Enhancing messaging services using translation gateways
First Claim
1. A system for supporting a messaging service, comprising:
- a first translation gateway for use between (a) a customer data network that is accessed, by those authorized by the customer, to receive a message via a client process, and (b) a hostile data network,the first translation gateway having translation functionality that is applied to a plurality of inbound messages, arriving via the hostile network, in a manner that is transparent to recipients of said inbound messages who experience the messages via a plurality of client processes running in the customer network,the first translation gateway having translation functionality that is applied to outbound messages, originating with the plurality of client processes in the customer network, in a manner that is transparent to users of the plurality of client processes, wherein the first translation gateway is designed to verify that accounts of the users are current in response to obtaining outbound messages; and
a second translation gateway for use between(a) the hostile data network, and(b) a service provider network of a provider of said messaging service, wherein said service provider network implements an interface to a telephony network from which the inbound messages originate, the second translation gateway to forward the inbound messages to the first translation gateway through the hostile network in a manner that precludes unauthorized access to the content of the inbound messages.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, a translation gateway is for use between a network of a messaging service provider and a hostile data network. The gateway is to forward messages using a secure connection through the hostile network, to a customer'"'"'s network. Different types of inbound messages (e.g., voice; fax) can be delivered to a single client process running on a customer machine on the customer network. In addition, the translation gateway may be used to securely forward different types of outbound messages originating from the client process to the service provider'"'"'s network (where the messages are retransmitted as voice calls or facsimiles into a telephone network). Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
123 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for supporting a messaging service, comprising:
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a first translation gateway for use between (a) a customer data network that is accessed, by those authorized by the customer, to receive a message via a client process, and (b) a hostile data network, the first translation gateway having translation functionality that is applied to a plurality of inbound messages, arriving via the hostile network, in a manner that is transparent to recipients of said inbound messages who experience the messages via a plurality of client processes running in the customer network, the first translation gateway having translation functionality that is applied to outbound messages, originating with the plurality of client processes in the customer network, in a manner that is transparent to users of the plurality of client processes, wherein the first translation gateway is designed to verify that accounts of the users are current in response to obtaining outbound messages; and a second translation gateway for use between (a) the hostile data network, and (b) a service provider network of a provider of said messaging service, wherein said service provider network implements an interface to a telephony network from which the inbound messages originate, the second translation gateway to forward the inbound messages to the first translation gateway through the hostile network in a manner that precludes unauthorized access to the content of the inbound messages. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for supporting a messaging service, comprising:
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a first translation gateway for use between a) a customer data network that is administered by a customer of the messaging service and not by a provider of the messaging service and b) a hostile data network; and a second translation gateway for use between a) the hostile data network and b) a service provider network that is administered by the provider and not by the customer, wherein the service provider network implements an interface to a telephony network into which a message, that originates in the customer data network and arrives via the first translation gateway and the hostile network, is transmitted by the interface, the first translation gateway having translation functionality that is applied to a plurality of outbound messages originating from a plurality of client processes in the customer network, in a manner that is transparent to users of said plurality of client processes, the plurality of outbound messages being addressed to the service provider network, the first translation gateway being designed to then forward the plurality of outbound messages to the second translation gateway through the hostile data network, and the first translation gateway being designed to verify that accounts of users are current in response to obtaining outbound messages. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for providing a secure messaging service, comprising:
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assigning a separate set of circuit switched network addresses to each of a plurality of corporate subscribers of the messaging service, some of the sets of circuit switched network addresses being in different countries; associating the set of circuit switched network addresses for each subscriber with an internet domain of said subscriber; receiving one of a) an inbound fax message and b) an inbound voice message that has been addressed to one of the set of circuit switched network addresses of a given subscriber; transferring the inbound message to a first translation gateway that is configured to service the given subscriber, wherein the inbound message is addressed to the internet domain of the given subscriber; sending the inbound message from the first translation gateway to a predefined port of a second translation gateway in a privacy-maintaining manner over a hostile data network of which the first and second translation gateways are separate nodes, wherein the second translation gateway is administered by the given subscriber and is to forward the inbound message to an affiliate of the given subscriber over an internal data network of the given subscriber of which the second translation gateway is a node; obtaining an outbound message at the first translation gateway, wherein the outbound message originated with an affiliate of the given subscriber and was addressed to an internet domain of a provider of the messaging service with whom the given subscriber has a service contract for secure messaging services, the outbound message having been transferred by the second translation gateway to the first translation gateway in a privacy-maintaining manner over the hostile data network; verifying that an account of the given subscriber is current, in response to obtaining the outbound message; and forwarding the outbound message by the first translation gateway to an outbound resource of the service provider over an internal data network of the service provider of which the first translation gateway and the outbound resource are separate nodes, wherein the outbound resource is capable of translating the outbound message into a format that can be transmitted to one of a) a facsimile machine and b) a telephone unit, over a telephony network. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A method for operating a message delivery service, comprising:
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associating a separate set of data network source address names to each of a plurality of different group subscribers of the message delivery service, wherein each group subscriber has entered into a service contract with a service provider of the message delivery service; instructing a given one of the plurality of different group subscribers to configure a first translation gateway administered by the given group subscriber, so that the first gateway applies a translation function to any outbound message that originates in an internal data network of the given group subscriber and that is addressed to a specified internet domain of the service provider, the translation function to ensure privacy of an outbound message as it travels through a hostile data network; verifying that an account of the given group subscriber is current in response to receiving an outbound message that originated in the internal data network of the given group subscriber and that traveled through the hostile data network before arriving at a second translation gateway; and forwarding the received outbound message from the second translation gateway to an outbound resource, wherein the second translation gateway and the outbound resource are different nodes of an internal data network of the service provider, and wherein the outbound resource is to transmit the received outbound message to a circuit-switched network address of a recipient. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification