METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THE OPTIMIZATION OF ELECTRONIC MAIL DELIVERY

• US 20090319624A1
• Filed: 06/30/2008
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Coulomb, Beatrice, Gibault, Dimitris, Buschi, Giovanni, Palaysi, Christophe
• Application Number:
  US12/164,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20090319624A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages

Abstract

A method for the elimination of duplicate or multiple electronic mail (email) to one or more recipients, the method includes: generating table entries in a mail server that identify users of the mail server; receiving an email at the mail server; determining whether this is the first time the email is received at the mail server; wherein in the event this is the first time the email has been received: recording information about the email in the table; storing a copy of the email in a repository; forwarding the email to the intended recipients; and wherein in the event the email has been received previously: determining which of the intended recipients has not received the email; sending a copy of the email from the repository to the recipients who have not already received the email; and recording which of the recipients have now received the email in the table.

Claims

1. A method for the elimination of duplicate or multiple electronic mail (email) communications to one or more recipients, wherein the method comprises:

generating table entries in a mail server that identify users of the mail server;

receiving an email at the mail server;

determining whether the receiving an email at the mail server represents the first time the email is received at the mail server, based on prior entries in the table generated for previous received emails;

wherein, in the event it is determined that it is the first time the email has been received by the mail server;

recording information about the email in the table;

storing a copy of the email in a repository;

forwarding the email to one or more intended recipients that are among the identified users of the mail server; and

wherein in the event the email has been received previously by the mail server;

determining which of the one or more intended recipients has not received the email, based on prior entries in the table generated for previous received emails;

sending a copy of the email from the repository to one or more recipients who have not already received the email; and

recording which of the one or more recipients have now received the email in the table.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more recipients are sent an email link to the local repository holding the email, instead of the email itself.