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:
Dec. 21, 2010
Filed:
Apr. 02, 2004
Miles Libbey, Mountain View, CA (US);
Len Fenkel, Pacifica, CA (US);
Jing Zhu, Fremont, CA (US);
Steven Kenichi Yoshimoto, Cupertino, CA (US);
Miles Libbey, Mountain View, CA (US);
Len Fenkel, Pacifica, CA (US);
Jing Zhu, Fremont, CA (US);
Steven Kenichi Yoshimoto, Cupertino, CA (US);
Yahoo! Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
The invention is directed to a system and method for determining if a 'spam' message is originating from a messaging account by challenging a particular client's outbound email usage with a test that requires verification of content that is easily understood by a human being, not an automated computer program such as those used by 'spammers.' If a limit on the number of recipients for outbound messages has been exceeded, a test is presented the next time a client attempts to send a message. The client must successfully answer the test within a relatively short period of time or else the ability to send messages will be disabled. Once disabled, the client can reinstate the ability to send messages by contacting a representative of the message system out of band, e.g., a telephone call to confirm legitimate outbound email use.