System and method for discouraging communications considered undesirable by recipients

Abstract

A system and methods for discouraging unwanted electronic communications requires a communication sender who is not recognized by the intended recipient, or who is not approved by the intended recipient, to a post a bond to accompany the communication. Adaptable to eliminating spam, unwanted faxes, unwanted telephone calls, etc., the system and method forces the money associated with the bond to be forfeited if the communication is rejected or deemed undesirable by the recipient. To prevent financially motivated abuse on the part of recipients, the preferred embodiment forfeits the bond money in favor of a third party such as a charity or governmental entity, to which the recipient has no legal obligation. A further safeguard against recipient abuse gives senders a predetermined number of unsolicited communications to send to system subscribers, after which bonds are required to send unapproved communications.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of regulating electronic communications, said method comprising the steps of: 
 a) receiving a communication from a sender for a designated recipient;    b) comparing sender identity indicia attached to said communication with stored sender identity indicia in a database under the control of said recipient;    c) presenting said communication to said recipient for acceptance or rejection, when said sender identity indicia is determined to be acceptable in step b);    d) sending a return message to said sender indicating that a bond must be posted when said sender identity indicia is not determined to be acceptable in step b), and that money associated with said bond shall be forfeited if said communication is presented to said recipient and said recipient rejects said communication;    e) dissolving said bond when said recipient accepts said communication; and    f) causing the money associated with said bond to be forfeited when said recipient rejects said communication.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein forfeiture of the money associated with said bond is in favor of a third party designated by said recipient, said third party being independent of said recipient.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein communication is via a wide area network (WAN).  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the amount of money required for said bond is established by the intended recipient of the communication.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 for each sender encountered by the system administering said method, counting the number of communications by the sender which are rejected by a recipient; and    disabling step f) when the number of rejected communications by system users has not exceeded a predetermined number.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 for each sender encountered by the system administering said method, counting the number of communications by the sender which are rejected by a recipient; and    increasing the amount of money required for said bond when the number of rejected communications by system users has exceeded a predetermined number.    
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said communication is an electronic mail message.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said communication is a facsimile transmission.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said communication is a “pop-up” message encountered while said recipient is actively coupled to a wide area network.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said communication is a third party content message encountered while said recipient is actively coupled to a wide area network.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said communication is a telephone call.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 providing the sender of a communication with the ability to indicate whether the communication is accompanied by a bond when the communication is initially sent; and    disabling step d) when the initially sent communication is accompanied by a bond.    
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
 disabling steps d) through f) when the sender is a subscriber to a system administering said method.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 enabling a recipient to declare himself/herself willing to receive commercial communications from senders approved by the system administering said method;    disabling steps d) through f) for approved senders; and    paying a recipient who agrees to receive said commercial communications a fee from said sender.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein steps d) through f) are carried out via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) servicing said recipient.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein steps d) through f) are carried out via a clearinghouse entity.  
     
     
         17 . A system for regulating electronic communications, said system comprising: 
 at least a communication server adapted to receive a communication from a sender for a designated recipient;    a sender identity indicia database adapted to store sender identity indicia under the direction of the recipient corresponding to acceptable or unacceptable sender identities;    a comparator adapted to compare sender identity indicia attached to said communication with stored sender identity indicia database;    said communication server being further adapted to present said communication to said recipient for acceptance or rejection, when said sender identity indicia is determined to be acceptable according to the output and interpretation of said comparator;    said communication server being further adapted to send a return message to said sender indicating that a bond must be posted when said sender identity indicia is not determined to be acceptable, and that money associated with said bond shall be forfeited if said communication is presented to said recipient and said recipient rejects said communication; and    a bond establisher adapted to enable communication senders to establish bonds;    wherein said system is adapted to dissolve said bond when said recipient accepts said communication, and said system is adapted to cause the money associated with said bond to be forfeited when said recipient rejects said communication.    
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein forfeiture of the money associated with said bond is in favor of a third party designated by said recipient, said third party being independent of said recipient.  
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising a wide area network (WAN) adapted to facilitate communication.  
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said system is adapted to enable the amount of money required for said bond to be established by the intended recipient of the communication.  
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said bond automatically expires after a predetermined time.  
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said communication server is further adapted to transmit a confirmation message to a recipient who has rejected a communication, said confirmation message confirming that the money associated with said bond has been forfeited.  
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said communication is an electronic mail message.  
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said communication is a facsimile transmission.  
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said communication is a “pop-up” message encountered while said recipient is actively coupled to a wide area network.  
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said communication is a third party content message encountered while said recipient is actively coupled to a wide area network.  
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said communication is a telephone call.  
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said communication server is further adapted to provide the sender of a communication with the ability to indicate whether the communication is accompanied by a bond when the communication is initially sent, and said communication server is further adapted to forego sending said return message when the initially sent communication is accompanied by a bond.  
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said communication server is adapted to forego sending said return message, and said system is further adapted to forego forfeiting the money associated with said bond when the sender is a subscriber to a system administering said method.  
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said communication server and said bond establisher are subsumed by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) servicing said recipient.  
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein said communication server and said bond establisher are subsumed by a clearinghouse entity.  
     
     
         32 . A method of regulating electronic communications, said method comprising the steps of: 
 receiving a communication from a sender for a designated recipient; and    if said communication is accompanied by a posted bond, the amount of which is specified by said recipient, the recipient providing a guarantee that said communication will be accepted.    
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein said guarantee is further defined by at least a minimum communication time specified by said recipient.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein said communication comprises a plurality of interactive e-mails between said sender and said recipient.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein said communication comprises at least one telephone call between said sender and said recipient.