Conditional message forwarding functions

• US 8,676,155 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2010
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fan, James, Barrett, Thomas, Lam, Jennifer K
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisner, Ronald
• Application Number:
  US12/889,953
• Publication Number:
  US 20120077467A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412.1, 455/412.2, 455/414.1, 455/466, 455406-409, 370351-430, 709/206, 709/207, 709/232, 709238-245, 705/32, 705/34, 705/40
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices that can conditionally and/or automatically control message forwarding by communication devices are presented. A network message management component and/or handset message management component can monitor messages (e.g., short message service (SMS) messages) communicated between user equipment (UE) in a communication network, identify and/or intercept a message for which one or more forwarding conditions have been specified by the message originator, target, or forward target, and conditionally and/or automatically route the message to the target and/or forward target in accordance with predefined message routing rules based at least in part on the conditions specified by the originator, target, or forward target. The predefined message routing rules can be implemented by the network and/or the UEs, and can relate to the UE identifiers, time, priority, cost, operation state, size, desired automatic response messages, or other desired factors, associated with the message.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a memory to store executable instructions; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, that facilitates execution of the executable instructions to perform operations, comprising;

facilitating communication of a message from a first communication device to a second communication device associated with a communication network;

determining whether forwarding a copy of the message to a third communication device will result in a defined threshold number of messages being exceeded during a defined subscription time period in connection with a subscription that relates to a messaging service and is associated with a subscriber identity, wherein the defined threshold number of messages being exceeded during the defined subscription time period results in a cost being incurred in connection with the forwarding of the copy of the message; and

determining whether to forward the copy of the message to the third communication device based on a defined message routing rule relating to a preference of the subscriber identity that indicates whether the cost is to be incurred in connection with the copy of the message being forwarded.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the cost is a financial cost associated with the copy of the message being forwarded in connection with the subscription, and the defined message routing rule indicates that the copy of the message is not to be forwarded to the third communication device in response to determining that the copy of the message being forwarded will incur the financial cost based on the subscription, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining whether the copy of the message being forwarded will incur the financial cost based on the subscription; and

in response to determining that the copy of the message being forwarded will incur the financial cost based on the subscription, determining that the copy of the message is not to be forwarded to the third communication device based on the defined message routing rule.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise analyzing a preference associated with the second communication device to facilitate determining whether the copy of the message being forwarded to the third communication device is requested in connection with the second communication device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the operations further comprise intercepting the message in response to determining that the copy of the message is requested to be forwarded in connection with the second communication device based on the preference associated with the second communication device.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the operations further comprise analyzing a forwarding indicator associated with the message to facilitate determining whether forwarding of the copy of the message to the third communication device is prohibited by the first communication device.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the operations further comprise analyzing a set of preferences associated with the third communication device to facilitate determining whether forwarding of the copy of the message to the third communication device is prohibited by the third communication device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise analyzing response messaging information relating to the message to facilitate determining whether a response message is to be sent to the first communication device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise determining that the response message is to be sent to the originating communication device in response to determining the response messaging information relating to the message comprises a response indicator that indicates that the response message is not prohibited based on the analyzing of the response messaging information.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise determining that the response message is not to be sent to the first communication device in response to determining the response messaging information relating to the message comprises a response indicator that comprises a defined response value that indicates that the response message is prohibited based on the analyzing of the response messaging information.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise communicating the copy of the message to message box address associated with the third communication device in response to determining that a message box option has been selected in connection with the third communication device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the cost relates to a number of messages communicated in connection with the subscription during the defined subscription time period, and the defined message routing rule indicates that the copy of the message is not to be forwarded to the third communication device in response to determining that the copy of the message being forwarded will result in the defined threshold number of messages being exceeded during the defined subscription time period, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining whether the copy of the message being forwarded will exceed the defined threshold number of messages during the defined subscription time period in connection with the subscription; and

in response to determining that the copy of the message being forwarded will result in the defined threshold number of messages being exceeded during the defined subscription time period, determining that the copy of the message is not to be forwarded to the third communication device based on the defined message routing rule.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining whether to forward the copy of the message to the third communication device based on the defined message routing rule further comprises:

determining whether to forward the copy of the message to the third communication device based on the defined message routing rule and a second defined message routing rule that indicates that the copy of the message is to be forwarded only during a defined time period.

13. A method, comprising:

intercepting, by a system comprising a processor, a message sent from an originating communication device to a target communication device;

determining, by the system, whether forwarding a copy of the message to a forward target communication device will exceed a defined threshold number of messages during a defined subscription time period in connection with a subscription that relates to a messaging service and is associated with a subscriber identity, wherein the defined threshold number of messages being exceeded during the defined subscription time period results in a cost being incurred in connection with the forwarding of the copy of the message; and

determining, by the system, whether to forward the copy of the message from the target communication device to the forward target communication device based on a defined message routing rule relating to a preference of the subscriber identity that indicates whether the cost is to be incurred by the forwarding of the copy of the message.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

detecting, by the system, a forwarding indicator in the message;

determining that the copy of the message is not to be forwarded to the forward target communication device in response to determining that the forwarding indicator comprises a defined forwarding value that indicates that forwarding the copy of the message to the forward target communication device is prohibited.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, by the system, the preference relating to the defined message routing rule from the target communication device;

storing, by the system, the preference in a data store; and

analyzing, by the system, the preference to facilitate the determining of whether to forward the copy of the message to the forward target communication device.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining, by the system, that the message is received by the target communication device;

determining, by the system, whether the target communication device has requested to send a response message to the originating communication device;

determining, by the system, whether a response indicator associated with the originating communication device has a value that indicates sending of the response message to the originating communication device is prohibited; and

determining, by the system, whether to send the response message to the originating communication device in response to a result of the determining of whether the target communication device has requested to send the response message to the originating communication device and the determining of whether the response indicator associated with the originating communication device has the value that indicates sending of the response message to the originating communication device is prohibited.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the message is a text message and the forward target communication device is a mobile communication device, and the method further comprises:

receiving, by the system, selection information indicating the copy of the text message is to be delivered to an email message box address associated with the forward target communication device; and

sending, by the system, the copy of the text message to the email message box address associated with the forward target communication device based on the selection information.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the cost relates to a number of messages communicated in connection with the subscription during the defined subscription time period, and the defined message routing rule indicates that the copy of the message is not to be forwarded to the forward target communication device in response to determining that the forwarding of the copy of the message will result in the defined threshold number of messages being exceeded during the defined subscription time period, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining, by the system, whether the forwarding of the copy of the message will exceed the defined threshold number of messages during the defined subscription time period in connection with the subscription; and

in response to determining that the forwarding of the copy of the message will result in the defined threshold number of messages being exceeded during the defined subscription time period, determining, by the system, that the copy of the message is not to be forwarded to the forward target communication device based on the defined message routing rule.

19. A system, comprising:

a memory to store executable instructions; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, that facilitates execution of the executable instructions to perform operations, comprising;

receiving, from a first communication device, a message by a second communication device;

determining whether forwarding a copy of the message to a third communication device will exceed a defined threshold number of messages during a defined subscription time period in connection with a subscription that relates to a messaging service and is associated with a subscriber identity, wherein the defined threshold number of messages being exceeded during the defined subscription time period is determined to result in a cost being incurred in connection with the forwarding of the copy of the message; and

determining whether to forward the copy of the message to the third communication device in accordance with a defined message routing rule relating to a preference of the subscriber identity that indicates whether the cost is to be incurred in connection with the forwarding of the copy of the message.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the cost is a financial cost associated with the forwarding of the copy of the message in connection with the subscription, and the defined message routing rule indicates that the copy of the message is not to be forwarded to the third communication device in response to determining that the forwarding of the copy of the message will incur the financial cost based on the subscription, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining whether the forwarding of the copy of the message will incur the financial cost based on the subscription; and

in response to determining that the forwarding of the copy of the message will incur the financial cost based on the subscription, determining that the copy of the message is not to be forwarded to the third communication device based on the defined message routing rule.