Method and apparatus for identifying, managing, and controlling communications

Abstract

A method and apparatus for sorting, prioritizing, identifying, managing, and otherwise controlling (collectively, “controlling”) a communication. A frank may be used to associate a value and a class with a communication. The communication may be associated with the frank through the method of selecting a frank associated with a value from among a plurality of frank types, each of the frank types having a pre-assigned value, associating the frank with the communication, and initiating transmission of the franked communication across a network. Value may include anything important of having meaning to the parties, including, for example, money, credit (or a promise to pay), frequent flier miles, and so forth. “Franking” a communication generally associates some indicia of value and/or a service class with a communication.

1 . An apparatus for generating a frank, comprising: 
 a franking request receipt module, operative to receive a request for at least one frank;    a franking generation module operative to generate a frank in response to the request for at least one frank and operatively connected to the franking request receipt module; and    a frank transmission module operative to transmit a generated frank, the frank transmission module operatively connected to the franking generation module.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the franking request receipt module, franking generation module, and frank transmission module are co-located at a franking server.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the franking request receipt module further comprising an communication receipt module operative to receive a communication; and 
 the apparatus further comprising a franking attachment module operative to attach a generated frank to a received communication, the franking attachment module operatively connected to the communication receipt module and franking generation module.    
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein: 
 the communication receipt module is further operative to determine whether the communication is franked or unfranked; and    the apparatus further comprising a verification module operative to verify the authenticity of a frank affixed to a franked communication, the verification module operatively connected to the communication receipt module and further operative to receive the communication from the communication receipt module.    
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , further comprising: 
 a sender module, the sender module comprising:    a franking generation request module, the franking generation request module operative to generate the request for at least one frank; and    a franking request transmission module operative to transmit the request for at least one frank and operatively connected to the franking generation request module.    
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , further comprising: 
 a frank receipt module operative to receive the generated frank from the frank transmission module;    a database for storing the generated frank, the database operatively connected to the frank receipt module; and    a frank attachment module operative to attach the generated frank to the communication, the frank attachment module operatively connected to the database.    
   
   
       7 . An apparatus for generating and sending a franked communication, comprising: 
 a frank request module operative to request a frank;    a frank attachment module operative to attach the frank requested by the frank request module to a communication, thereby creating a franked communication; and    a franked communication transmission module operative to transmit the franked communication.    
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising a frank receipt module operative to receive the frank requested by the frank request module, further operative to pass the frank to the frank attachment module.  
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising a frank receipt module operative to receive the frank requested by the frank request module; and 
 a frank storage module operative to store the frank requested by the frank request module.    
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising a frank generation module operative to generate a frank in response to the request by the frank request module.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising a sender system on which the frank request module, frank attachment module, franked transmission module, and franked receipt module reside.  
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 1   1 , further comprising a network node on which the frank attachment module, franked transmission module, and frank generation module reside.  
   
   
       13 . An apparatus for receiving and processing a franked communication, comprising: 
 a communication receipt module operative to receive a communication;    a determination module operative to determine whether the communication is franked, the determination module operatively connected to the communication receipt module; and    a franked communication processing module operative to process the communication according to a first rule in the event the communication is franked, the franked communication processing module operatively connected to the determination module.    
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , further comprising a non-franked communication processing module operative to process the communication according to a second rule in the event the communication is not franked, the non-franked communication processing module operatively connected to the determination module.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , further comprising a display module operative to display the communication in a first state dictated by the first rule.  
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the display module is further operative to display the communication in a second state dictated by the second rule.  
   
   
       17 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the communication receipt module, determination module, franked communication processing module, and non-franked communication processing module are incorporated into an electronic mail application.  
   
   
       18 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the communication receipt module, determination module, franked communication processing module, and non-franked communication processing module are co-located at a network node associated with an Internet service provider.  
   
   
       19 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the communication receipt module, determination module, franked communication processing module, and non-franked communication processing module are co-located at a recipient system.  
   
   
       20 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the communication receipt module, determination module, franked communication processing module, and non-franked communication processing module are co-located at a mail server.