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:
Mar. 08, 2005
Filed:
Jun. 28, 2001
Vernon Meadows, Lilburn, GA (US);
Joseph M. Knoerle, Atlanta, GA (US);
Stephen R. Lapierre, Union City, GA (US);
David A. Scott, Norcross, GA (US);
Vernon Meadows, Lilburn, GA (US);
Joseph M. Knoerle, Atlanta, GA (US);
Stephen R. LaPierre, Union City, GA (US);
David A. Scott, Norcross, GA (US);
BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation, Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
This invention is directed to a system and method for providing a status certification for a message in a communications network. An embodiment of this invention is a voicemail system, which provides a caller in a telecommunications network with the option of certifying a voicemail message when the recording of the message is complete. By certifying the voicemail message, the caller is indicating that the voicemail system should track any actions related to the message that occur within the voicemail system so that the caller may later access the voicemail system and ascertain the status of the message. When the caller requests certification, the voicemail system provides the caller with a means to subsequently initiate a request for the status certification. As actions are taken in relation to the message, the voicemail system creates disposition identifiers and associates these identifiers with the message. When a caller accesses the telecommunications network and requests the status certification, the voicemail determines to which message the request is directed by prompting the caller or by some other means. The system then retrieves the disposition identifiers and provides the status to the caller in a format supported by whatever access means the caller is using to make the request.