Addressee-defined mail addressing system and method

• US 20020023135A1
• Filed: 05/16/2001
• Published: 02/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Hoshiko LLC (Raoul Management LLC)
• Inventors: Shuster, Brian Mark
• Granted Patent: US 7,428,576 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

A mail delivery system and method for delivery of mail to addressees are disclosed. The system is particularly suitable for implementation in the context of an email or similar electronic messaging system, and is particularly useful for managing and/or discouraging unsolicited junk mail. The system comprises a plurality of unique delivery addresses, each for a corresponding addressee, and a plurality of delivery codes. The delivery codes are generally defined or otherwise controlled by the addressees, with each addressee controlling a specific subset of the delivery codes. Any given delivery code does not comprise a unique delivery address or any essential portion thereof, and instead comprises distinct, essentially arbitrary addressee-controlled information. The method comprises addressing a selected piece of the mail with a selected delivery address, and associating a selected delivery code with the selected delivery address of the piece of mail. The selected delivery code may be (and from the mail sender'"'"'s viewpoint, preferably is) one defined by the addressee of the particular piece of mail. The method further comprises delivering the piece of mail to the addressee if the delivery address is associated with a valid delivery code defined by the addressee, and dispatching the piece of mail as directed by the addressee, if it does not have a valid, addressee-defined delivery code. For example, mail lacking a valid delivery code may be deleted or destroyed without delivering to the addressee. The system further comprises means for performing steps of the method, such as an application operable in a computer memory.

Claims

1. A mail delivery system for delivery of mail to addressees of a plurality of unique delivery addresses, the system comprising:

a plurality of unique delivery addresses each for a corresponding addressee;

a plurality of delivery codes, wherein ones of the plurality of delivery codes are defined by corresponding ones of the addressees, and wherein each of the plurality of delivery codes does not comprise any one of the plurality of unique delivery addresses or any essential portion thereof;

means for addressing a selected piece of the mail with a selected delivery address of the plurality of unique delivery addresses;

means for associating a selected delivery code of the plurality of delivery codes with the selected delivery address of the selected piece of the mail, wherein the selected delivery code is defined by an addressee of the selected delivery address;

means for delivering the selected piece of the mail to the addressee, if the selected delivery address is associated with the selected delivery code; and

means for dispatching the selected piece of the mail as directed by the addressee, if the selected delivery address is not associated with the selected delivery code.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the means for dispatching further comprises means for discarding the selected piece of the mail without delivering to the addressee.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the means for dispatching further comprises means for automatically notifying a sender of the selected piece of the mail that the selected delivery address is not associated with a valid delivery code.

4. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for removing from the plurality of delivery codes an addressee-selected delivery code thereof as directed by an addressee that previously defined the addressee-selected delivery code.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the means for delivering further comprises delivering the selected piece of the mail organized according to the ones of the plurality of delivery codes defined by the addressee.

6. A method for disposition of mail comprised of a plurality of pieces, the method comprising the steps of:

reading an address associated with a piece of the plurality of pieces, wherein the address contains a unique delivery address of an addressee;

determining whether the address contains a valid delivery code defined by the addressee, wherein the delivery code is distinct from the unique delivery address;

dispatching the piece if the address does not contain the valid delivery code; and

delivering the piece to the addressee, if the address contains the valid delivery code.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said reading step further comprises reading the piece of the plurality of pieces comprised of an electronic message delivered over a computer network.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein said reading step further comprises reading the piece of the plurality of pieces comprised of an email message.

9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising organizing the piece in a directory of received mail according to the delivery code.

10. The method according to claim 6, further comprising providing the addressee with an option to define a plurality of valid delivery codes comprising the delivery code.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising providing the addressee with an option to invalidate any of the plurality of valid delivery codes that have been defined by the addressee.

12. The method according to claim 6, further comprising dispatching the plurality of pieces of mail by repeating said reading step, said determining step, said dispatching step, and said delivering step in sequence for each of the plurality of pieces of mail.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising organizing at least selected ones of the plurality of pieces of mail in a directory according to a plurality of delivery codes defined by the addressee.

14. The method according to claim 6, wherein said dispatching step further comprises discarding the piece without delivering to the addressee.

15. The method according to claim 6, wherein said dispatching step further comprises automatically notifying a sender of the piece that the piece is not addressed with a valid delivery code defined by the addressee.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the application is further operable to perform the function of reading the piece of the plurality of pieces comprised of an electronic message delivered over a computer network.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the application is further operable to perform the function of reading the piece of the plurality of pieces comprised of an email message.

19. The system according to claim 16, wherein the application is further operable to perform a function of organizing the piece in a directory of received mail according to the delivery code.

20. The system according to claim 16, wherein the application is further operable to perform a function of providing the addressee with an option to define a plurality of valid delivery codes comprising the delivery code.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein the application is further operable to perform the function of providing the addressee with an option to invalidate any of the plurality of valid delivery codes that have been defined by the addressee.

22. The system according to claim 16, wherein the application is further operable to perform the functions of dispatching the plurality of pieces of mail by repeating said reading step, said determining step, said dispatching step, and said delivering step in sequence for each of the plurality of pieces of mail.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein the application is further operable to perform the function of organizing at least selected ones of the plurality of pieces of mail in a directory according to a plurality of delivery codes defined by the addressee.

24. The system according to claim 16, wherein the application is further operable to perform the function of dispatching by discarding the piece without delivering to the addressee.

25. The system according to claim 16, wherein the application is further operable to perform the function of dispatching by automatically notifying a sender of the piece that the piece is not addressed with a valid delivery code defined by the addressee.

16. A system for delivering email messages, the system comprising:

a computer connected to a network and operable to send and receive the email messages to and from the network;

a memory connected to the computer; and

an application stored in the memory and operable with the computer to perform functions of;

reading an address associated with a message of the email messages, wherein the address contains a unique delivery address sufficient of an individual addressee;

determining whether the address contains a valid delivery code defined by the addressee, wherein the delivery code is distinct from the unique delivery address;

dispatching the message according as directed by the addressee if the address does not contain the valid delivery code; and

delivering the message to the addressee, if the address contains the valid delivery code.