Method and System for Electronic Delivery of Essential Mail Items

Abstract

A delivery server ( 102 ), and a method of operating same for providing an electronic mail service for the delivery of essential mail items to a subscriber ( 103 ) in electronic form. The delivery server ( 102 ) has an associated database ( 114 ) containing subscriber details, and receives from the subscriber ( 103 ) a nomination of at least one service provider ( 310 ) from which the subscriber wishes to receive essential mail items in electronic form. The nomination is stored in the database ( 114 ) in association with the subscriber details. A trusted communications channel is established between the delivery server ( 102 ) and a service provider ( 310 ) computer system, for example via the Internet ( 106 ) or other public network. The delivery server ( 102 ) receives essential mail data from the service provider via the communications channel, and verifies that the subscriber wishes to receive an essential mail item corresponding with the essential mail data, by comparison with the subscriber details and nominations stored in the database ( 114 ). In the event that the verification is successful, the delivery server ( 102 ) delivers the essential mail item to the subscriber ( 103 ) in electronic form.

1 . A method of providing an electronic mail service for the delivery of essential mail items to a subscriber in electronic form, the method including the steps of:
 providing a delivery server having an associated database containing subscriber details;   the delivery server receiving from the subscriber a nomination of at least one service provider from which the subscriber wishes to receive essential mail items in electronic form, and storing said nomination in the database in association with the subscriber details;   establishing a trusted communications channel between the delivery server and a service provider computer system;   the delivery server receiving essential mail data from the service provider via said communications channel;   the delivery server verifying that the subscriber wishes to receive an essential mail item corresponding with the essential mail data in electronic form, by comparison with the subscriber details and nominations stored in the database; and   in the event that said verification is successful, the delivery server delivering the essential mail item to the subscriber in electronic form.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the identity of the subscriber is authenticated prior to entering of subscriber details into the database. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  including an authentication process which includes the steps of:
 receiving a subscription request from the subscriber, the subscription request including subscriber information enabling the identity of the subscriber to be validated;   validating the identity of the subscriber using the subscriber information; and   in the event that subscriber validation is successful, accepting the subscription request and creating a corresponding subscriber entry in the database, otherwise rejecting the subscription request.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the subscriber is allocated a unique subscriber identifier. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of establishing a trusted communications channel includes the delivery server initiating a connection with the service provider computer system. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of establishing a trusted communications channel includes:
 the service provider computer system initiating a connection with the delivery server; and   the delivery server authenticating the service provider computer system, whereby the trusted communications channel is established only if authentication of the service provider computer system is successful.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the trusted communications channel is a secure channel, such as an encrypted channel and/or a private line. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the essential mail data received by the delivery server via the trusted communications channel is a formatted copy of the essential mail item itself, in a form suitable for delivery to the subscriber. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the essential mail data is data specifying content of the essential mail item, and requiring further formatting prior to delivery to the subscriber. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of the delivery server verifying that the subscriber wishes to receive the essential mail item includes checking the subscriber nominations in the database to confirm that the subscriber indeed wishes to receive essential mail items from the service provider. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further including comparing customer details provided by the service provider with the corresponding customer details held in the database. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of delivering includes providing the essential mail item to the subscriber for download via a web-based interface. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of delivering includes forwarding the essential mail item to the subscriber via email. 
     
     
         14 . A method of providing an electronic mail service for the delivery of essential mail items to a plurality of subscribers in electronic form, the method including the steps of:
 providing a delivery server having an associated database containing subscriber details;   the delivery server receiving from each of the plurality of subscribers a nomination of at least one service provider from which each subscriber wishes to receive essential mail items in electronic form, and storing said nominations in the database in association with the corresponding subscriber details;   the delivery server establishing a plurality of trusted communications channels with a corresponding plurality of service provider computer systems;   the delivery server receiving from each of said service provider computer systems essential mail data from each service provider via the corresponding communications channel;   for each item of essential mail data, the delivery server verifying that a corresponding recipient subscriber wishes to receive a corresponding essential mail item in electronic form, by comparison with subscriber details and nominations stored in the database; and   in the event that each said verification is successful, the delivery server delivering the corresponding essential mail item to the corresponding subscriber in electronic form.   
     
     
         15 . delivery server for the delivery of essential mail items to a subscriber in  5  electronic form, the delivery server including:
 at least one processor; a database containing subscriber details including at least one nominated service provider from which the subscriber wishes to receive essential mail items in electronic form;   at least one data communications interface operatively coupled to the processor; and   at least one storage medium operatively coupled to the processor, the storage medium containing program instructions for execution by the processor, said program instructions causing the processor to execute the steps of:
 establishing via the data communications interface a trusted communications channel with a service provider computer system; 
 receiving essential mail data from the service provider via said communications channel; 
 verifying that the subscriber wishes to receive an essential mail item corresponding with the essential mail data in electronic form, by comparison with subscriber details and nominations stored in the database; and 
 in the event that verification is successful, delivering the essential mail item to the subscriber in electronic form. 
   
     
     
         16 . The delivery server of  claim 15 , wherein the storage medium contains further program instructions for execution by the processor, said further program instructions causing the processor to execute a method for generating a unique subscriber identifier associated with the subscriber. 
     
     
         17 . The delivery server of  claim 16  wherein the unique subscriber identifier is generated and associated with the subscriber following an initial registration or authentication process. 
     
     
         18 . The delivery server of  claim 15  wherein the storage medium further contains program instructions for execution by the processor, and causing the processor to execute the step of establishing a trusted communications channel by initiating an outgoing connection with the service provider. 
     
     
         19 . The delivery server of  claim 15  wherein the storage medium further contains program instructions for execution by the processor, and causing the processor to execute the step of establishing a trusted communications channel by accepting and authenticating an incoming connection request from the service provider. 
     
     
         20 . The delivery server of  claim 15  wherein the storage medium further contains program instructions for execution by the processor, and causing the processor to execute the step of formatting an essential mail item based upon the essential mail data received from the service provider. 
     
     
         21 . A delivery server for the delivery of essential mail items to a subscriber in electronic form. the delivery server including:
 a database containing subscriber details including at least one nominated service provider from which the subscriber wishes to receive essential mail items in electronic form;   means for establishing a trusted communications channel with a service provider computer system;   means for receiving essential mail data from the service provider via said communications channel;   means for verifying that the subscriber wishes to receive an essential mail item corresponding with the essential mail data in electronic form, by comparison with subscriber details and nominations stored in the database; and   means for delivering the essential mail item to the subscriber in electronic form, in the event that said verification is successful.   
     
     
         22 . A method of a subscriber receiving an essential mail item from a service provider, the method including the steps of:
 the subscriber transmitting, to a delivery server having an associated database containing subscriber details, a nomination of at least one service provider from which the subscriber wishes to receive essential mail items in electronic form, wherein the delivery server stores said nomination in the database in association with the subscriber details; and   the subscriber subsequently receiving an essential mail item from the nominated service provider in electronic form,   wherein delivery of the essential mail item to the subscriber is effected by the delivery server executing the steps of:
 establishing a trusted communications channel with a service  15  provider computer system; 
 receiving essential mail data from the service provider via said communications channel; 
 verifying that the subscriber wishes to receive an essential mail item corresponding with the essential mail data in electronic form, by comparison with subscriber details and nominations stored in the database; and 
 in the event that verification is successful, delivering the essential mail item to the subscriber in electronic form.