System and method for notifying an instant message recipient of receipt of a message
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for notifying an instant message recipient that the message has been received from a sender, the method comprising:
- providing a message server in communication with an apparatus designed to display a video program and provide an interface through which preferences by a recipient can be defined as to whether presence of the recipient is divulged to others on an instant messaging network associated with a particular video program while the recipient is watching the particular program;
based on a first set of preferences defined by the recipient, allowing the apparatus to determine, upon initiation of the video program, whether the presence of the recipient on the instant messaging network should be made known to other users on the instant messaging network;
if the presence of the recipient is to be made known to the other users on the instant messaging network, permitting the apparatus to inform the other users connected to the instant messaging network of the viewing activity of the recipient, and determine, based upon a second set of preferences defined by the recipient, a notification level for messages received by the recipient while the recipient is watching the particular program; and
authorizing the apparatus to notify the recipient based on the notification level.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for notifying an instant message recipient of the arrival of the instant message is provided, and includes managing the presence of the recipient on a network, determining a notification priority level of the message, and notifying the recipient based on the notification priority level. In embodiments, the higher the notification priority level, the more sensorially obtrusive the notification can be.
24 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A method for notifying an instant message recipient that the message has been received from a sender, the method comprising:
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providing a message server in communication with an apparatus designed to display a video program and provide an interface through which preferences by a recipient can be defined as to whether presence of the recipient is divulged to others on an instant messaging network associated with a particular video program while the recipient is watching the particular program; based on a first set of preferences defined by the recipient, allowing the apparatus to determine, upon initiation of the video program, whether the presence of the recipient on the instant messaging network should be made known to other users on the instant messaging network; if the presence of the recipient is to be made known to the other users on the instant messaging network, permitting the apparatus to inform the other users connected to the instant messaging network of the viewing activity of the recipient, and determine, based upon a second set of preferences defined by the recipient, a notification level for messages received by the recipient while the recipient is watching the particular program; and authorizing the apparatus to notify the recipient based on the notification level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for managing a presence of a message recipient on an instant messaging network, the method comprising:
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providing an apparatus in communication with a message server, the apparatus having an interface through which a set of preferred videos streams by a recipient can be defined as to whether a presence of the recipient is divulged to other users on an instant messaging network while at least one of the video streams is displayed; receiving, by the apparatus, a first set of preferences defining the preferred video streams during the viewing of which the recipient does not permit receipt of instant messages, and a second set of preferences defining notification levels for messages on the instant messaging network; determining, by the apparatus, upon initiation of a video program, whether the video stream being viewed is one of the preferred video streams; and permitting the apparatus, if upon initiation of the video program it is determined that the video stream being viewed is not one of the preferred video streams, to make the presence of the recipient known or not to the other users, and subsequently change, without additional input from the recipient, a presence status of the recipient on the instant messaging network based on whether the video stream being viewed is one of the preferred video streams and based on the second set of preferences. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for determining a notification level for an instant message sent by a sender to a recipient during the viewing of a video stream, the video stream comprising a channel, a video program, and a type of video program, the method comprising:
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providing an apparatus having an interface through which a first set of preferences can be defined as to whether the presence of a recipient is disclosed to other users on an instant messaging network while the recipient is viewing a particular video stream, and through which interface a second set of preferences can also be defined for setting notification preferences for messages received by the recipient on the instant messaging network; allowing the apparatus in communication with a message server to determine, upon initiation of the video stream and based on the first set of preferences and the initiated video stream, whether to disclose the presence of the recipient to other users on the instant messaging network, and subsequently whether change a presence status of the recipient on the instant messaging network without additional input from the recipient; and authorizing the apparatus, if the presence is to be disclosed, upon receipt of a message from one of the other users, to compare the notification preference for received messages in the second set of preferences to a notification level of the received message. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A system for notifying an instant message recipient that a message has been received from a sender on a network while the recipient is viewing a particular video stream on a television, the system comprising:
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a message server for receiving the instant message from the sender; and a set-top box in communication with the television for; receiving the message from the message server and presenting the video stream to the recipient; determining, based on a first set of notification preferences of the recipient and the video stream being viewed, upon initiation of the video stream, whether to disclose a presence of the recipient on an instant messaging network to other users on the network, and subsequently whether to change presence status of the recipient on the instant messaging network without additional input from the recipient; if the presence of the recipient is to be disclosed, informing the other users of the viewing activity of the recipient on the particular data stream, and determining a notification level for the message received from the sender; and making a determination as to whether to notify the recipient of the message based on a second set of notification preferences of the recipient and the particular data stream being viewed. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43)
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Specification