Electronic mail forwarding service
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of providing email message forwarding functionality, the method comprising:
- providing a web-based email service for a plurality of subscribers, the web-based email service including a website for enabling subscribers to access email messages, the website generating revenue by displaying advertisements when a subscriber accesses email messages;
receiving and storing a first email message addressed to a first email address of a subscriber of the web-based email service, the first email message including a body section containing message content;
in response to receiving the first email message, automatically generating and sending, to a second email address pre-specified by the subscriber, a second email message that contains a textual summary of the first email message, the second email message lacking at least a portion of the message content of the first email message, wherein the second email message includes a link that is selectable by the subscriber to access the first email message from the website of the web-based email service, the link encoded with information that identifies the first email message; and
in response to the subscriber selecting the link in the second email message, serving, by the web-based email service, a web page containing the first email message, the web page further including at least one advertisement to generate advertising revenue for the website of the web-based email service even though the subscriber accessed the first email message through the link in the second email message.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method are disclosed that enable an email service provider to implement an email forwarding service without losing associated page views. In one embodiment, rather than forwarding the entire email message, the email forwarding service generates a summary email message, and sends this summary email message to the forwarding email address pre-specified by the subscriber. This summary email message includes a link that is selectable by the user to view the original email message on a web site of the email service provider. Thus, even if the forwarding email address is hosted externally, the subscriber still views the full email message on a web site of the provider of the email forwarding service.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of providing email message forwarding functionality, the method comprising:
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providing a web-based email service for a plurality of subscribers, the web-based email service including a website for enabling subscribers to access email messages, the website generating revenue by displaying advertisements when a subscriber accesses email messages; receiving and storing a first email message addressed to a first email address of a subscriber of the web-based email service, the first email message including a body section containing message content; in response to receiving the first email message, automatically generating and sending, to a second email address pre-specified by the subscriber, a second email message that contains a textual summary of the first email message, the second email message lacking at least a portion of the message content of the first email message, wherein the second email message includes a link that is selectable by the subscriber to access the first email message from the website of the web-based email service, the link encoded with information that identifies the first email message; and in response to the subscriber selecting the link in the second email message, serving, by the web-based email service, a web page containing the first email message, the web page further including at least one advertisement to generate advertising revenue for the website of the web-based email service even though the subscriber accessed the first email message through the link in the second email message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 19, 20)
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8. A computer-implemented method of providing email message forwarding functionality, the method comprising:
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providing a web-based email service for a plurality of subscribers, the web-based email service including a website for enabling subscribers to access email messages, the website generating revenue by displaying advertisements when a subscriber accesses email messages; receiving and storing an original email message addressed to an original email address of a subscriber of the web-based email service, the original email message including a body section containing message content; generating a forwarding email document comprising a summary of the original email message and a unique link for accessing the original email message from the website of the web-based email service, the summary lacking at least a portion of the message content of the original email message; sending the forwarding email document to a forwarding email address of the subscriber; and in response to the subscriber selecting the link in the forwarding email document, serving a web page containing the original email message, the web page further including at least one advertisement to generate advertising revenue for the website of the web-based email service even though the subscriber accessed the original email message through the link in the forwarding email document. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for providing email message forwarding functionality, the system comprising:
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a web server that provides access to a web-based email application, the web-based email application allowing a plurality of subscribers to access email messages and to enable an email forwarding service, wherein the web server generates revenue by hosting a web site that displays advertisements when a subscriber accesses email messages; and an email forwarding system that implements the email forwarding service, the email forwarding system being configured to; responsive to receipt of a first email message addressed to a first email address of a subscriber of the web-based email application, generate a second email message; and send the second email message to a second email address pre-specified by the subscriber, the second email message including a summary of the first email message, and further including a link that is selectable by the subscriber to access the first email message via the website of the web server, wherein, in response to the subscriber selecting the link in the second email message, the web server provides instructions for displaying a web page containing the first email message, the web page further including at least one advertisement to generate advertising revenue even though the subscriber accessed the first email message through the link in the second email message. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 21)
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22. A computer-implemented method of providing electronic message forwarding functionality, the method comprising:
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providing a web-based message service for a plurality of registered users, the web-based message service including a website for enabling registered users to electronically access messages, the website generating revenue by displaying advertisements when a registered user electronically accesses messages; receiving and storing a first message addressed to a registered user of the web-based message service, the first message including a body section containing message content; in response to receiving the first message, automatically generating and sending, to an email address pre-specified by the registered user, a second message that contains a textual summary of the first email, the second message lacking at least a portion of the message content of the first message, wherein the second message comprises an email with a body section that includes a link that is selectable by the registered user to electronically access the first message from the website of the web-based message service, the link encoded with information that identifies the first message; and in response to the user selecting the link in the second message, serving a web page containing the first message, the web page further including at least one advertisement to generate advertising revenue for the website of the web-based message service even though the registered user accessed the first message through the link in the second message. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification