Determining failed delivery of email messages using email notifications

US8239458B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Microsoft Corporation · US

Inventors

• Sharad Agarwal · Bengaluru, IN
• Venkata N. Padmanabhan · Bellevue, US
• Joseph Dilip Antony · Berkeley, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 31, 2006
• Grant date: Aug 7, 2012
• Expiry date: Aug 13, 2029

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q10/107
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Notifying a user that an email message sent to the user was not received by the user. Users can register to receive notifications. When a sender sends an email message to a recipient, a separate notification also may be sent to a notification service that populates and controls access to an email notification list. Each notification in the list may comprise a hash of the content of the email message that it represents. A recipient module may be configured to check the notification list periodically and/or in response to a recipient's instructions, and compare notifications to the email messages received for the recipient to determine whether any email messages intended for the recipient were not received. If it is determined from the notifications that an email message was not received, a notice may be sent to the sender, which my include a request that the sender re-send the email message.