Auto update utility for digital address books

• US 9,697,289 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2015
• Issued: 07/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Gropper, Robert L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleurantin, Jean B
• Application Number:
  US14/924,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20160048594A1
• Time in Patent Office: 616 Days
• Field of Search: 707770, 707796, 709203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2379 Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4505 using standardised directories; using standardised directory access protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

An Internet-based system capable of automatically maintaining contact-related information in any computer software application or digital device which stores or manages contact-related information. More particularly, the system allows users to automatically enter and maintain contact-related information in a digital address book or similar application or device with minimal or no manual entry of the contact-related information by the user. The system also allows contacts of the user to make corrections to their contact-related information contained in the user'"'"'s address book, request reciprocal contact information from the user, deny the user access to additional or corrected contact-related information and take other actions relative to managing the contact-related information which others (users) have about them.

Claims

1. A computer system for contact information management, comprising:

a communications interface in network communication with a client computer and an addressee computer; and

a computer processor that is operatively coupled to the communications interface and programmed to (i) receive from the client computer existing contact information of an addressee extracted from an address book data structure of an address book, (ii) transmit to the addressee computer an update request, wherein the update request is a request for an update to the existing contact information from the addressee computer, wherein the update request is transmitted to the addressee computer in response to the existing contact information being extracted from the address book data structure of the address book, and (iii) subsequent to transmitting the update request to the addressee computer, receive from the addressee computer an update to the existing contact information, wherein the update is provided by the addressee computer in response to the addressee computer receiving the update request.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer processor is programmed to determine whether the addressee computer is associated with the addressee.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer processor is programmed to receive from the client computer a request to transmit the update request to the addressee computer.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer processor is programmed to transmit the update request to the addressee computer with the existing contact information.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer processor is programmed to automatically transmit the update to the existing contact information to the client computer.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the client computer or addressee computer includes a user interface that displays the existing contact information of the addressee.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the client computer or addressee computer is not a computer server.

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the update to the existing contact information is automatically received from the addressee computer.

9. A computer system for contact information management, comprising:

a communications interface in network communication with a client computer and an addressee computer; and

a computer processor that is operatively coupled to the communications interface and programmed to (i) receive from the client computer existing contact information of an addressee extracted from an address book data structure of an address book, (ii) transmit to the addressee computer an update request, wherein the update request is a request for an update to the existing contact information from the addressee computer, and (iii) subsequent to transmitting the update request to the addressee computer, receive from the addressee computer an update to the existing contact information, wherein the update is inputted into the addressee computer in response to the addressee computer receiving the update request,

wherein the computer processor is programmed to transmit to the addressee computer the update request in the absence of a tag that prevents a request for updated contact information from the addressee computer.

10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the computer processor is programmed to receive from the client computer a request to transmit the update request to the addressee computer.

11. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the computer processor is programmed to transmit the update request to the addressee computer with the existing contact information.

12. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the computer processor is programmed to automatically transmit the update to the existing contact information to the client computer.

13. A computer system for contact information management, comprising:

a communications interface in network communication with a client computer and an addressee computer;

a computer processor that is operatively coupled to the communications interface and programmed to (i) receive from the client computer existing contact information of an addressee extracted from an address book data structure of an address book, (ii) transmit to the addressee computer an update request, wherein the update request is a request for an update to the existing contact information from the addressee computer, and (iii) subsequent to transmitting the update request to the addressee computer, receive from the addressee computer an update to the existing contact information, wherein the update is inputted into the addressee computer in response to the addressee computer receiving the update request; and

a database that stores status tags on addressee records.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the status tags comprise block tags, and wherein prior to transmitting the update request, the computer processor accesses the database to determine a presence of a block tag associated with the addressee.

15. A computer system for contact information management, comprising:

a communications interface in network communication with a client computer and an addressee computer; and

a computer processor that is operatively coupled to the communications interface and programmed to (i) transmit to the addressee computer an update request, wherein the update request is a request for an update to existing contact information of an addressee extracted from an address book data structure of an address book, wherein the update request is transmitted to the addressee computer in response to the existing contact information being extracted from the address book data structure of the address book, (ii) receive from the addressee computer the update to existing contact information of the addressee, wherein the update is provided by the addressee computer in response to the addressee computer receiving the update request, and (iii) transmit to the client computer the update to the existing contact information of the addressee.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the computer processor is programmed to determine whether the addressee computer is associated with the addressee.

17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the computer processor is programmed to transmit to the addressee computer the update request upon receiving, from the client computer, a request to transmit the update request to the addressee computer.

18. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the computer processor is programmed to transmit the update request to the addressee computer with the existing contact information.

19. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the computer processor is programmed to automatically transmit the update to the existing contact information to the client computer.

20. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the client computer or addressee computer includes a user interface that displays the existing contact information of the addressee.

21. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the client computer or addressee computer is not a computer server.

22. The computer system of claim 15, wherein upon receiving the update to the existing contact, the client computer automatically updates the existing contact information of the addressee.

23. A computer system for contact information management, comprising:

a communications interface in network communication with a client computer and an addressee computer; and

a computer processor that is operatively coupled to the communications interface and programmed to (i) transmit to the addressee computer an update request, wherein the update request is a request for an update to existing contact information of an addressee extracted from an address book data structure of an address book, (ii) receive from the addressee computer the update to existing contact information of the addressee, wherein the update is inputted into the addressee computer in response to the addressee computer receiving the update request, and (iii) transmit to the client computer the update to the existing contact information of the addressee,

wherein the computer processor is programmed to transmit to the addressee computer the update request in the absence of a tag that prevents a request for updated contact information from the addressee computer.

24. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the computer processor is programmed to transmit to the addressee computer the update request upon receiving, from the client computer, a request to transmit the update request to the addressee computer.

25. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the computer processor is programmed to transmit the update request to the addressee computer with the existing contact information.

26. The computer system of claim 23, wherein the computer processor is programmed to automatically transmit the update to the existing contact information to the client computer.

27. A computer system for contact information management, comprising:

a communications interface in network communication with a client computer and an addressee computer;

a computer processor that is operatively coupled to the communications interface and programmed to (i) transmit to the addressee computer an update request, wherein the update request is a request for an update to existing contact information of an addressee extracted from an address book data structure of an address book, (ii) receive from the addressee computer the update to existing contact information of the addressee, wherein the update is inputted into the addressee computer in response to the addressee computer receiving the update request, and (iii) transmit to the client computer the update to the existing contact information of the addressee; and

a database that stores status tags on addressee records.

28. The computer system of claim 27, wherein the status tags comprise block tags, and wherein prior to transmitting the update request, the computer processor accesses the database to determine a presence of a block tag associated with the addressee.