Messaging System Message Container Compliance Enforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current email systems lack the ability to efficiently separate business records from general 'chatter' and enforce compliance policies, making it difficult for enterprises to store and manage message content, especially in compliance with regulations, due to the inefficiencies in tracking and logging message instances across multiple copies.
Innovation Solution
A messaging system that treats related messages as containers with relational references, using a governance policy module to enforce compliance policies by associating each message component with active policies, allowing for tracking and management of message lifecycles through a database system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple copies of the same message are stored in different mail snapshots, then the messaging system can maintain message history and allow forwarding, but the storage efficiency decreases and compliance enforcement becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments a message into discrete, immutable components (header, body, attachments) that are stored once in a database. Each message instance references these components rather than storing duplicate copies, eliminating redundant storage while maintaining complete message history across different mail snapshots and forwarding operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of copying entire message instances across different mail snapshots, the patent uses reference copying where each message instance contains pointers to the immutable message components. This allows multiple message instances to reference the same underlying content without duplicating the actual message data in storage.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional email systems store messages as simple text strings, then the system is simple to implement, but the ability to track and enforce compliance policies on messages is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments a message into distinct components (header, body, attachments) that can be individually tracked and managed. Each component is stored as a discrete object in the database with its own metadata, allowing the system to maintain simplicity while enabling granular compliance tracking and enforcement on specific message elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a message container as an intermediary layer between the user-facing email system and the underlying storage. This container encapsulates the message components and provides a structured interface for compliance enforcement, allowing the system to remain simple for users while enabling sophisticated compliance tracking through the container's metadata and reference structure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If messages are allowed to be forwarded and included in multiple emails, then the messaging system provides flexibility and usability, but the ability to enforce retention policies and access rights becomes nearly impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies compliance policies at the time of message creation, attaching metadata and compliance tags to the message container and its components before the message enters the forwarding chain. This preliminary action ensures that retention policies and access rights are established upfront, making them enforceable regardless of how many times the message is forwarded or included in different email snapshots.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a compliance enforcement mechanism that continuously monitors message instances and enforces policies based on the original message's compliance metadata. When messages are forwarded or included in new emails, the system checks the compliance tags and enforces the appropriate retention and access policies, providing ongoing feedback and control throughout the message lifecycle.
Data Source
AI summary
A messaging system enforces compliance policies for the electronic messages. The messaging system treats a set of related messages, such as an email string between two or more people, as a message container (200) having relational references to one or more submessages (210, 212, 214). A messaging server (112) stores the messages and submessages as discrete message components within a message database (416). In addition, the messaging server (112) stores one or more compliance policies. A compliance policy describes the set of rules that apply to message components during their lifecycles and is defined in terms of a population structure, a set of rules, and a set of jobcodes. When an action occurs that involves a piece of content, the messaging system identifies the relevant compliance policy in the governance policy database (424) and applies any rules that are applicable given the population structure and jobcode.