111111
`
`1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
`US 20060218232Al
`
`(19) United States
`c12) Patent Application Publication
`Kubala et al.
`
`(10) Pub. No.: US 2006/0218232 Al
`Sep. 28, 2006
`(43) Pub. Date:
`
`(54) METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR
`ACCOMMODATING MANDATORY
`RESPONSES IN ELECTRONIC MESSAGING
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Michael Kubala, Austin, TX (US);
`David Kulczar, Austin, TX (US);
`Leone! Saenz III, Austin, TX (US);
`Thanh K. Tran, Pflugerville, TX (US)
`
`Correspondence Address:
`IBM CORP (JRB)
`C/0 LAW OFFICE OF JOSEPH R BURWELL
`P 0 BOX 28022
`AUSTIN, TX 78755-8022 (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: International Business Machines Corp.
`
`(21) Appl. No.:
`
`111089,388
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Mar. 24, 2005
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`G06F 15116
`G06F 151173
`
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`
`(52) U.S. Cl. ............................................ 709/206; 709/224
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A method, system, apparatus, or computer program product
`is presented for processing electronic messages. An elec(cid:173)
`tronic message is received for a recipient from a sender, and
`a data field is detected in the received electronic message
`that indicates a request by the sender for a response from the
`recipient for the received electronic message. The recipient
`is alerted to the detected request for the response for the
`received electronic message, and after alerting the recipient,
`actions are required by the recipient with respect to usage of
`a data processing system until the recipient uses the data
`processing system to send a response for the received
`electronic message to the sender. For example, the recipient
`can be prevented from closing a review of the received
`e-mail message, from deleting the received e-mail message,
`and from exiting the e-mail application until the recipient
`has responded to the received email message.
`
`E-mail application warning!
`1.1Q2
`18]
`The message that you are currently reviewing cannot be closed
`until you reply to the message.
`1104~
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 001
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication Sep. 28, 2006 Sheet 1 of 7
`
`US 2006/0218232 A1
`
`100~
`
`106
`
`FIG. JA
`(PRIOR ART)
`
`122
`
`120
`\
`
`124
`
`RAM
`
`130
`
`ROM
`
`DISPLAY
`ADAPTER
`
`123
`
`144
`
`D_
`
`DISPLAY
`
`146
`
`1-------t
`
`USER INTERFACE
`ADAPTER
`
`148
`
`1/0 ADAPTER
`
`132
`
`COMMUNICATION
`ADAPTER
`
`142
`
`MOUSE
`
`140
`
`KEYBOARD
`
`136
`
`COMMUNICATION
`LINK
`
`FIG. JB
`(PRIOR ART)
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 002
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication Sep. 28, 2006 Sheet 2 of 7
`
`US 2006/0218232 Al
`
`COMPUTING DEVICE 202
`
`ENHANCED EMAIL
`APPLICATION 206
`
`MANDATORY
`RESPONSE
`FUNCTIONAL UNIT
`210
`
`EMAIL MESSAGE 214
`
`I MANDATORY
`
`~I
`~
`RESPONSE FLAG 216
`
`COMPUTING DEVICE
`
`204
`
`~
`
`ENHANCED EMAIL
`APPLICATION 208
`
`EMAIL MESSAGE 218
`
`MANDATORY
`f------MANoAToRv~------1
`RESPONSE
`i
`i
`FUNCTIONAL UNIT
`RESPONSE
`~ i RESPONSE CODE
`i ~ 212
`i
`i
`220
`L------------------------------------..!
`
`FIG. 2
`
`Message-ID: <BAY10-F27BA89BD946DOAA37AO@ibm.com>
`Received: from 61.64.67.100 by bay10.mail.ibm.com;
`Sat, 29 Jan 2005 20:53:59 GMT
`In-Reply-To: <BAY10-F18E133A529A4EBA3830@ibm.com>
`304 ~ X-Mandatory-Response: 1. 0
`From: "IBM ADMIN 93825" <admin93825@ibm.com>
`To: admin-hr@ibm.com
`Subject: New employee
`Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 15:53:59 -0500
`Mime-Version: 1.0
`Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
`FIG. 3
`
`From: "IBM ADMIN 93825" <admin93825@ibm.com>
`To: admin-hr@ibm.com
`Subject: New employee
`Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 15:53:59 -0500
`
`Jane--Has the new employee arrived yet? --John
`
`402 ~ <x-mandatory-response: 1. 0>
`
`FIG. 4
`
`302
`
`404
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 003
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication Sep. 28, 2006 Sheet 3 of 7
`
`US 2006/0218232 Al
`
`RECEIVE E-MAIL MESSAGE WITH
`MANDATORY RESPONSE FLAG
`602
`
`SCAN MESSAGE FOR RESPONSE FLAG
`604
`
`NO
`
`STORE RESPONSE FLAG METADATA
`610
`
`STORE E-MAIL MESSAGE
`608
`
`FIG. 6
`
`( BEGIN
`~
`SENDER SELECTS CONTROL
`TO CREATE NEW E-MAIL MESSAGE
`502
`
`~
`E-MAIL APPLICATION OPENS WINDOW
`FOR NEW E-MAIL MESSAGE
`504
`
`~
`SENDER WRITES E-MAIL MESSAGE
`506
`~
`SENDER SELECTS OPTIONAL CONTROL
`WITHIN E-MAIL APPLICATION TO MARK
`E-MAIL MESSAGE AS REQUIRING A
`MANDATORY RESPONSE
`508
`~
`SENDER SELECTS CONTROL TO SEND
`E-MAIL MESSAGE
`510
`~
`E-MAIL APPLICATION GENERATES
`E-MAIL MESSAGE CONTAINING
`MANDATORY RESPONSE FLAG
`512
`~
`E-MAIL APPLICATION SENDS
`E-MAIL MESSAGE CONTAINING
`MANDATORY RESPONSE FLAG TO
`REQUESTED RECIPIENT IN "TO" FIELD
`~
`~
`END
`
`FIG. 5
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 004
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication Sep. 28, 2006 Sheet 4 of 7
`
`US 2006/0218232 Al
`
`BEGIN
`
`RECIPIENT REVIEWS E-MAIL
`MESSAGE IN OPEN WINDOW
`.8.Q2
`
`RECIPIENT SELECTS CONTROL
`TO CLOSE E-MAIL MESSAGE
`804
`
`E-MAIL APPLICATION CLOSES
`WINDOW OF E-MAIL MESSAGE
`808
`
`FIG. 8
`
`RECIPIENT SELECTS CONTROL
`TO OPEN E-MAIL MESSAGE WITH
`MANDATORY RESPONSE FLAG
`702
`
`E-MAIL APPLICATION OPENS
`E-MAIL MESSAGE
`704
`
`E-MAIL APPLICATION SHOWS SPECIAL
`INDICATION THAT E-MAIL MESSAGE
`REQUIRES MANDATORY RESPONSE
`l.QQ
`
`FIG. 7
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 005
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication Sep. 28, 2006 Sheet 5 of 7
`
`US 2006/0218232 Al
`
`BEGIN
`
`!
`
`RECIPIENT WANTS TO REPLY TO
`E-MAIL MESSAGE THAT HAS
`MANDATORY RESPONSE FLAG
`902
`!
`
`E-MAIL APPLICATION OPENS
`REPLY E-MAIL MESSAGE
`904
`
`BEGIN
`
`RECIPIENT REVIEWS E-MAIL
`MESSAGE IN OPEN WINDOW
`1002
`
`RECIPIENT SELECTS CONTROL
`TO DELETE E-MAIL MESSAGE
`1004
`
`~
`RECIPIENT WRITES REPLY
`906
`~
`RECIPIENT SELECTS CONTROL TO
`SEND REPLY E-MAIL MESSAGE
`908
`!
`
`E-MAIL APPLICATION MAKES REPLY
`E-MAIL MESSAGE CONTAINING
`OPTIONAL RESPONSE CODE(S)
`910
`~
`E-MAIL APPLICATION SENDS REPLY
`E-MAIL MESSAGE CONTAINING
`MANDATORY RESPONSE CODE
`TO ORIGINAL SENDER
`912
`!
`
`E-MAIL APPLICATION RECORDS
`RESPONSE WAS SENT FOR
`ORIGINAL E-MAIL MESSAGE
`914
`~
`END
`
`(
`FIG. 9
`
`YES
`
`E-MAIL APPLICATION DELETES
`E-MAIL MESSAGE
`1008
`
`FIG. 10
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 006
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication Sep. 28, 2006 Sheet 6 of 7
`
`US 2006/0218232 Al
`
`E-mail application warning!
`The message that you are currently reviewing cannot be closed FIG. 11A
`until you reply to the message.
`1104 ~
`
`E-mail application warning!
`
`FIG. 11 B
`The message that you are currently reviewing should not be
`closed until you reply to the message.
`1108~
`
`1110~
`
`FIG. 11C
`
`E-mail application warning!
`The message that you are currently reviewing should not be
`closed until you reply to the message. Choose one of the
`options from the menu to generate an INSTANT reply to this
`message or select "CANCEL" to close without sending a reply.
`TOO BUSY RIGHT NOW ~ r....- 1120
`r--
`LOOKS OKAY
`
`1114~
`
`1116~
`
`REQUEST DECLINED
`
`1118~
`
`E-mail application warning!
`
`FIG. 11 D
`The e-mail application should not be exited; you have at least
`one message that requires a reply.
`1122~
`
`1124~
`
`E-mail application warning!
`.1..3Q.2.
`FIG. 13
`The message that you are currently reviewing contained an
`improper request for a mandatory response. 1304~
`
`1251
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 007
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication Sep. 28, 2006 Sheet 7 of 7
`
`US 2006/0218232 Al
`
`RECEIVE E-MAIL MESSAGE
`1202
`
`SCAN MESSAGE FOR RESPONSE FLAG
`1204
`
`NO
`
`RETRIEVE IDENTIFYING INFORMATION
`OR SECURITY TOKEN/INFORMATION
`FROM E-MAIL MESSAGE
`1210
`
`STORE RESPONSE FLAG METADATA
`1214
`
`NO
`
`MODIFY E-MAIL MESSAGE
`TO REMOVE MANDATORY
`RESPONSE FLAG
`1216
`
`STORE METADATA THAT
`INDICATES RECEIVING
`SYSTEM HAS REJECTED
`MANDATORY RESPONSE
`FLAG
`1218
`
`STORE E-MAIL MESSAGE
`1208
`
`FIG. 12
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 008
`
`

`

`US 2006/0218232 AI
`
`Sep.28,2006
`
`1
`
`METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ACCOMMODATING
`MANDATORY RESPONSES IN ELECTRONIC
`MESSAGING
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
`
`[0002] The present invention relates to an improved data
`processing system and, in particular, to a method and
`apparatus for multicomputer data transferring. Still more
`particularly, the present invention provides a method and
`apparatus for e-mail message processing.
`
`[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
`
`[0004] A significant portion of a typical work day for
`many white-collar employees centers around communica(cid:173)
`tion in various forms, e.g., meetings, phone calls, and
`various forms of electronic messaging, such as e-mail and
`instant messages. In some cases, a corporation may be able
`to identifY that more frequent use of electronic communi(cid:173)
`cations has increased the productivity of the overall corpo(cid:173)
`ration, and the same may be true for certain employees.
`
`[0005] However, in some cases, an employee can demon(cid:173)
`strate that his or her productivity suffers in proportion to the
`number of e-mail messages that he or she receives. In
`general, though, the amount of communication that is
`accomplished by e-mail messages continues to increase.
`This situation is compounded by the ease with which
`employees are able to communicate with each other by
`e-mail messages. E-mail messages are easily sent to a
`recipient, and e-mail messages are easily queued in antici(cid:173)
`pation of a response. Hence, the volume of e-mail is prob(cid:173)
`lematic in some cases because the task of responding to
`e-mail messages consumes an increasingly larger portion of
`a typical information worker's day. Moreover, the act of
`responding to e-mail messages can become monotonous in
`addition to time-consuming, which may cause an employee
`to become careless in responding to important e-mail mes(cid:173)
`sages. Potential errors may include incorrect information
`within a response or undue delay by neglecting to respond
`to an important e-mail message. As a result, business pro(cid:173)
`cesses may be effected in uncertain ways.
`
`[0006] Productivity-enhancing features have been added
`to e-mail applications to assist workers in handling the larger
`workload that is represented by the larger volume of e-mail.
`Prior art solutions have provided the ability to mark an
`e-mail message with a priority flag that indicates a normal
`priority, a high priority, or a highest priority, thereby allow(cid:173)
`ing an employee to identify and respond to the most impor(cid:173)
`tant e-mail messages from the sender's perspective. Other
`prior art solutions have provided the ability to generate
`return receipts to the sender when the sender's e-mail
`message is received at its intended destination or when the
`recipient opens the e-mail message, thereby providing an
`acknowledgment that a particular message has been received
`and/or opened.
`
`[0007] However, these solutions allow a recipient to deter(cid:173)
`mine how quickly the recipient will respond to an incoming
`e-mail message. For example, a recipient may open an
`e-mail message that is flagged as highest priority and then
`decide that the e-mail message does not represent an impor(cid:173)
`tant matter, after which the recipient postpones the genera(cid:173)
`tion of a response. Many business processes are time-
`
`critical, though, and there is a need to provide features in
`e-mail applications that reduce the amount of time between
`the receipt of an important e-mail message by a recipient and
`the generation of a response to that e-mail message by the
`recipient.
`
`[0008] Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide
`productivity-enhancing features within e-mail applications
`for the handling of email messages so that important mes(cid:173)
`sages receive the appropriate attention from the recipient of
`an e-mail message.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`[0009] A method, system, apparatus, or computer program
`product is presented for processing electronic messages. An
`electronic message is received for a recipient from a sender,
`and a data field is detected in the received electronic
`message that indicates a request by the sender for a response
`from the recipient for the received electronic message. The
`recipient is alerted to the detected request for the response
`for the received electronic message, and after alerting the
`recipient, actions are required by the recipient with respect
`to usage of a data processing system until the recipient uses
`the data processing system to send a response for the
`received electronic message to the sender. For example, the
`recipient can be prevented from closing a review of the
`received e-mail message, from deleting the received e-mail
`message, and from exiting the e-mail application until the
`recipient has responded to the received email message.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`[0010] The novel features believed characteristic of the
`invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention
`itself, further objectives, and advantages thereof, will be best
`understood by reference to the following detailed descrip(cid:173)
`tion when read in conjunction with the accompanying draw(cid:173)
`ings, wherein:
`
`[0011] FIG. 1A depicts a typical network of data process(cid:173)
`ing systems, each of which may implement the present
`invention;
`
`[0012] FIG. 1B depicts a typical computer architecture
`that may be used within a data processing system in which
`the present invention may be implemented;
`
`[0013] FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram that shows an
`exchange of e-mail messages between email applications
`that have been enhanced to include functionality to imple(cid:173)
`ment an embodiment of the present invention;
`
`[0014] FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary dataset in which a
`mandatory response flag may be embedded within a set of
`e-mail message headers;
`
`[0015] FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary dataset in which a
`mandatory response flag may be embedded within an e-mail
`message body;
`
`[0016] FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart that shows a process in
`which a sender creates an e-mail message that contains a
`request for a mandatory response for the e-mail message;
`
`[0017] FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart that shows a process in
`which a receiving data processing system processes an
`e-mail message that contains a mandatory response flag;
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 009
`
`

`

`US 2006/0218232 AI
`
`Sep.28,2006
`
`2
`
`[0018] FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart that shows a process in
`which a recipient opens an email message that contains a
`mandatory response flag;
`
`[0019] FIG. 8 depicts a flowchart that shows a process in
`which a recipient attempts to disregard the requirement of a
`mandatory response with respect to an e-mail message that
`the recipient is viewing by attempting to close the e-mail
`message;
`
`[0020] FIG. 9 depicts a flowchart that shows a process in
`which a recipient replies to a reviewed e-mail message that
`contains a mandatory response flag;
`
`[ 0021] FIG. 10 depicts a flowchart that shows a process in
`which a recipient attempts to disregard the requirement of a
`mandatory response with respect to an e-mail message that
`the recipient is viewing by attempting to delete the message;
`
`[0022] FIGS. 11A-11D depicts a set of diagrams that
`represent a set of GUI windows through which an e-mail
`application alerts a user by displaying warning messages and
`error messages to the user as a result of a user action when
`the e-mail application has an e-mail message that contains a
`mandatory request flag;
`
`[0023] FIG. 12 depicts a flowchart that shows a process in
`which the usage of mandatory response flags is monitored
`by an email application; and
`
`[0024] FIG. 13 depicts a diagram that shows a GUI
`window through which an e-mail application displays a
`warning message to a user for an improper mandatory
`response flag.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`
`[0025]
`In general, the devices that may comprise or relate
`to the present invention include a wide variety of data
`processing technology. Therefore, as background, a typical
`organization of hardware and software components within a
`distributed data processing system is described prior to
`describing the present invention in more detail.
`
`[0026] With reference now to the figures, FIG. lA depicts
`a typical network of data processing systems, each of which
`may implement a portion of the present invention. Distrib(cid:173)
`uted data processing system 100 contains network 101,
`which is a medium that may be used to provide communi(cid:173)
`cations links between various devices and computers con(cid:173)
`nected together within distributed data processing system
`100. Network 101 may include permanent connections, such
`as wire or fiber optic cables, or temporary connections made
`through telephone or wireless communications. In the
`depicted example, server 102 and server 103 are connected
`to network 101 along with storage unit 104. In addition,
`clients 105-107 also are connected to network 101. Clients
`105-107 and servers 102-103 may be represented by a
`variety of computing devices, such as mainframes, personal
`computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. Distrib(cid:173)
`uted data processing system 100 may include additional
`servers, clients, routers, other devices, and peer-to-peer
`architectures that are not shown.
`
`[0027]
`In the depicted example, distributed data process(cid:173)
`ing system 100 may include the Internet with network 101
`representing a worldwide collection of networks and gate(cid:173)
`ways that use various protocols to communicate with one
`
`another, such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
`(LDAP), Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
`(TCP/IP), Hypertext Transport-Protocol (HTTP), Wireless
`Application Protocol (WAP), etc. Of course, distributed data
`processing system 100 may also include a number of dif(cid:173)
`ferent types of networks, such as, for example, an intranet,
`a local area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN).
`For example, server 102 directly supports network 109 and
`client 110; network 109 incorporates wireless communica(cid:173)
`tion links. Network-enabled phone 111 and PDA 112 can
`directly transfer data between themselves across wireless
`link 113 using an appropriate technology, e.g., via Blue(cid:173)
`tooth™ wireless technology or Wi-Fi technology (IEEE
`802.11) that allows the creation of so-called personal area
`networks (PAN) or personal ad-hoc networks. Phone 111
`connects to network 109 through wireless link 114, and PDA
`113 connects to network 109 through wireless link 115. In a
`similar manner, PDA 113 can transfer data to PDA 107 via
`wireless link 116.
`
`[0028] The present invention could be implemented on a
`variety of hardware platforms; FIG. lA is intended as an
`example of a heterogeneous computing environment and not
`as an architectural limitation for the present invention.
`
`[0029] With reference now to FIG. lB, a diagram depicts
`a typical computer architecture of a data processing system,
`such as those shown in FIG. lA, in which the present
`invention may be implemented. Data processing system 120
`contains one or more central processing units (CPUs) 122
`connected to internal system bus 123, which interconnects
`random access memory (RAM) 124, read-only memory 126,
`and input/output adapter 128, which supports various I/0
`devices, such as printer 130, disk units 132, or other devices
`not shown, such as an audio output system, etc. System bus
`123 also connects communication adapter 134 that provides
`access to communication link 136. User interface adapter
`148 connects various user devices, such as keyboard 140 and
`mouse 142, or other devices not shown, such as a touch
`screen, stylus, microphone, etc. Display adapter 144 con(cid:173)
`nects system bus 123 to display device 146.
`
`[0030] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate
`that the hardware in FIG. lB may vary depending on the
`system implementation. For example, the system may have
`one or more processors, such as an Intel® Pentium®-based
`processor and a digital signal processor (DSP), and one or
`more types of volatile and non-volatile memory. Other
`peripheral devices may be used in addition to or in place of
`the hardware depicted in FIG. lB. The depicted examples
`are not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect
`to the present invention.
`
`[0031]
`In addition to being able to be implemented on a
`variety of hardware platforms, the present invention may be
`implemented in a variety of software environments. A typi(cid:173)
`cal operating system may be used to control program
`execution within each data processing system. For example,
`one device may run a Unix® operating system, while
`another device contains a simple Java® runtime environ(cid:173)
`ment. A representative computer platform may include a
`browser, which is a well known software application for
`accessing hypertext documents in a variety of formats, such
`as graphic files, word processing files, Extensible Markup
`Language (XML), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML),
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 010
`
`

`

`US 2006/0218232 AI
`
`Sep.28,2006
`
`3
`
`Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML), Wireless
`Markup Language (WML), and various other formats and
`types of files.
`
`[0032] The present invention may be implemented on a
`variety of hardware and software platforms, as described
`above with respect to FIG. lA and FIG. lB. More specifi(cid:173)
`cally, though, the present invention is directed to an
`improved data processing system for enhancing the func(cid:173)
`tionality of e-mail applications or similar types of electronic
`messaging applications. Various embodiments of the present
`invention are explained in more detail hereinbelow with
`respect to the remaining figures. It should be noted that the
`present invention supports electronic messages of many
`different formats. Although the term "e-mail message" is
`used throughout the description of the present invention, an
`e-mail message comprise various types of electronic mes(cid:173)
`sages, e.g., text messages, instant messages, fax messages,
`voicemail messages, video messages, audio messages, and
`other types of messages; the present invention is applicable
`to various types of electronic communication applications
`and/or devices within which the various types of electronic
`messages can be processed.
`
`[0033] With reference now to FIG. 2, a block diagram
`depicts an exchange of e-mail messages between email
`applications that have been enhanced to include functional(cid:173)
`ity to implement an embodiment of the present invention.
`Computing devices 202 and 204 represent one of a variety
`of possible data processing systems that are able to support
`an embodiment of the present invention, e.g., such as the
`data processing systems that are shown in FIG. lA. Com(cid:173)
`puting devices 202 and 204 support the execution of e-mail
`applications 206 and 208, respectively, which exchange
`e-mail messages as a form of electronic communication,
`e.g., through a LAN, through the Internet, or through some
`other type of communication link. E-mail applications 206
`and 208 have been enhanced to include mandatory response
`functional units 210 and 212, respectively, which implement
`the processes of the present invention. E-mail applications
`206 and 208 may represent any one of a variety of com(cid:173)
`mercially available e-mail applications, and functional units
`210 and 212 may be implemented in many different forms,
`such as subroutines and/or procedures, applets, plug-ins,
`ActiveX™ controls, scripts, or any other appropriate form of
`software module.
`
`[0034] As explained above, prior art e-mail applications
`allow a recipient to determine how quickly he or she will
`respond to a received e-mail message. For example, a
`recipient may open an e-mail message that is flagged as
`highest priority and then decide that the e-mail message does
`not represent an important matter, after which the recipient
`postpones the generation of a response. Many business
`processes are time-critical, though, and there is a need to
`provide features in e-mail applications that reduce the
`amount of time between the receipt of an important e-mail
`message and the generation of a response for that e-mail
`message.
`
`[0035] The present invention addresses this need by
`enhancing the functionality of an e-mail application in the
`following manner. A user of e-mail application 206, which
`contains mandatory response functional unit 210, operates
`e-mail application 206 to request that an important outgoing
`e-mail message is flagged as an e-mail message to which its
`
`rec1p1ent is required to provide a mandatory response.
`E-mail application 206 relies on functional unit 210 either to
`assist in the generation of an outgoing message or to perform
`the necessary modifications to an outgoing message so that
`it is flagged as an e-mail message to which its recipient is
`required to provide a mandatory response. For example,
`email message 214 contains mandatory response flag 216;
`mandatory response flag 216 acts as an indicator from e-mail
`application 206 to e-mail application 208 that e-mail mes(cid:173)
`sage 214 should be handled as an important message with a
`required mandatory response. Mandatory response flag 216
`may be implemented in a variety of data formats, as
`explained hereinbelow.
`
`[0036] After handling e-mail message 214 appropriately,
`e-mail application 208 transmits its user's response e-mail
`message 218 to e-mail application 206. In a preferred
`embodiment, response message 218 is not required to
`include any type of response flag, response code, or pro(cid:173)
`cessing status code as additional information that is passed
`from e-mail application 208 to e-mail application 206.
`Alternatively, though, response message 218 may contain a
`response flag, response code, processing status code, or
`similar type of datum which provides additional information
`to e-mail application 206 about the manner in which e-mail
`application 208 and/or its user has handled the receipt of
`e-mail message 214. A return code allows e-mail application
`206 to perform additional appropriate actions, e.g., by
`informing its user of the manner in which e-mail message
`214 was handled by the recipient of e-mail message 214, i.e.
`the user of e-mail application 208, which may be of interest
`to the user of e-mail application 206; the optional return
`code and its associated processing is discussed in more
`detail further below.
`
`[0037] With reference now to FIG. 3, an exemplary
`dataset is illustrated in which a mandatory response flag may
`be embedded within a set of e-mail message headers in
`accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. An
`e-mail message comprises an envelope, a set of message
`headers, and the message body, which is the content portion
`of the e-mail message. The envelope comprises a set of
`routing headers that are used by the transport protocol for the
`transmission and delivery of an e-mail message, e.g., as
`specified SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol). Most
`e-mail systems support the SMTP protocol for transferring
`e-mail messages between data processing systems. SMTP
`can support the transfer of electronic messages that are
`formatted to conform to its requirements, including mes(cid:173)
`sages with text and/or other types of content. Messages
`headers provide information about the sender and recipient
`of a message along with information about the manner in
`which the message should be handled or processed. Most
`e-mail messages are formatted so that they conform to the
`standard as described in Resnick et a!., "Internet Message
`Format", RFC (Request for Comments) 2822, April, 2001,
`which is one of the standards that is available from The
`Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF); RFC 2822 provides
`a syntax for text messages. Other standards provide a syntax
`for supporting other types of content, e.g., as extensions to
`RFC 822, such as Freed et a!., "Multipurpose Internet Mail
`Extensions (MIME) Part One: Format of Internet Message
`Bodies", RFC 2054, November 1996.
`
`[0038] Message headers are name-value pairs. Each
`header is formatted as a single line of text; some of the
`
`Apple Inc.
`Exhibit 1005
`Page 011
`
`

`

`US 2006/0218232 AI
`
`Sep.28,2006
`
`4
`
`headers are required, such as "Date", "From", or "To", while
`other headers are optional but often used, such as "Subject"
`or "Cc". Any message header that is not recognized by an
`e-mail application should be ignored, yet all of the headers
`are propagated between systems, whether or not they are
`recognized. Extensions or non-standard headers are required
`to commence as "X-" in order to indicate their non-standard
`nature.
`
`[0039] Referring to FIG. 3, message headers 302 repre(cid:173)
`sent a set of message headers that have accompanied a
`e-mail message body. In one embodiment of the present
`invention, an e-mail message that requires a mandatory
`response is flagged by inserting a mandatory response flag as
`a message header of its accompanying e-mail message; in
`other words, a mandatory response flag is implemented
`using a message header as the indicating data field. In a
`preferred embodiment, the mandatory response flag is
`implemented as an RFC-2822-compliant header or an exten(cid:173)
`sion thereto, as shown in FIG. 3; message header 304
`indicates that its accompanying e-mail message should be
`processed by the receiving e-mail application in a manner
`that attempts to obtain a mandatory response. Alternatively,
`the mandatory response flag may be implemented as a
`MIME header. As yet another alternative, the mandatory
`response flag may be implemented as a data field that is
`embedded within another extension message header that has
`accompanied the e-mail message, in which case the man(cid:173)
`datory response flag would occupy only a portion of the
`extension message header in addition to other information.
`
`[0040] With reference now to FIG. 4, an exemplary
`dataset is illustrated in which a mandatory response flag may
`be embedded within an e-mail message body in accordance
`with an embodiment of the present invention. As noted
`above, an e-mail message comprises its envelope, its set of
`message headers, and its message body. In contrast to FIG.
`3, which illustrates an exemplary embodiment in which a
`mandatory response flag is implemented as a message
`header of the e-mail message, FIG. 4 illustrates an exem(cid:173)
`plary embodiment of the present invention in which a
`mandatory response flag is implemented as a datum or data
`field within the message body itself. In this example, a
`mandatory response flag has been formatted as tag 402 at the
`end message body 404; in one embodiment, the mandatory
`response flag may be formatted as markup-language tags,
`which can be ignored by a processing application if not
`recognized. The mandatory response flag may appear at any
`appropriate
`location within the message body. Other
`embodiments may simply
`implement
`the mandatory
`response flag as a specially recognized text string, e.g.,
`"***MANDATORY RESPONSE!***", which would not
`only be programmatically recognized by a processing appli(cid:173)
`cation but could also be understood by the recipient, i.e. the
`receiving user.
`
`[0041] As mentioned with respect to FIG. 2 above and as
`discussed in more detail hereinbelow, the returned status
`codes, i.e. the status codes that may accompany a response
`message that has been returned in response to a received
`message that had a mandatory response flag, can also be
`implemented as a message header, extension header, or
`within the body of a message.
`
`[0042] With reference now to FIG. 5, a flowchart depicts
`a process in which a sender creates an e-mail message that
`
`contains a request for a mandatory response for the e-mail
`message in accordance with an embodiment of the present
`invention. The process commences with the sender, i.e. the
`sending user, selecting a graphical user interface (GUI)
`control within an e-mail application in order to initiate the
`creation of an e-mail message (step 502); the instance of the
`e-mail application is similar to e-mail application 206 that is
`shown in FIG. 2, which has been enhanced to include
`functionality that supports the implementation of a manda(cid:173)
`tory response flag. The e-mail application opens a window
`for the creation of the new e-mail message (step 504), and
`the sender writes the e-mail message with input to a com(cid:173)
`puting device (step 506).
`
`[0043] The sender then selects an optional control within
`the e-mail application to mark the e-mail message as requir(cid:173)
`ing a mandatory response (step 508), e.g., by pushing a GUI
`button, by selecting a GUI checkbox, or in some other
`manner. It should be noted, though, that the functionality of
`the present invention may be invoked through a variety