System and method for verifying delivery and integrity of electronic messages
DCFirst Claim
1. A method of transmitting a message from a sender to a recipient through a server displaced from the recipient, including the steps of:
- receiving the message at the server from the sender and receiving an indication at the server from the sender that the sender wishes to have the server send the message to the recipient in a manner special and individual to the recipient and intended for the recipient and not normally provided by the server,transmitting, from the server to the recipient the message in the manner special and individual to the recipient and not normally followed by the server in accordance with the indication from the sender to the server, an identification and address of the server and an identity of the sender,receiving at the server from the recipient first information including the identity of the recipient and an indication of the receipt of the message by the recipient and the identification and address of the server and the identity of the sender andsending to the sender from the server, before any authentication of the message, a copy of the message and the first information received by the server from the recipient,thereafter sending the information including the message, and a message authentication code from the sender to the server, before any authentication of the message by the server, when the server requests to have the message authenticated andprocessing at the server the information transmitted from the sender to the server, without any assistance from the recipient, to authenticate the message.
3 Assignments
Litigations
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A server receives a message from a sender and transmits the message to a recipient. The server normally transmits the message in a first path to the recipient. When the sender indicates at a particular position in the message that the message is registered, the server transmits the message in a second path to the recipient. The sender can also provide additional indications in the message to have the server handle the message in other special ways not normally provided by the server. After learning from the recipient or the recipient'"'"'s agent that the message was successfully received, the server creates, and forwards to the sender, an electronic receipt. The receipt includes at least one, and preferably all, of the message and any attachments, a delivery success/failure table listing the receipts, and the receipt times, of the message by the recipient'"'"'s specific agents, and the failure of other agents of the recipient to receive the message and a an encrypted hash of the message and attachments subsequently. By verifying that the digital signature on the sender'"'"'s receipt matches the digital receipt at the server, the server can verify, without retaining the message, that the receipt is genuine and that the message is accurate.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method of transmitting a message from a sender to a recipient through a server displaced from the recipient, including the steps of:
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receiving the message at the server from the sender and receiving an indication at the server from the sender that the sender wishes to have the server send the message to the recipient in a manner special and individual to the recipient and intended for the recipient and not normally provided by the server, transmitting, from the server to the recipient the message in the manner special and individual to the recipient and not normally followed by the server in accordance with the indication from the sender to the server, an identification and address of the server and an identity of the sender, receiving at the server from the recipient first information including the identity of the recipient and an indication of the receipt of the message by the recipient and the identification and address of the server and the identity of the sender and sending to the sender from the server, before any authentication of the message, a copy of the message and the first information received by the server from the recipient, thereafter sending the information including the message, and a message authentication code from the sender to the server, before any authentication of the message by the server, when the server requests to have the message authenticated and processing at the server the information transmitted from the sender to the server, without any assistance from the recipient, to authenticate the message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of transmitting a message from a sender to a recipient through a server displaced from the recipient, including the steps at the server of:
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receiving the message at the server from the sender, receiving at the server, with the message from the sender, an indication that the message is to be transmitted by the server in a manner special and individual to the recipient and different from manner normally provided by the server in transmitting messages, transmitting from the server to the recipient, in the manner special and individual to the recipient and indicated by the sender to the server and different from the manner normally provided by the server in sending messages, the message and an identification and address of the server and an indication representing the identity of the sender, receiving at the server from the recipient a handshaking and delivery history of the transmission of the message from the server to the recipient, transmitting from the server to the sender, before any authentication of the message, information including the message and an encrypted hash of the message and the handshaking and delivery history of the message received by the server from the recipient, and transmitting from the sender to the server the information previously received by the sender from the server when the servers requests to have the message authenticated; and processing at the server the information transmitted from the sender to the server, without any assistance from the recipient, to authenticate the message. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. In a method of transmitting a message electronically to a recipient through a server displaced from the recipient, the steps at the server of:
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receiving the message at the server from the sender, receiving from the sender at the server the message and an encrypted hash of the message and an indication with the message from the sender that the message is to be handled by the server in a manner special and individual to the recipient and different from a normal handling of the message by the server for the recipient, and handling the message at the server, in the manner special and individual to the recipient in accordance with the indication from the sender to the server, generating a hash constituting a synopsis of the message in coded form, encrypting the hash with a particular encryption code to generate an encrypted hash of the message, transmitting from the server to the sender, before any authentication of the message, information including the message and the encrypted hash of the message received by the server from the recipient, thereafter transmitting to the server from the sender information including the information previously transmitted from the server to the sender, when the sender requests to have the message authenticated, the transmission occurring before any authentication of the message, and thereafter processing the information transmitted to the server from the sender to authenticate the message. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of transmitting a message from a sender to a recipient through a server displaced from the recipient, including the steps of:
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providing the message from the sender at the server, providing at the server a message authentication code and the identity of the sender and the identity and address of the server, normally transmitting from the server to the recipient in a first route the message and an identity of the sender and an identity and address of the server, providing an indication at the server from the sender that the message from the sender should be transmitted by the server to the recipient in a second route different from the first route, transmitting the message from the server to the recipient through the second route in accordance with the indication provided to the server from the sender, providing at the recipient an indication of the status of the reception at the recipient of the transmittal from the server to the recipient of the message and the identity of the sender and the identity and the address of the server, and transmitting to the server from the recipient, in the individual one of the first and second routes indicated by the server to the recipient, the message and the identity and address of the recipient and the status of the reception of the message at the recipient and the identity of the sender and the identity and address of the server before any authentication of the message, sending to the sender from the server, before any authentication of the message, the message, and the message authentication code and the information received by the server from the recipient and thereafter sending the information including the message, and the message authentication code from the sender to the server before any authentication of the message by the server when the sender requests to have the message authenticated.. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39)
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35. A method of transmitting a message from a sender to a recipient through a server displaced from the recipient, including the steps at the server of:
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normally transmitting, to the recipient, through a first path from the server, the message and an identity of the sender and an identity and address of the server, receiving at the server from the sender an indication that the message should be sent by the server to the recipient through a second path different from the first path, transmitting at the server to the recipient information including the message and the identity of the sender and the identity and address of the server through the second path different from the first path in accordance with the indication from the sender to the server, receiving at the server from the recipient an indication of the identity of the sender and the identity and address of the server and the identity and address of the recipient and an indication of the status of the reception of the message at the recipient, providing at the server the message authentication code and the identity of the sender and the identity and the address of the server, and transmitting to the sender from the server information including the message and the message authentication code and the information received by the server from the recipient relating to the message before any authentication of the message at the server, and transmitting to the server from the sender the information including the message and the message authentication code and the information received by the server from the recipient relating to the message when the sender requests the message to be authenticated. - View Dependent Claims (36, 40, 41)
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Specification