the root delivery address; and place respective pieces of the electronic mail in respective incoming mail folders indicated by respective ones of the user-defined codes for the electronic mail account. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
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receiving user-defined codes associated with an electronic mail account that are not used to specify the electronic mail account by a mail server for the electronic mail account; placing the user-defined codes as distinct from and prefixed to a root delivery address specifying the electronic mail account in respective return-address fields of outgoing electronic mail messages, so that each of the codes comprises a dot-separated character-based prefix to the root delivery address and appears to be part of an apparent subdivided SMTP address for the electronic mail account; receiving incoming electronic mail addressed to apparent subdivided SMTP addresses including the root delivery address; and placing respective pieces of the electronic mail in respective incoming mail folders indicated by respective ones of the user-defined codes for the electronic mail account, at the mail client. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A method for disposition of electronic mail, comprising:
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reading a delivery address associated with a piece of mail, wherein the address comprises a root delivery address of the addressee for the piece and a delivery code defined by the addressee; extracting the root delivery address and the delivery code; actuating a software process identified by the root address; processing the delivery code using the software process; and updating a user account based on the contents of the delivery code. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A method for addressing of electronic mail, comprising:
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reading a delivery address associated with a piece of mail, wherein the address comprises a root delivery address of the addressee for the piece and a delivery code defined by the addressee and wherein the delivery code is a dot-separated character-based prefix to the root delivery address that appears to be part of an apparent subdivided SMTP address for the electronic mail account; comparing the delivery code to a list of permitted delivery codes; and delivering the electronic mail to the addressee if the delivery code is on the list of permitted delivery codes. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A method for addressing of electronic mail, comprising:
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reading a delivery address associated with a piece of mail, wherein the address comprises a root delivery address of the addressee for the piece and a delivery code defined by the addressee and wherein the delivery code is a dot-separated character-based prefix to the root delivery address that appears to be part of an apparent subdivided SMTP address for the electronic mail account; retrieving disposition instructions from a database corresponding to the delivery code; disposing of the electronic mail in accordance with the delivery instructions. - View Dependent Claims (56)
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Specification