The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 16, 1997
Filed:
Jun. 13, 1996
Abstract
A method and system for screening international phone calls to reduce the number of phone calls which are made simply for the purpose of talking with international operators (prank phone calls) and to reduce the workload of the operators. When an international incoming phone call is placed from a calling terminal abroad, a database is used to determine, based on the calling country code of the incoming phone call, whether the call is from a prank phone call country. If the call is from a prank phone call country, an announcement for determining the intention of the caller is sent to the caller. If the caller provides a response to the announcement, a determination is made as to whether the response is valid. If the response is determined to be valid, the call is connected to the operator. If the response is invalid, the call is determined to be a prank call and is thus disconnected.