Content-certified e-mail service system

• US 7,051,370 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2000
• Issued: 05/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Wakino, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kim
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nalven, Andrew L.
• Application Number:
  US09/734,560
• Publication Number:
  US 20010027523A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,987 Days
• Field of Search: 713/178, 713/176, 713/201, 379/93.24
• US Class Current: 726/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity

Abstract

A content-certified e-mail service system in which an e-mail terminal device at a sender'"'"'s side sends a content certification request e-mail containing an e-mail address of an e-mail terminal device at a receiver'"'"'s side and a text of content certification to an e-mail content certifying device; upon receipt of the content certification request e-mail, the e-mail content certifying device judges whether there is any tampering with the text of content certification in the e-mail, and upon judging that there is no tampering with the text of content certification, saves registration information containing the text of content certification in a storage device, and sends a content-certified e-mail containing the text of content certification to the e-mail terminal device at the receiver'"'"'s side and a receipt e-mail containing receipt information indicating that the content certification has been effected to the e-mail terminal device at the sender'"'"'s side.

Claims

1. A content-certified e-mail service system having an e-mail content certifying device for certifying contents of a text of an e-mail sent from an e-mail terminal device at a sender'"'"'s side to an e-mail terminal device at a receiver'"'"'s side within a network, wherein:

said e-mail terminal device at the sender'"'"'s side sends a content certification request e-mail to said e-mail content certifying device, said content certification request e-mail containing an e-mail address of said e-mail terminal device at the receiver'"'"'s side and a text of content certification;

said e-mail content certifying device judges, upon receipt of said content certification request e-mail, whether there is any tampering with said text of content certification in said e-mail;

said e-mail content certifying device, upon judging that there is no tampering with said text of content certification, saves registration information that contains said text of content certification in a storage device, sends a content-certified e-mail that contains said text of content certification to said e-mail terminal device at the receiver'"'"'s side, and sends a receipt e-mail that contains receipt information indicating that content certification has been effected to said e-mail terminal device at the sender'"'"'s side;

said e-mail terminal device at the sender'"'"'s side sends a review request e-mail to said e-mail content certifying device, said review request e-mail containing said receipt information in said receipt e-mail;

said e-mail content certifying device, upon receipt of said review request e-mail, retrieves one set of registration information corresponding to an identifier in said review request e-mail from said storage device, and judges whether there is any tampering with the receipt information in said review request e-mail based on said one set of registration information retrieved; and

said e-mail content certifying device, upon judging that there is no tampering with the receipt information in said review request e-mail, sends an e-mail containing said text of content certification to said e-mail terminal device at the sender'"'"'s side.

2. The content-certified e-mail service system according to claim 1, wherein:

said e-mail content certifying device issues a settlement request command to a settling institution to settle a fee for a content certifying operation of the text of the e-mail on a credit card.

3. A content-certified e-mail service system having an e-mail content certifying device for certifying content of a text of an e-mail sent from an e-mail terminal device at a sender'"'"'s side to an e-mail terminal device at a receiver'"'"'s side within a network, wherein:

said e-mail terminal device at the sender'"'"'s side sends a content certification request e-mail to said e-mail content certifying device, said content certification request e-mail containing an e-mail address of said e-mail terminal device at the receiver'"'"'s side and a text of content certification;

said e-mail content certifying device judges, upon receipt of said content certification request e-mail, whether there is any tampering with said text of content certification in said e-mail;

said e-mail content certifying device, upon judging that there is no tampering with said text of content certification, saves registration information that contains said text of content certification in a storage device, sends a content certification notice e-mail containing an access destination in a Web server and an access key for specifying a receiver to said e-mail terminal device at the receiver'"'"'s side, and sends a receipt e-mail containing receipt information indicating that content certification has been effected to said e-mail terminal device at the sender'"'"'s side;

said e-mail terminal device at the receiver'"'"'s side, upon receipt of said content certification notice e-mail, accesses said Web server using the access destination in said e-mail, and sends said access key to said e-mail content certifying device through a Web page;

said e-mail content certifying device, upon receipt of said access key from said e-mail terminal device at the receiver'"'"'s side, retrieves from said storage device one set of registration information corresponding to said access key received, and allows downloading by said e-mail terminal device at the receivers side of said text of content certification contained in said one set of registration information retrieved;

said e-mail terminal device at the sender'"'"'s side sends a review request e-mail to said e-mail content certifying device, said review request e-mail containing receipt information in said receipt e-mail;

said e-mail content certifying device, upon receipt of said review request e-mail, retrieves one set of registration information corresponding to an identifier in said review request e-mail from said storage device, and judges whether there is any tampering with the receipt information in said review request e-mail based on said one set of registration information retrieved; and

said e-mail content certifying device, upon judging that there is no tampering with the receipt information in said review request e-mail, sends an e-mail containing said text of content certification to said e-mail terminal device at the sender'"'"'s side.

4. The content certified e-mail service system according to claim 3, wherein:

said access key contains a receiver'"'"'s identifier and a receiver'"'"'s e-mail address;

and said e-mail content certifying device retrieves from said storing device one set of registration information corresponding to said receiver'"'"'s identifier in said access key received, and judges whether the receiver'"'"'s e-mail address in said access key received coincides with the receiver'"'"'s e-mail address in said one set of registration information retrieved, said e-mail content certifying device allowing said downloading only when coincidence is confirmed.

5. The content-certified e-mail service system according to claim 3, wherein:

said e-mail content specifying device, after confirming said downloading by said e-mail terminal device at the receiver'"'"'s side of said text of content certification, send a delivery certification e-mail to said e-mail terminal device at the sender'"'"'s side.