Apparatus and method for precluding e-mail distribution

Abstract

E-mail addresses are converted by a hashing function into hash codes. An e-mail mass mailer that can have millions of addresses hash codes all addresses to which a message might be sent to form a first list. An entity that wishes to exclude delivery of a message to various e-mail addresses, hash codes such addresses to form a second list. Hash codes in the first list that are also in the second list are purged from the first list to yield a third list of hash codes, each of which represents an e-mail address to which a message may be sent.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention is directed to a method and apparatus for managing e-mail message transmission. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus by which proprietary e-mail addresses can be distributed to third party e-mail address filtration service providers. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Electronic mail, which is also known as “e-mail,” is the transmission of messages over communication networks, such as the Internet. E-mail messages can take the form of notes that are entered into a computer using a keyboard. They can also take the form of attachments to messages. [0003] It is well known that e-mail has many advantages over other forms of communication. E-mail is much less expensive than mail service provided by the U.S. Postal Service (U.S.P.S.). Unlike the U.S.P.S. mail delivery, e-mail is delivered almost instantaneously. When an e-mail message cannot be delivered, an error notification is also received almost in...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

When an e-mail message cannot be delivered, an error notification is also received almost instantaneously.

Direct solicitations by telemarketing is slow and expensive.

Unfortunately, the advantages of commercial message transmission by e-mail have caused such messages to overload networks that deliver them.

Perhaps unfortunately for Hormel, the word “spam” is now also being widely used to refer to unsolicited commercial e-mail messages sent to recipients who have not indicated a willingness to receive such unsolicited email messages from the sender.

Spam now taxes the capabilities of many Internet service providers and is widely considered to be an annoyance by Internet users.

Because many e-mail advertisers use e-mail lists that are provided by mass mailers, filtering e-mail address lists of an e-mail mass mailer to control spam is problematic because e-mail mass mailers are reluctant to turn over trade secrets embodied in e-mail address lists.

Consequently, controlling the transmission of unwanted e-mail distributed by third-party service providers is inhibited by trade secret concerns.

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