System and method for granting deposit-contingent e-mailing rights

• US 7,636,756 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Issued: 12/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Buyerleverage Email Solutions LLC
• Original Assignee: Buyerleverage Email Solutions LLC
• Inventors: Landesmann, Mark, Korba, Randy
• Primary Examiner(s): ISMAIL, SHAWKI SAIF
• Application Number:
  US11/932,581
• Publication Number:
  US 20080071876A1
• Time in Patent Office: 783 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709205-207, 705 39- 40
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments

Abstract

An Email guarantee deposit method, system, and program product, with the method comprising in one embodiment, the steps of: receiving from a sender a request to send to a recipient an Email; receiving a deposit or an authorization to obtain a deposit of something of value; sending the Email to the recipient only if a deposit of authorization for a deposit is received; determining if the recipient has accepted the deposit; and if the recipient has accepted the deposit, then facilitating the disposal of the deposit. In an important alternate embodiment, a deposit can be required before an Email with a auditory or visual enhancement is provided, or before routing to a designated type of device occurs.

Claims

1. An Email guarantee method for operating a system, the system comprising one or more computers, the method comprising:

the system receiving, by the one or more computers, from a sender first information associated with the sending of at least one Email to at least one human recipient;

the system determining, by the one or more computers, whether something of value has been received from or on behalf of the sender or control of a deposit guarantee associated with something of value held or maintained on behalf of the sender, that is associated with the Email, has been established, at the same time as or prior to the sending of the Email to the recipient;

after receipt of the first information from the sender, electronically sending or sending in a particular manner, by the one or more computers, the Email to a recipient inbox for the human recipient depending at least in part on whether or not the system has determined that the something of value has been received from or on behalf of the sender or that control of the deposit guarantee associated with the something of value held or maintained on behalf of the sender, that is associated with the Email, has been established;

evaluating second information, by the one or more computers, generated after receipt of the Email by the recipient inbox, the second information consistent with a decision by the human recipient to approve or disapprove the Email, said decision having been made subsequent to the receipt of the Email by the recipient inbox; and

facilitating taking or not taking the something of value or a benefit arising from the something of value based at least in part on the evaluating step only at a time subsequent to the receipt of the Email by the recipient inbox.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises determining that control of a deposit guarantee associated with something of value held or maintained on behalf of the sender has been established, and wherein the facilitating taking of the something of value or benefit arising from the something of value comprises facilitating cancelation of an ownership right of the sender.

3. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the facilitating or not facilitating taking step comprises facilitating or not facilitating the taking or not taking a benefit arising from the something of value.

4. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the facilitating or not facilitating taking step comprises facilitating or not facilitating the taking or not taking the something of value.

5. The method as defined in claim 2, further comprising sending electronically to the recipient a facility for starting an electronic process to indicate approval or disapproval of the Email, and wherein the evaluation is made based at least in part on the receiving or not receiving of second information regarding whether or not the recipient has initiated the electronic process.

6. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein the sending or sending in a particular manner step comprises sending in a particular manner that is at least partly determinative of at least one of:

the email being placed in the recipient inbox, said recipient inbox being a priority-inbox;

the email being placed in the recipient inbox with an emphasis.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the something of value comprises a credit obtained in consideration for payment of a currency amount made by or on behalf of the sender, and the taking in the facilitating taking step results in an at least partial loss by or on behalf of the sender of the credit or of a right of refund to the currency amount.

8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the system receives third information consistent with a designation by the recipient that the sender should be designated as an allowed sender, and sending or sending in a particular manner Emails from the allowed sender based at least in part on said designation.

9. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises determining that something of value has been received from or on behalf of the sender.

10. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein the something of value comprises a right to cause something to be forfeited, and wherein the facilitating or not facilitating step comprises initiating said forfeiture if a performance measure, that is based at least in part on the second information generated after receipt of the Email by the recipient inbox, indicates deficient performance on the part of the sender with respect to the Email.

11. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the step of facilitating comprises facilitating transfer of at least part of the something of value or a second benefit arising from the something of value to a charity.

12. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

adding, by the one or more computers, a designation for the sender to a white list comprising a privileged class of senders whose Emails are sent in a preferred manner relative to those of other senders based at least in part on said designation, even when there has been no receipt of something of value or a deposit guarantee of something of value for these emails or when there has only been a receipt or a deposit guarantee of something of value that is of lower value compared to other senders, said addition to the white list being or having been based at least in part on, or resulting at least in part from, an expression of approval made by the recipient in response to the Email, wherein the sending or sending in a particular manner step comprises using, by the one or more computers, the white list to determine whether to send Emails or whether or to send Emails in a preferred manner only with respect to the Emails addressed to the recipient.

13. The method as defined in claim 1,

adding, by the one or more computers, a designation for the sender to a white list comprising a privileged class of senders whose Emails are sent in a preferred manner relative to those of other senders, even when there has been no receipt of something of value or a deposit guarantee of something of value for these emails or when there has only been a receipt or a deposit guarantee of something of value that is of lower value, said addition to the white list being or having been based at least in part on, or resulting at least in part from, an expression of approval made by the recipient in response to the Email, wherein the sending or sending in a particular manner step is comprised of using, by the one or more computers, the white list to determine whether or not to send Emails in a preferred manner to multiple recipients.

14. The method as defined in claims 1, 5, 7, 9, 2, 10, 4, 3, 11, or 6, further comprising:

adding, by the one or more computers, a designation for the sender to a white list comprising a privileged class of senders whose Emails are sent in a preferred manner relative to those of other senders based at least in part on said designation, even when there has been no receipt of something of value or a deposit guarantee of something of value for these emails or when there has only been a receipt or a deposit guarantee of something of value that is of lower value compared to other senders, said addition to the white list being or having been based at least in part on, or resulting at least in part from the second information having been indicative of the recipient having approved of to the Email.

15. The method as defined in claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a payment from the sender, said payment made at least in part as consideration for the benefit received by the sender by sending the Email, and wherein said payment is at least in part non-reimbursable after the Email is sent, said partial or full non-reimbursability not depending on an indication of approval or disapproval of the human recipient.

16. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein the facilitating or not facilitating the taking or not taking of something of value or a benefit arising from the something of value consistent with the evaluating step only at a time subsequent to the receipt of the Email by the recipient inbox is performed by the one or more computers.

17. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein the something of value is a currency amount or a credit obtained in consideration for payment of a currency amount made by or on behalf of the sender, and the taking in the facilitating taking step initiates an at least partial loss by or on behalf of the sender of the credit and/or of a right of refund to the currency amount.

18. The method as defined in claim 14, further comprising:

receiving directly or indirectly from the sender, by one or more computers, fourth information associated with sending a new email to one or more destination recipient inboxes;

determining, by the one or more computers, whether or not the sender is on the white list;

electronically sending or sending in a preferred manner, by the one or more computers, after receipt of the fourth information from the sender, the new email to the one or more destination Email inboxes depending at least in part on whether the sender has been determined to be on the white list.

19. The method as defined in claim 18, further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more computers, at least one other Email from at least one other sender to at least one other recipient, said at least one other Email from the at least one other sender not being backed by a receipt of something of value or a deposit guarantee of something of value;

determining, by the one or more computers, whether the at least one other sender is on the white list;

blocking, by the one or more computers, the at least one other Email from being relayed to a respective at least one other-recipient-priority-inbox of the at least one other recipient, at least in part based on the determination that the at least one other sender is not on the white list.

20. The method as defined in claim 19, further comprising:

facilitating referring the other sender to, or facilitating informing the other sender of, a program for obtaining mailing privileges for sending Emails via the system, said mailing privileges obtained at least in part by providing something of value or allowing for the establishment of a deposit guarantee of something of value.

21. The method as defined in claim 19, wherein the step of determining by the one or more computers, whether the at least one other Email should or should not be sent to the other-recipient-priority-inbox of the other recipient, is based at least in part on a number of Emails received from that sender.

22. The method as defined in claim 19, wherein said determining whether the at least one other Email should or should not be sent comprises:

determining, by the one or more computers, that the Email is not associated with an IP address of a blacklisted sender.

23. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein the something of value comprises something to which an ownership right was acquired by the sender in exchange for a payment.

24. The method as defined in claim 23, further comprising applying, by the one or more computers, the something of value or the deposit guarantee, if not taken, as a basis for sending or sending in a particular manner further Emails.

25. The method as defined in claim 24, further comprising applying the something of value, if not taken, at least in part as a deposit guarantee for the further Emails.

26. The method as defined in claim 24, further comprising applying, by the one or more computers, the something of value, if not taken, at least in part to the payment of fees for sending the further Emails.

32. The system as defined in claim 21, further comprising a component configured in the one or more computers for receiving third information consistent with a designation by the recipient that the sender should be designated as an allowed sender, and sending or sending in a particular manner Emails from the allowed sender based at least in part on said designation.

27. An Email guarantee system, comprising:

one or more computers configured with the following components;

a component for receiving from a sender first information associated with the sending of at least one Email to at least one human recipient;

a component for determining whether something of value has been received from or on behalf of the sender or control of a deposit guarantee associated with something of value held or maintained on behalf of the sender, that is associated with the Email, has been established, at the same time as or prior to the sending of the Email to the recipient;

a component for, after receipt of the first information from the sender, electronically sending or sending in a particular manner, the Email to a recipient inbox for the human recipient depending at least in part on whether or not the system has determined that the something of value has been received from or on behalf of the sender or that control of the deposit guarantee associated with the something of value held or maintained on behalf of the sender, that is associated with the Email, has been established;

a component for evaluating second information generated after receipt of the Email by the recipient inbox, the second information consistent with a decision by the human recipient to approve or disapprove the Email, said decision having been made subsequent to the receipt of the Email by the recipient inbox; and

a component for facilitating taking or not taking the something of value or a benefit arising from the something of value based at least in part on the evaluating step only at a time subsequent to the receipt of the Email by the recipient inbox.

28. The system as defined in claim 27, wherein the component for facilitating is configured to facilitate a transfer electronically of at least part of the something of value or a second benefit arising from the something of value to a charity.

29. The system as defined in claim 27, further comprising:

a component configured in the one or more computers for adding a designation for the sender to a white list comprising a privileged class of senders whose Emails are sent in a preferred manner relative to those of other senders based at least in part on said designation, even when there has been no receipt of something of value or a deposit guarantee of something of value for these emails or when there has only been a receipt or a deposit guarantee of something of value that is of lower value compared to other senders, said component for adding configured to add the designation for the sender to the white list based at least in part on, or resulting at least in part from, an expression of approval made by the recipient in response to the Email, wherein the component for sending or sending in a particular manner is configured to use the white list to determine whether to send Emails or whether to send Emails in a preferred manner only with respect to the Emails addressed to the recipient.

30. The system as defined in claim 27,

a component configured in the one or more computers for adding a designation for the sender to a white list comprising a privileged class of senders whose Emails are sent in a preferred manner relative to those of other senders, even when there has been no receipt of something of value or a deposit guarantee of something of value for these emails or when there has only been a receipt or a deposit guarantee of something of value that is of lower value compared to other senders, said component for adding configured to add the designation for the sender to the white list based at least in part on, or resulting at least in part from, an expression of approval made by the recipient in response to the Email, wherein the component for sending or sending in a particular manner is configured to use the white list to determine whether to send Emails or whether to send Emails in a preferred manner to multiple recipients.

31. The system as defined in claim 27, wherein the something of value comprises a credit obtained in consideration for payment of a currency amount made by or on behalf of the sender, and wherein the taking results in an at least partial loss by or on behalf of the sender of the credit or of a right of refund to the currency amount.

33. The system as defined in claim 27, wherein the component for determining is configured for determining that something of value has been received from or on behalf of the sender.

34. The system as defined in claim 33, wherein the something of value comprises a right to cause something to be forfeited, and wherein the component for facilitating or not facilitating is configured to initiate said forfeiture if a performance measure, that is based at least in part on the second information generated after receipt of the Email by the recipient inbox, indicates deficient performance on the part of the sender with respect to the Email.

35. The system as defined in claim 27, wherein the component for determining is configured for determining that control of a deposit guarantee associated with something of value held or maintained on behalf of the sender has been established, and wherein the component for facilitating taking of the something of value or benefit arising from the something of value comprises facilitating electronically cancelation of an ownership right of the sender.

36. The system as defined in claim 35, wherein the component for facilitating or not facilitating is configured to facilitate or not facilitate the taking or not taking a benefit arising from the something of value.

37. The system as defined in claim 35, wherein the component for facilitating or not facilitating is configured to facilitate or not facilitate the taking or not taking the something of value.

38. The system as defined in claim 35, further comprising a component configured in the one or more computers for sending electronically to the recipient a facility for starting an electronic process to indicate approval or disapproval of the Email, and wherein the component for evaluating is configured to evaluate based at least in part on the receiving or not receiving of second information regarding whether or not the recipient has initiated the electronic process.

39. The system as defined in claim 35, wherein the component for sending or sending in a particular manner is configured so that the sending in a particular manner is at least partly determinative of at least one of:

the email being placed in the recipient inbox, said recipient inbox being a priority-inbox;

the email being placed in the recipient inbox with an emphasis.

40. The system as defined in claims 27, 38, 31, 33, 35, 34, 37, 36, 28 or 39, further comprising:

a component configured in the one or more computers for adding a designation for the sender to a white list comprising a privileged class of senders whose Emails are sent in a preferred manner relative to those of other senders based at least in part on said designation, even when there has been no receipt of something of value or a deposit guarantee of something of value for these emails or when there has only been a receipt or a deposit guarantee of something of value that is of lower value compared to other senders, said component for adding configured to add the designation for the sender to the white list based at least in part on, or resulting at least in part from the second information having been indicative of the recipient having approved of the Email.

41. The system as defined in claim 40, further comprising:

a component configured in the one or more computers for receiving a payment from the sender, said payment made at least in part as consideration for the benefit received by the sender by sending the Email, and wherein said payment is at least in part non-reimbursable after the Email is sent, said partial or full non-reimbursability not depending on an indication of approval or disapproval of the human recipient.

42. The system as defined in claim 40, wherein the something of value is a currency amount or a credit obtained in consideration for payment of a currency amount made by or on behalf of the sender, and wherein the component for facilitating or not facilitating the taking is configured to at least initiate an at least partial loss by or on behalf of the sender of the credit and/or of a right of refund to the currency amount.

43. The system as defined in claim 40, wherein the something of value comprises something to which an ownership right was acquired by the sender in exchange for a payment.

44. The system as defined in claim 43, further comprising a component configured in the one or more computers for applying the something of value or the deposit guarantee, if not taken, as a basis for the component for sending or sending in a particular manner to send further Emails.

45. The system as defined in claim 44, wherein the component for applying the something of value to send further Emails is configured to apply the something of value, if not taken, at least in part as a deposit guarantee for the further Emails.

46. The system as defined in claim 44, wherein the component for applying the something of value to send further Emails is configured to apply the something of value, if not taken, at least in part to the payment of fees for sending the further Emails.

47. The system as defined in claim 40, further comprising:

a component configured in the one or more computers for receiving directly or indirectly from the sender fourth information associated with sending a new email to one or more destination recipient inboxes;

a component configured in the one or more computers for determining whether or not the sender is on the white list;

a component configured in the one or more computers for electronically sending or sending in a preferred manner, after receipt of the fourth information from the sender, the new email to the one or more destination Email inboxes depending at least in part on whether the sender has been determined to be on the white list.

48. The system as defined in claim 47, further comprising:

a component configured in the one or more computers for receiving at least one other-Email from at least one other sender to at least one other recipient, said at least one other Email from the at least one other sender not being backed by a receipt of something of value or a deposit guarantee of something of value;

a component configured in the one or more computers for determining whether the at least one other sender is on the white list;

a component configured in the one or more computers for blocking, the at least one other-Email from being relayed to a respective at least one other-recipient-priority-inbox of the at least one other recipient, at least in part based on the determination that the at least one other sender is not on the white list.

49. The system as defined in claim 48, wherein said component for determining whether the at least one other Email should or should not be sent is configured to determine whether the Email is associated with an IP address of a blacklisted sender.

50. The system as defined in claim 48, further comprising:

a component configured in the one or more computers for facilitating referring the other sender to, or facilitating informing the other sender of, a program for obtaining mailing privileges for sending Emails via the system, said mailing privileges obtained at least in part by providing something of value or allowing for the establishment of a deposit guarantee of something of value.

51. The system as defined in claim 48, wherein the component for determining whether the at least one other Email should or should not be sent to the other-recipient-priority-inbox of the other recipient, is configured to make a determination based at least in part on a number of Emails received from that sender.