WO2002028016A2

WO2002028016A2 - Method and apparatus for the transmission of electronic messages

Info

Publication number: WO2002028016A2
Application number: PCT/IB2001/001747
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marco Braina; Lorenzo Loberti; Gabriele Monari; Massimo Serotti
Original assignee: AUTENTICA Srl
Current assignee: AUTENTICA Srl
Priority date: 2000-09-29
Filing date: 2001-09-25
Publication date: 2002-04-04
Anticipated expiration: 2003-03-29
Also published as: ITBO20000568A0; ITBO20000568A1; WO2002028016A3; AU2001287981A1

Abstract

A method for transmitting electronic messages from a sender (1) to at least a recipient (3) comprises a stage of reception (4) of the electronic message (2) sent by the sender (1) by an external connection unit between sender (1) and recipient (3). The electronic message (2) is then archived by the external unit (4) and forwarded by the external unit (4) to the recipient (3).

Description

Method and Apparatus for the Transmission of Electronic Messages

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for transmitting and filing electronic mail messages.

Background Art

Currently, it is possible to send messages and documents via electronic mail between two computers by means of an intermediate server which transmits said message and documents from the mail box of a sender computer to the mail box of a recipient computer. Recently, said mode for transmitting messages has also been used for transmitting documents to which a particular validity and juridical effectiveness is to be recognised and attributed, such as contracts which can be stipulated with computerised tools or through telecommunication networks.

In the transmission of such documents, it is necessary first and foremost to guarantee the forwarding and the delivery of the message to the recipient.

In known methods of transmission via electronic mail, the sender, after sending the message with the any attachments, generally awaits a reply message by the recipient whereby he/she is notified of the actual delivery.

Unless one makes use of the same network access system (provider), and in any case only upon activation of specific procedures, the sender is not notified of the forwarding and delivery of the document; therefore, once the message is sent, so far the sender has always had to ascertain the actual delivery of the message.

An additional drawback in the transmission of documents via electronic mail is linked to the fact that currently the integrity of the message after its delivery is not guaranteed: for instance, the received message could be intentionally modified or eliminated, or errors could take place during its transmission.

Another drawback linked to current electronic mail systems is that of losing the archives of sent and/or received messages, for instance because of their removal or loss or as a consequence of the unforeseen degradation of the magnetic and optical supports for their storage.

Yet a further drawback derives from the fact that in the transmission of electronic messages, the document is not assigned a "certain" date and time. In effect, it is impossible unambiguously to identify a date and a time to assign to the transmitted document, since generally the date and time of transmission assigned by the server to the message at the time of its forwarding do not coincide with the date and time shown to the recipient at the time of its delivery.

Moreover, the date and time could also be intentionally modified by individual users on their own computer upon transmission/receipt, thereby creating "discrepancies" between the time data contained in the archives of the sender and of the recipient.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for transmitting electronic messages as specified in claim 1.

Description of the Drawings

The dependent claim refer to preferred and advantageous embodiments of the invention.

Embodiments of the present invention, purely by way of non limiting example, are illustrated below with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a diagram of implementation of the method according to the present invention;

Figure 2 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of the sequence of stages preceding the forwarding of an electronic message in the method for transmitting messages according to the current invention;

Figure 3 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of the sequence of stages of the method carried out by the external unit after receiving the electronic message sent by the sender; - Figure 4 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of some stages of the method relating to the forwarding of the message to the recipient by the external unit;

Figure 5 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of some stages of the method relating to the receipt of the electronic message;

Figure 6 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of some stages of the method carried out by the external unit subsequent to the receipt of the message by the recipient;

Figure 7 schematically shows an example of application of the method according to the present invention;

Figure 8 shows an embodiment of the apparatus for the implementation of the method according to the present invention.

Description of the Illustrative Embodiment

As shown in Figure 1, a sender 1 sends an electronic message 2 containing the address of one or more recipients 3. In the method according to the present invention, the message 2 is transmitted to the address of a remote external connecting unit 4 between sender 1 and recipient 3 (hereinafter simply called external unit) by means of an automatic procedure described below.

The message 2 is first received by the external unit 4, which archives it and subsequently forwards it to the recipient 3. In accordance with the diagram in Figure 2, according to the present invention the sender 1 who intends to send a message 2 to a recipient 3 by means of electronic mail is connected to the external unit 4 (stage 201) which provides the sender 1 with an appropriate procedure for forwarding 5 and receiving 5' a message (stage 202).

The external unit 4 can for instance be represented by a Web site, which the sender 1 can access to activate said procedure 5, 5': in this way, the sender 1 becomes a user of the aforesaid external unit 4.

To activate the forwarding operation, the procedure 5 comprises first the attribution 202a of an alphanumeric identifying code 6 to the sender 1, which allows to access the system for transmitting the electronic messages through the aforesaid external unit 4.

The procedure 5 further comprises the realisation 202b of selection means 7, for instance a push-button, on the computer of the sender 1, to send the message 2 through the external unit. The sender 1 writes the message 2 (stage 203) by means of an ordinary and known electronic mail system, attaching any documents and entering the address of the recipient 3.

To activate the forwarding 204 of the electronic message 2 through the external unit 4, the sender 1 then acts on the selection means 7: the procedure 5 requires entering 205 the identification code 6, checks it for correctness (stage 206), possibly encrypts the message 2 and activates the automatic transmission 207 to the address of the external unit 4.

Said external unit 4 receives the message 2 addressed to the recipient 3 (stage 208): as shown in Figure 3, after verifying the origin of the message 2 through the identifying code 6 (stage 301), possibly decrypting it and scanning 302 the message

2 itself and any attachments to verify the absence of any malfunction-inducing programs (ANTINIRUS), the external unit 4 assigns the time coordinates 8 (stage 303) and a protocol number 9 (stage 304) to the message 2.

The assignment 304 of the protocol number 9 can also precede or be simultaneous with the stage of assignment 303 of the time coordinates 8.

Subsequently, the external unit 4 archives the message 2 provided with its date and protocol number by storing it 305 on magnetic support 10 (for instance the computer's hard disk or a removable disk) and immediate re-transposition 306 on optical support 11 (for instance, a CD-ROM). Essentially, the external unit 4 carries out a procedure similar to the one required to obtain a "certified" and numbered copy of the content of the message 2 itself. The archived message is retained in the memory for a predetermined duration, which can be agreed with the user (for instance, 5 to 20 years or even unlimited). As shown in Figure 3, after performing each individual operation, the external unit 4 also updates its own log 12 (stage 300), which is then in turn stored (stage 307).

Figure 4 shows the stages subsequent to the archiving, by the external unit 4, of the message 2 sent by the sender 1.

The external unit 4 verifies (stage 400) whether the recipient 3, too, is already its user/client, thus provided with the procedure 5, 5'. If the recipient 3 is a user, the external unit 4 forwards the message 2 to the recipient 3 (stage 402) and notifies the sender 1 of the time coordinates 8 and the protocol number 9 assigned to the message

2 (stage 404).

The external unit 4 then notifies the sender 1 that the recipient 3 has received and/or opened the message (stage 406).

If the message 2 is not forwarded, the external unit 4 informs the sender 1, for instance with an electronic message (stage 407).

After the notification operation 406, 407, the external unit 4 proceeds with the archiving 410 of all events both on magnetic support 10 and on optical support 11 and with the storage 420 of the updated log 12.

If instead the recipient 3 is not a user of the external unit 4, the latter sends to the recipient 3 its own electronic notification message 2' containing an element connecting to the external unit 4 itself (stage 401).

In this way, the recipient 3 can contact the external unit 4 and proceed to download the original message 2 that was archived by the external unit 4 (stage 403).

The moment the message 2 is downloaded by the recipient 3, the external unit 4 proceeds to carry out the operations described above, i.e. notification 406 to the sender 1, archiving 401 all events on magnetic support 10 and optical support 11 and updating and saving 420 the log 12. Moreover, when the recipient receives the electronic notification message 2' sent by the external unit 4, he/she may also select to become in turn a client by downloading and activating the appropriate procedure for forwarding 5 and receiving 5' messages for the transmission of electronic mail through the external unit 4. Figure 5 shows the sequence of operations that the recipient 3 (already a user of the external unit 4 and, hence, in possession of the appropriate procedure 5, 5') carries out upon receiving the message 2 transmitted through the external unit 4.

When the (client) electronic mail system of the recipient 3 where the message 2 has arrived (stage 501) is opened, through the receiving procedure 5' the recipient 3 automatically recognises that the message 2 was transmitted through the external unit 4 (502).

Still automatically, an ALERT 13 is generated for the opening of the mail client of the recipient 3 (stage 503), alert which is subsequently sent automatically in the form of an electronic message 2" to the address of the external unit 4 (stage 504). Moreover, if the delivered message 2 is then opened by the recipient 3, a message-read alert 14 is automatically generated by the receiving procedure 5' (stage 505). The message-read alert 14 is then sent automatically in the form of an electronic message 2'" to the address of the external unit 4 (stage 507).

If the message 2 is not opened, the procedure, if requested by the sender 1, activates a follow-up ALERT 15, after a time interval predetermined by external unit and sender, to invite the recipient to read the message (stage 506).

Figure 6 shows a sequence of operations performed by the external unit 4.

The external unit 4 recognises the origin of the alert 13 for the opening of the mail client and, if it was generated, by the message-read alert 14 (stage 601), proceeds with the scanning 602 of the messages 2" and 2'", and assigns the time coordinates 8" and 8'" to the messages 2" and 2'" containing respectively the alerts 13 and 14 (stage

603).

Moreover, the external unit 4, in turn, generates an electronic message 2b (similar to a return receipt) as a certification that the original message 2 was in fact delivered and/or opened (stage 604). The return receipt 2b is then archived on a magnetic support 10 (stage 605) and on an optical support 11 (stage 606) and then forwarded to the sender 1 (stage 607). The external unit 4 then proceeds with the storage 608 of the updated log 12. The following example, illustrated in Figure 7, shows how an electronic message can be forwarded by a sender A to a recipient B with the method according to the present invention.

The sender A uses a computer connected to a provider A and intends to send an electronic mail message, possibly with attached documents, to a recipient B, which is connected to a provider B .

The sender A connects to a WEB site corresponding to the remote external unit between the provider A and the provider B, underwrites a service agreement (with known procedures, not described in detail herein) and receives an alphanumeric code, which is assigned randomly and is known only to the user and to the external unit. During the same connection, the user A activates the installation procedure of a program for forwarding/receiving electronic mail messages provided by the external unit itself (Add-On). The program creates a selection button or icon, inside the ordinary electronic mail program, which allows to activate the forwarding of the message by the method according to the present invention. The sender then writes the message using the ordinary electronic mail program, then sends the message using the selection button created by the transmission / reception program.

The program tells the sender to enter the alphanumeric code attributed to him/her, checks the correctness of the code and automatically transmits the message to the address of the external unit, whilst the address of the actual recipient (and of any

"carbon copy" recipients) remain in a work area for instance located inside the body of the message.

The program also adds to the message the alphanumeric code for the recognition of the sender A by the system of the external unit. The message thus obtained may be encrypted (using for instance an encryption algorithm of the program itself) before being sent to the external unit.

The electronic message is then received by the external unit, which proceeds to check the alphanumeric code associated to the user A and possibly to decrypt of the message.

If the alphanumeric code is not valid, the message is rejected and procedures are activated inside the system of the external unit to identify the error.

If the alphanumeric code is correct, the external unit scans the message and its attachments for viruses, assigns a certain date and time and a protocol number to the message and archives the message, storing it on a database and on a CD-ROM.

Subsequently, the external unit 4 verifies whether the recipient B is already its user.

If so, the external unit 4 forwards the message to the recipient B and notifies the sender A of the date, time, and protocol number assigned to the forwarded message. If the message is not forwarded, the system of the external unit 4 communicates it to the sender A.

If the message is delivered correctly, the program installed on the mail client of the user/recipient B recognises that the message comes from the external unit, automatically generates an ALERT indicating the delivery and possibly the opening of the message and automatically sends the ALERT by electronic mail to the external unit.

The external unit recognises the origin and type of the message, scans the message for viruses, assigns date and time and generates the delivery receipt and, as the case may be, the opening receipt which, after storage on magnetic and optical support, are then forwarded to the sender A.

If instead the recipient B is not a user of the external unit, the latter sends the recipient B an electronic mail message containing a link to the WEB site of the external unit 4, for the possible download (computer file loading procedure) of the message itself. The external unit then notifies the sender A of the time, date and protocol number of the message and the actual delivery of the message to the recipient B.

Each individual operation and activity of the message forwarding/delivery procedure carried out by the external unit is updated in a log, and said update is stored and archived each time on magnetic support and on optical support.

Figure 8 shows an embodiment of the apparatus for the transmission of electronic messages from a first sender computer (A) to a second recipient computer (B) according to the present invention.

The apparatus comprises a multi-port receiving/transmitting unit (ROUTER) 70 towards the Internet, whereto is connected a unit (FIREWALL) 72 for identifying the signals corresponding to the messages that transit to and from the ROUTER 70.

The FIREWALL 72 is in turn connected to a node (SWITCH) 74 where from branch off the signals directed to the different servers that constitute the command and archiving part of the apparatus. The apparatus according to the present invention comprises a central command server 76, equipped with anti-virus system, which server is provided with means 78 for receiving and sending electronic messages and means 80 for archiving the messages.

In the embodiment of Figure 8, the receiving and transmitting means 78 comprise electronic mail servers, connected to the central command server 76. The archiving means 80 comprise, in addition to the hard disk of the electronic mail servers, a first optical archive 82 on CD-ROM and a second archive 84 on magnetic tape.

With the method according to the present invention, therefore, it is possible to guarantee a transmission of documents that corresponds, by analogy, to the traditional delivery of certified mail with return receipt.

Whereas with known methods of transmission via electronic mail the sender is not notified whether the message has reached the recipient, unless the same provider is used and specific procedures are activated, with the transmission method of the present invention, through the external unit the sender is always informed about the different progress statuses of the transmission, delivery and receipt of the message. Moreover, to the message are attributed a "certain" date and time by a third party who intervenes between sender and recipient: in this way the time coordinates pertaining to the progress of the message transmission/reception procedure are defined unambiguously, thereby "authenticating" the procedure as a whole, as well as each individual operation it comprises.

The assignment of the time coordinates is important because it can be considered equivalent, by analogy, to the assignment of a data by means of postal stamp, date which can then be considered as a reference for every operation to be performed thereafter.

With current electronic mail methods, since there is no certain and unambiguous time data between sender and recipient, there can be no guarantee about the time of actual forwarding/delivery of the transmitted message. In addition, the fact that the external unit archives the message and any attached documents, assigning a protocol number, guarantees their integrity after transmission.

The message provided with a protocol number and archived constitutes a reference document both for sender and recipient and any variation relative to the archived document is to be attributed to an intervention after delivery. Moreover, thanks to the archiving of the message with the attached documents by the external unit, the procedures for searching and consulting the archives are optimised and rationalised, and the archives remain available to the users upon simple request, in addition to the fact that users always have an effective, updated anti- virus system. The archiving by the external unit also eliminates the risk run today by electronic mail users, which consists of the loss of the archives of sent and/or received messages, due to their theft or loss or as a consequence of the unforeseen degradation of the magnetic and optical supports for their memorisation.

An additional advantage of the method according to the present invention is constituted by the forwarding/reception procedure provided by the external unit.

In forwarding operations, the sender is prevented from sending also the address of the external unit, with the possibility of errors and of sending messages to another site, since said address is automatically entered when the sender activates the selection button.

In receiving operations, if the recipient is not a user, the external unit notifies him/her of the possibility to download the message sent by the sender by connecting to the Web site of the external unit.

Moreover, if the recipient, already a user of the external unit, does not open the message, a reminder ALERT can be provided, after a time interval predefined by external unit and sender, to invite the recipient to open the message.

The invention thus conceived can be subject to numerous modifications and variations, without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all components can bereplaced with technically equivalent elements.

Claims

1. Method for transmitting electronic messages from a sender (1) to at least a recipient (3), characterised in that it comprises the following stages: reception by an external unit (4) of the electronic message (2) sent by the sender (1); archiving of the electronic message (2) by the external unit (4); and forwarding of the electronic message (2) by the external unit (4) to the recipient (3).

2. Method as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that it comprises a stage whereby the sender (1) is notified by the external unit (4) of the outcome of the forwarding of the electronic message (2) to the recipient (3).

3. Method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that it comprises a stage of assigning time coordinates (8) to the electronic message (2) by the external unit (4) prior to the archiving stage.

4. Method as claimed in any of the claims 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that it comprises a stage whereby a protocol number (9) is assigned to the electronic message (2) by the external unit (4) prior to the archiving stage.

5. Method as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that it comprises a stage whereby the sender (1) is notified by the external unit (4) of the time coordinates (8) assigned to the electronic message (2).

6. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that it comprises a stage whereby the sender (1) is notified by the external unit (4) of the protocol number (9) assigned to the electronic message (2).

7. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that it comprises a stage whereby a log (12) of the external unit (4) is updated, subsequent to each stage completed by the external unit (4).

8. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that it comprises a stage whereby the sender (1) activates a procedure (5) for the forwarding of messages, prior to the sending of the message (2).

9. Method as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that said forwarding procedure (5) is provided by the external unit (4).

10. Method as claimed in claim 8 or 9, characterised in that said forwarding procedure (5) comprises the realisation of selection means (7) for the forwarding of the message (2) by the sender (1) by means of the external unit (4).

11. Method as claimed in claim 10, characterised in that said selection means (7) activate the automatic insertion of the address of the external unit (4) in the electronic message (2).

12. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that the archiving of the message (2) is performed on a magnetic support (10).

13. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that the archiving of the message (2) is performed on an optical support (11).

14. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that the stage of forwarding the electronic message (2) comprises the transmission of the electronic message (2) from the external unit (4) to the recipient (3).

15. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims 1 through 13, characterised in that the stage of forwarding the electronic message (2) comprises the connection of the recipient (3) to the external unit (4) to download said message (2).

16. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that it comprises a stage whereby a reception procedure (5') is activated by the sender (1) and/or by the recipient (3).

17. Method as claimed in claim 16, characterised in that said reception procedure (5') is provided by the external unit (4).

18. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that it comprises a stage of verification of the activation by the recipient (3) of a reception procedure (5'), prior to the stage of forwarding the electronic message (2) to the recipient (3), said verification stage being carried out by the external unit (4).

19. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that it comprises, subsequently to the reception of the electronic message (2) by the recipient (3), a stage of generation and transmission of a receipt message (13) to the external unit (4).

20. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that it comprises, subsequently to the reading of the electronic message (2) by the recipient (3), a stage of generation and transmission of an message-read alert (14) to the external unit (4).

21. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that it comprises a stage whereby the sender (1) is notified by the external unit (4) of the receipt and/or reading of the message (2) by the recipient (3).

22. Method as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterised in that the archiving of the electronic message (2) is maintained for a determined time after the transmission of the message (2) to the recipient (3).

23. Apparatus for transmitting electronic messages from a first sender computer (A) to at lest a second recipient computer (B), characterised in that it comprises an intermediate server (76) provided with means for receiving an electronic message (2) sent by the sender computer (A) and means (82, 84) for archiving the message itself (2).

24. Apparatus as claimed in claim 23, characterised in that said archiving means comprise a magnetic support (84).

25. Apparatus as claimed in claim 23 or 24, characterised in that said archiving means comprise an optical support (82).

26. Apparatus as claimed in claim 23, characterised in that it comprises means for sending an electronic message (2) to a recipient computer (B).