Method and apparatus for billing a fee to a party initiating an electronic mail communication when the party is not on an authorization list associated with the party to whom the communication is directed

• US 6,192,114 B1
• Filed: 09/02/1998
• Issued: 02/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CBT Flint Partners LLC
• Original Assignee: CBT Flint Partners LLC
• Inventors: Council, Michael O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BARNIE, REXFORD N
• Application Number:
  US09/145,710
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.19, 379/88.2, 379/88.211, 379/93.24, 379/100.08, 379/142, 379/88.13, 379/127, 379/88.14, 379/88.12, 379/88.22, 379/88.23, 379/100.04, 379/100.09, 379/100.03, 379/93.02, 379/93.03, 379/900, 379/908, 709/206, 709/203, 709/207, 709/219, 709/238, 709/245
• US Class Current: 379/114.14
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/72 Finding out and indicating number of calling subscriber

Abstract

A method and apparatus for determining whether a party sending an email communication is on a list of parties authorized by the intended receiving party. If the sending party is not on the list of authorized parties, a fee is charged to the sending party in return for the message being provided to the intended receiving party, or if the sending party has not authorized such fees to be charged, the message is simply discarded. Preferably, the present invention is implemented with Internet communications. However, the present invention can be used in private networks as well, such as local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). Preferably, the present invention is implemented at the intended receiving party'"'"'s ISP. In accordance with the well known Transmission Control Protocol/internet Protocol (TCP/IP), the destination address of the intended receiving party and the source address the sending party are contained in the IP message, commonly referred to as a datagram. When a datagram is received at the ISP, the ISP server analyzes the destination address and the source address to determine whether the source address is on a list of authorized source addresses associated with the destination address.

Claims

1. An apparatus for determining whether a sending party sending an electronic mail communication directed to an intended receiving party is an authorized sending party, the apparatus comprising:

a computer in communication with a network, the computer being programmed to detect an indication of a source of the electronic mail communication initiated by the sending party and to compare the indication to an authorization list to determine whether or not the sending party is an authorized sending party, the authorization list corresponding to a list of sending parties from whom the intended receiving party is willing to receive electronic mail communications, wherein the computer, upon determining that a sending party is not an authorized sending party, calculates a fee to be charged to the unauthorized sending party.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer is located at an Internet Service Provider, the Internet Service Provider servicing the intended receiving party.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said indication corresponds to a source address associated with the sending party.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said indication corresponds to the name of the sending party.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer, upon determining that a sending party is not an authorized sending party, discards the electronic mail communication sent by the sending party.

6. An apparatus for determining whether a sending party sending an electronic mail communication to an intended receiving party is an authorized sending party, the apparatus comprising:

means in communication with a network for detecting an indication of an origin of an electronic mail communication initiated by the sending party and for comparing the indication to an authorization list to determine whether or not the sending party is an authorized sending party, the authorization list corresponding to a list of sending parties from whom the intended receiving party will receive electronic mail communications, wherein the computer, upon determining that a sending party is not an authorized sending party, calculates a fee to be charged to the unauthorized sending party.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said means is located at an Internet Service Provider servicing the intended receiving party.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said indication corresponds to a source address associated with the sending party.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said indication corresponds to the name of the sending party.

10. A method of determining whether a sending party sending an electronic mail communication to an intended receiving party is an authorized sending party, the method comprising the steps of:

comparing an indication of a source of the electronic mail communication with a list of authorized sending parties associated with the intended receiving party to determine whether or not the sending party is an authorized sending party, wherein if a determination is made that the sending party is not an authorized sending party, a fee is charged to the unauthorized sending party.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein prior to charging the fee to the unauthorized sending party, a determination is made as to whether the unauthorized sending party has authorized the fee to be charged to the sending party, wherein if the unauthorized sending party has not authorized the fee to be charged to the sending party, the unauthorized sending party is informed that it has not authorized the fee to be charged to the unauthorized sending party and the unauthorized sending party is provided with an opportunity to authorize the fee to be charged to the unauthorized sending party, wherein if the unauthorized sending party authorizes the fee to be charged to the sending party, the fee is charged to the unauthorized sending party and the electronic mail communication is stored in an electronic mail box associated with the intended receiving party.

12. A computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program comprising:

a first code segment which determines whether an indication of an identity of a sending party sending an electronic communication to an intended receiving party is contained on a list of authorized sending parties associated with the intended receiving party; and

a second code segment which generates a fee amount to be charged to the sending party if the first code segment determines that the sending party initiating the telephone call is not an authorized sending party.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, further comprising a third code segment, the third code segment determining whether the sending party has authorized the fee to be charged to the sending party, the second code segment only generating the fee amount if the third code segment determines that the sending party has authorized the fee to be charged to the sending party.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, further comprising a fourth code segment, the fourth code segment generating an electronic mail message to be communicated to the sending party when the third code segment determines that the sending party has not authorized the fee to be charged to the sending party, wherein the message generated and communicated to the sending party informs the sending party that the sending party has not authorized the fee to be charged to the sending party.