Presenting a recipient of an e-mail with an option to instant message a sender or another recipient based on the sender's or the other recipient's address and online status
First Claim
1. A communications method executing on hardware for initiating instant messaging communication, the method comprising:
- receiving, on a computer and on behalf of a user, an e-mail message having at least one address field;
locating, within the address field of the received e-mail message, a sender address from which the e-mail message was sent;
in response to locating, within the address field of the received e-mail message, the sender address from which the e-mail message was sent, identifying an instant messaging subscriber based on the located sender address from which the e-mail message was sent;
in response to identifying the instant messaging subscriber, accessing a server to determine if the identified instant messaging subscriber is online; and
in response to determining that the instant messaging subscriber is online, presenting to the user an option to initiate instant messaging communication with the instant messaging subscriber.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and techniques for transferring electronic data between users of a communications system include a host system structured and arranged to receive and deliver messages of various types between users of the communications system. The host system includes an instant messaging network; a mail gateway; and a configuring network in communication with both the instant messaging network and the mail gateway. The instant messaging network enables instant messaging communication between users of the communications system and has the capability to monitor whether a certain user is capable of receiving an instant message at a particular moment. The mail gateway receives and delivers e-mail messages to users of the communications system. The configuring network is dedicated to automatically configuring instant messaging communication between an intended recipient of an e-mail message and the sender of the e-mail message.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A communications method executing on hardware for initiating instant messaging communication, the method comprising:
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receiving, on a computer and on behalf of a user, an e-mail message having at least one address field; locating, within the address field of the received e-mail message, a sender address from which the e-mail message was sent; in response to locating, within the address field of the received e-mail message, the sender address from which the e-mail message was sent, identifying an instant messaging subscriber based on the located sender address from which the e-mail message was sent; in response to identifying the instant messaging subscriber, accessing a server to determine if the identified instant messaging subscriber is online; and in response to determining that the instant messaging subscriber is online, presenting to the user an option to initiate instant messaging communication with the instant messaging subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A communications method executing on hardware for initiating instant messaging communication, the method comprising:
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receiving, on a computer and on behalf of a user, an e-mail message that has at least one address field and that is addressed to a first recipient address, the first recipient address corresponding to the user; locating, within the address field of the received e-mail message, a second recipient address to which the e-mail message was sent; in response to and based on locating, within the address field of the received e-mail message, the second recipient address, identifying an instant messaging subscriber based on the located second recipient address to which the e-mail message was sent; in response to and based on identifying the instant messaging subscriber, accessing a server to determine if the instant messaging subscriber is online; and in response to and based on determining that the instant messaging subscriber is online, presenting to the user an option to initiate instant messaging communication with the instant messaging subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer-readable hardware storage medium having embodied thereon a computer program including instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to:
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receive, on behalf of a user, an e-mail message having at least one address field; locate, within the address field of the received e-mail message, a sender address from which the e-mail message was sent; in response to locating, within the address field of the received e-mail message, the sender address from which the e-mail message was sent, identify an instant messaging subscriber based on the located sender address from which the e-mail message was sent; in response to identifying the instant messaging subscriber, access a server to determine if the identified instant messaging subscriber is online; and in response to determining that the instant messaging subscriber is online, present to the user an option to initiate instant messaging communication with the instant messaging subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer-readable hardware storage medium having embodied thereon a computer program including instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to:
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receive, on behalf of a user, an e-mail message that has at least one address field and that is addressed to a first recipient address, the first recipient address corresponding to the user; locate, within the address field of the received e-mail message, a second recipient address to which the e-mail message was sent; in response to and based on locating, within the address field of the received e-mail message, the second recipient address, identify an instant messaging subscriber based on the located second recipient address to which the e-mail message was sent; in response to and based on identifying the instant messaging subscriber, access a server to determine if the instant messaging subscriber is online; and in response to and based on determining that the instant messaging subscriber is online, present to the user an option to initiate instant messaging communication with the instant messaging subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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Specification