E-mail Integrated Instant Messaging

• US 20130124650A1
• Filed: 09/15/2012
• Published: 05/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alan Chung, Keith Bernstein
• Inventors: BERNSTEIN, KEITH, CHUNG, ALAN
• Granted Patent: US 9,363,213 B2
• 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 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1013 Network architectures, gateways, control or user entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A system and method supporting instant messaging which removes many of the problems and harriers to the use of instant messaging through the use of universally unique identifiers to web pages for instant messaging sessions, with recipients invited to the instant messaging session via email.

Claims

1-70. -70. (canceled)

71. A system supporting instant messaging between at least two users comprising:

a server communicatively coupled to an associated client computer used by said user supporting email communications and supporting web browser compliant communications, for each of said users;

wherein said server is comprised of at least one server computer accessibly coupled with a memory;

wherein said server is operated by a server program system comprised of program steps residing in said memory and executed by said server computer;

wherein said server, program system is further comprised of the program steps of;

creating an instant messaging session with a universally unique identifier initiated by a first of said users for recipients designated as at least one of the remaining of said users; and

providing said instant messaging session identified by said universally unique identifier as a formatted web page to each of said designated recipients and to said first user.