Self-removing email verified or designated as such by a message distributor for the convenience of a recipient
First Claim
1. A method for removing email messages from a recipient'"'"'s location in response to an instruction from an ISP, the method comprising the steps of:
- checking an email message at the recipient'"'"'s location to determine whether it contains a self-removing message indicator inserted by the ISP indicating that the message is to be deleted automatically; and
automatically removing the email message in response to the indicator if the message contains the indicator, wherein the removing step deletes the message only after the message is opened by the recipient.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, articles, signals, and systems are provided for providing email message originators and distributors with default control over message removal at a message recipient'"'"'s location, regardless of whether the message has been opened. For instance, a self-removing message is designated as such by the message'"'"'s originator, and a self-removal enhancement is added to conventional message content before the message is transmitted over a computer network toward one or more recipients. At the recipient'"'"'s location, the message is automatically deleted without additional effort by the recipient, before or after being displayed, according to the originator'"'"'s instructions unless they are overridden by the recipient. ISPs and other message distributors may identify messages that should be self-removing, and make them self-removing if they are not. Thus, the burden of removing unsolicited email messages is transferred from recipients to the system and the message'"'"'s originators and/or to ISPs and other email distributors. Security of messages may also be enhanced.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for removing email messages from a recipient'"'"'s location in response to an instruction from an ISP, the method comprising the steps of:
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checking an email message at the recipient'"'"'s location to determine whether it contains a self-removing message indicator inserted by the ISP indicating that the message is to be deleted automatically; and
automatically removing the email message in response to the indicator if the message contains the indicator, wherein the removing step deletes the message only after the message is opened by the recipient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for removing email messages from a recipient'"'"'s location in response to an instruction from an ISP, the method comprising the steps of:
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checking an email message at the recipient'"'"'s location to determine whether it contains a self-removing message indicator inserted by the ISP indicating that the message is to be deleted automatically; and
automatically removing the email message in response to the indicator if the message contains the indicator, wherein the removing step deletes the message if a replacement message is not received by the recipient by a specified date. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for removing email messages from a recipient'"'"'s location in response to an instruction from an ISP, the method comprising the steps of:
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checking an email message at the recipient'"'"'s location to determine whether it contains a self-removing message indicator inserted by the ISP indicating that the message is to be deleted automatically; and
automatically removing the email message in response to the indicator if the message contains the indicator, wherein the removing step deletes the message if a replacement message is not received by the recipient within a specified period after the first message is received. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification