WO2018078517A1

WO2018078517A1 - System and method for creating an internet identity based on the user's existing verifiable identity

Info

Publication number: WO2018078517A1
Application number: PCT/IB2017/056581
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mohit RANA; Vivek Goyal; Damini RANA; Sarah GOYAL
Original assignee: Rana Mohit; Vivek Goyal
Priority date: 2016-10-31
Filing date: 2017-10-24
Publication date: 2018-05-03

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method that generates email account on the fly for a user based on a unique identity of the user in order to send/receive email communication. The unique identity of user may be mobile number, driving licence, social security number, credit card number, car number plate, biometrics (such as retina scan, fingerprints and face scan), etc. The present invention allows an email to be sent to a recipient from any email account, even if the recipient is not registered with the messaging service provided by the present invention. The invention also enables creation of a customized interface (such as set of action buttons/ tabs or quasi-app) for a sender on the user's smart device, triggered by receipt of an email or a message by the user from the sender. The enhanced interface allows sender and user to perform additional tasks relevant to their relationship in a faster, simpler manner.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CREATING AN INTERNET IDENTITY BASED ON THE USER'S EXISTING VERIFIABLE IDENTITY

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the means of communication via internet, particularly to creating email accounts or other forms of internet addresses for users on the fly based on their unique identifiers and on receipt of different events. The present invention provides email transmitter-receiver system and method that allows users to receive emails even if they do not have an email-id or are registered with the messaging service created under the invention. The present invention also allows for various other actions to be triggered on receipt of a message from a sender to user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Communication is a necessity in today's world and it has become very important for people to be always connected in some way. With the development of various electronic communication means, transmission and receiving of information has also become quick and easy from anywhere in the world. As the world gets more digital and connected, it is becoming increasingly important to connect and share files and information with millions of users. Apart from personal communication, businesses and governments are digitising their operations and need to communicate with the consumers through digital medium. One such mode of communication is through email which is one of the earliest and continues to be one of the most popular means of electronic communication. Email has been widely accepted by business, governments and non-governmental organizations as it is an interoperable and standard protocol to send files and messages which can be stored, organised and retrieved in a user- friendly manner. Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) communication in particular relies extensively on emails to send messages and file attachments. An email ID is also important to register on several websites and internet applications and conduct commercial transactions, receive invoices and statements, and so on.

Earlier emails were only accessible on computers, however, now with the advancement in technology, emails are easily accessible on smartphones and tablet computers and are accessible on the move. Further, alerts can also be sent to the smartphone or other device to notify the users immediately of the receipt of new emails. This has given email the ability to be used for more frequent communication between users and allowed them to check their email and write messages throughout the day. Today, there are over 2.5 billion email users worldwide with over 4 billion email accounts sending 200 billion emails per day.

However, email service has some challenges which hinders its effectiveness for the emerging environment. Firstly, the user is required to have a valid email ID in order to access email service and therefore, has to sign up or register with a service in order to obtain an email ID. In case the user does not have a registered email ID, user will not be able to receive or send an email. Further, a registered email user can only send an email to a registered recipient i.e. to a known email ID. It is a well-established fact that while the contact books in a phone have mobile phone numbers of hundreds of personal and business acquaintances, however, email identity of only a few contacts may be available. In case the sender is not aware of the recipient's email ID, an email cannot be sent.

Another challenge is that the email IDs are getting difficult to obtain. Over time, with billions of email IDs already taken, most common aliases on popular public email sites are not available. This means new users, particularly those seeking non-corporate email accounts, need to take aliases which are less intuitive and hence harder to remember and share.

Other popular communication means for mobile phone users is short messaging service (SMS). However, SMS is limited to text messages and cannot send file attachments. Also it has storage, categorisation and retrieval constraints, i.e. it is not easy to store and retrieve a one year old message in a user friendly, elegant manner.

Additionally, internet based instant messaging services are available for smartphones users which can also be used for communication. Such services can also be used to send file attachments. However, they are not interoperable and messages can only be sent amongst the users of that particular service. These services also have storage, categorisation and retrieval constraints.

Further, organisations are looking to leverage the digital technologies to enhance their engagement with their customers. For the purpose, they develop websites and applications (Apps) that can be downloaded on smartphones. However, it is not only challenging and but also expensive to get the users to download and keep the App or visit the website. Moreover, the organisations may only have users mobile numbers available with them, in this case the communication between the organisation and the customer may get restricted to one-way SMS messages only between organisation and user.

The present invention addresses these shortcomings of the aforesaid communication systems and provides a system and method that allows an existing unique identity of a user to be used to generate an email account or similar internet address on the fly for sending and receiving emails or other message forms.

The present invention also allows a message such as an email or SMS from the sender (such as an organisation) to lead to creation of a customized interface (such as set of action buttons/ tabs) on the users' device, through which the organisation and user can interact with each other in enhanced manner, for example- several functionalities or services of the organisation relevant to the user are replicated on the platform on user device without the user having to download every organisation's mobile application on the user device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is to provide a system and method that generates email account on the fly for a user based on a unique identity of the user in order to send/receive email communication thereby overcoming the traditional approach of registering or signing up to obtain an email ID with the email service providers. The unique identity of user may be mobile number, driving licence, social security number, credit card number, car number plate, biometrics (such as retina scan, fingerprints and face scan), etc.

Another object of the invention is to create an email account on the fly for a user on receipt of a range of events which can be generated by the user or third parties desiring to communicate with the user.

Another object of the invention is to send notification to the user as well as recipient (if different) on creation of the email account. A further object of the invention is to allow an email to be sent to a recipient from any email account, even if the recipient is not registered with the messaging service provided by the present invention. Another object of the invention is to send notification to the recipient about the email received containing the process to access the email and/or email account.

Another object of the invention is to generate notification from a registered user's mobile phone, a registered Enterprise's System or from the server of messaging service of the present invention.

Another object of the invention is to facilitate sending/receiving of emails using the email account generated i.e. the email account is functional as any other account created on any email service. Another object of the invention is to use email as a command to initiate further activities by a receiving system such as sending and storing a document (as an email attachment) to a folder on the server or cloud of present invention.

Another object is the invention is to use email sent in a predefined format to the server or cloud of the messaging service in order to trigger a command on an associated IOT device or any program running on a computer.

Another object of the invention is to create an enhanced interface with specific action buttons/ tabs related to the feature or services of sender (such as organisation) on the user's smart device, triggered by receipt of an email or a message by the user from the sender. The interface allows sender and user to perform customized tasks relevant to their relationship in a faster, simpler manner (as if a quasi-app is created for the organisation on the user device).

Yet another object of the invention is to convert the entire contact list in a user's mobile device to an addressable email ID format for ready reference to create on the fly email accounts for all these contacts and communicate with them through email. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, illustrations and examples to disclose the aspects of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood and its numerous objects, features, components and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art, by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates the events that could lead to generation of email account for a user in the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates flow chart of the process for sending emails to a user whose mobile phone identification number is known;

Figure 3 illustrates flow chart of the process for sending emails to a user with known unique identification which can be linked to user's mobile phone identification number; Figure 4 illustrates various ways of sending notification to user about the creation of an email id and mailbox by the messaging service;

Figure 5 details out a specific case where an individual registered user sends an email from web interface on any PC while the notification goes out from sender' s registered mobile device as an SMS / IM;

Figure 6 illustrates the system architecture of the present invention;

Figure 7 illustrates creation of customized interface (such as action buttons/ tabs or Quasi app) on receipt of a message from the sender to user; and

Figure 8 illustrates examples of interface (set of action buttons or a Quasi app) created by the Messaging System on the messaging platform or user interface on a user device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description describes various features and functions of the disclosed system and method with reference to the accompanying figures. The illustrative system and method aspects described herein are not meant to be limiting. It can be readily understood that certain aspects of the disclosed system and method can be arranged and combined in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are contemplated herein.

The present invention provides a system and method that enables user to access email services by creating an email account and mailbox on the fly using user's unique identity on receipt of a trigger.

The main aspect of the present invention is a system to enable a user to access email messaging services without being pre-registered on an email service, the system comprising: trigger module, control module, server or cloud and user device. As shown in Figure 2, a request for generation of on the fly email account is initiated in a necessary format including user's unique identification, through various events and is sent to the trigger module. The trigger module receives the request, identifies and retrieves unique identification information that is required for creation of an email account and checks whether the user is already registered with the messaging service. If user is already registered with the service, the email is sent to the existing mail box of user. If user is not registered with the service, then trigger module forwards the retrieved information and sends request to the control module for email account creation. The control module creates the email account and mailbox on the server or cloud and sends notification on the user device informing the user about creation of email id and mailbox along with a unique internet address pointing to the location of the email.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method to enable a user to access email messaging services without being pre-registered on an email service, the method comprising: initiating a request for generation of on the fly email account in a necessary format including user's unique identification, through various events and sending the same to the trigger module; receiving the request by trigger module, identifying and retrieving unique identification information that is required for creation of an email account and checking whether the user is already registered with the messaging service. If user is already registered with the service, sending the email to an existing mail box of user. If user is not registered with the messaging service, forwarding the retrieved information by the trigger module to the control module for email account creation. Then creating the email account and mailbox on the server or cloud by control module and sending notification on the user device informing about the creation of email id and mailbox along with a unique internet address pointing to the location of the email.

Various means of notification are possible, i.e., through SMS, an Internet Message (IM), a voice call. The user can access the email received in the mailbox by following the instruction sent in the notification message on the user device e.g. by clicking the unique internet address which opens in the default web browser on the user device. The user can also type-in the unique internet address in a desktop web browser. Once the unique internet address is accessed by the user and/or the email is opened, a notification can be sent to the sender that the recipient has accessed the email.

The events for generation of an email ID are either initiated by the user or third parties interested in communicating with the user.

A third party sender may be:

a) a registered user of the messaging service under present invention;

b) a registered enterprise user of this messaging service;

c) a user from any corporate or web email service.

Figure 1 discloses such events where the request for creation of an email account for user (say user B) is either initiated by third parties trying to reach the user B or initiated by the user himself.

A third party may initiate the trigger for creation of an email ID for user B using the present invention by any of the following method:

(i) The third party may send a request to the trigger module of messaging service of present invention to send an email to user B in a predefined or specific format or syntax including user B's mobile number and potentially a country identifier. For example: 1234567899@emaildomain.com (where 1234567899 is the mobile number) or 911234567899@emaildomain.com or IN1234567899@emaildomain.com (where 91, the country code for India is replaced by IN). Generic domain name for the email messaging service for the purpose of illustration is labelled as "emaildomain.com";

(ii) The third party may request for creation of an email account through any software, API, device that allows the mobile number of user B to be sent to the trigger module of Messaging Service.

Some examples of systems that can generate such events can be - a website on which user B is trying to register, a point of sale system sending a bill to user B, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, an ERP system, and other such trigger generating systems.

Further, the user B may also trigger the request to create an email account on the Messaging Service through various approaches such as, but not limited to the following: i) User B registers with Messaging Service of the present invention on any of the platform available e.g. downloading the application, on the web browser, and so on;

ii) User B sends an SMS from his mobile number to a specified number in a format

as specified by the Messaging Service;

iii) User B gives a missed call to the Messaging Service on a specified number;

As discussed above, a notification is sent to the mobile number of user B by using the telecom network, through SMS, voice call, internet messaging and other such methods. The notification message contains information that an email is sent by sender A, an email account is created for the recipient (user B), and also provides information on how to access the email by providing a unique internet address pointing to the location of the email (e.g. hyperlink of the location of the mailbox can be provided in the message).

The said notification is triggered either from the sender's device or the server of messaging service of the present invention. The sender' s device may be a smartphone, tablet, POS system, ERP, CRM systems. Figure 4 provides some examples of how the email and notification are generated based on category of sender.

Some examples illustrating the notification generation cases are as follows: i. A registered subscriber of the service wishes to send an email to any mobile user B. The service receives the trigger, generates an email id and mailbox for user B and sends an SMS or IM notification to user B through registered subscriber's mobile number. The registered subscriber can send the email (generate trigger) from a desktop, tablet, smartphone, but the notification in the form of an SMS/EVI is sent from the registered mobile number of the registered subscriber. ii. An Enterprise POS system uses the messaging service to send a bill to their customer using their identity. An API is provided through which the Messaging Service lets the enterprise system know whether the customer is registered or not registered with this messaging service and also provide the Enterprise with the hyperlink on which the email to customer can be accessed. In case the customer is not registered with the system, an SMS can be sent by the Enterprise to the customer with this hyperlink to access the email. iii. A CRM system of a bank uses the messaging service to send the bank statement to a customer and sends an SMS to the customer mobile number.

Further, the Messaging Service of the present invention can also trigger the notification. It detects that the user is not registered with the email service of the present invention and then sends an SMS to the recipient's (user B) phone number. For example, a sender uses an email account (say xyz@ gmail.com) to send an email to a contact (user B) using the present service by sending an email to 1234567899@emaildomain.com, the messaging service detects that the recipient (user B) is not registered with the service and triggers an SMS from the server of messaging service.

A notification can also be sent to the sender notifying that the email is delivered to the recipient's newly created mailbox.

The present invention is also directed at creating email accounts based on unique identity of user other than mobile numbers. As in many cases, there is a need to communicate with individuals where an email or a mobile number is not available, but other forms of identification are available that can uniquely link to an individual. For example, intimating a vehicle owner of a traffic violation along with a CCTV picture of the violation; sending bill to a credit card owner based on credit card swipe/online usage or reaching out to a person whose biometrics are available.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the present invention accepts a unique identity, retrieves the mobile number of the person linked to that identity through relevant databases, creates an email ID and mailbox linked to that mobile number and sends an email to the person in following way:

The sender (e.g. a system or individual), having the knowledge of unique identity of a person which is linked to his mobile number, sends the said unique identification to the trigger module of the present invention. The trigger module then adopts the appropriate database to access more information on that unique identification which may be a social security database (for example UTD database in India that links biometric to a unique Aadhar number and mobile number), a transport department database (that links driver license number and vehicle registration numbers to owners), financial services database (links credit cards to users), and other such databases.

The trigger module requests the appropriate database and retrieves the name and mobile number of the owner (at the same time complying with appropriate privacy protection laws). If a mobile number is found, the trigger module sends the information to the control module which in turn creates an email ID and mailbox on server or cloud or sends an email to the registered user. It also sends notification to user and sender intimating them of the success of email received/sent. If a mobile number is not found in the database, an appropriate failure message is sent to the sender. The present invention also provides use of email as a command to initiate further activities by a receiving system such as sending a document (as an email attachment) to be stored on a folder on the server or cloud of present invention. For example, an email is sent with a predefined format say " FolderName#PhoneNumber @ emaildomain .com" creates a cloud storage account for the specific 'PhoneNumber' and a folder by the name "FolderName" on the server or cloud and delivers the email attachment to the said folder. This enables easy and secure storage of documents on the cloud which can be securely accessed only through the 'PhoneNumber' to which they were sent. Further, the present invention enables sending an email in a predefined format to the server or cloud of the messaging service in order to trigger a command on an associated IOT device or any program running on a computer. In order to trigger a command, the predefined format is required to contain the IP address of the device/computer in the email address and name of the command in the email subject line. For example, an email is sent to " 12.111.23.44 @ emaildomain.com" with a subject as "#shutdown" invokes a ' Shutdown' command from the server and sends it to the device/computer having that IP address. The outcome (if any) of the command is sent to the originator of the trigger in an email format. The present invention also provides for automatic creation of customized interface (like set of action buttons/ tabs) for a user on receipt of a trigger such as an email or other message from a sender. The interface is customized based on the sender and user profile and pre-defined rules that govern their relationship. The sender can be an organisation that the user deals with frequently, such as but not limited to, providers of financial services, health services, education, retailers, travel services, utilities, government bodies, communities, clubs, etc.

For example, a bank has different interfaces for different type of customers (e.g. savings, mortgage, premium) to help manage their relationship with the bank seamlessly. The interface comprising the requisite action buttons/ tabs is created on receipt of an email or SMS from the bank to the user (customer).

Customized interface (action buttons/ tabs) is created based on the nature of the relationship and to expedite and simplify the interaction between sender and user. Such customized interface allows customers to interact more easily with different organisations based on nature of the relationships. An indicative (but not exhaustive) list of tasks the interface can do are- Access statements, review and pay invoices, change monthly plans, manage loyalty points, book appointments, book ticket, review current offers, receive notifications, invoke a bot to provide customer service, view community notices and audio/video channels, etc.

The present invention also enables conversion of contact list in the phone of a user to an addressable email address format as required to access the services. The present invention scans the entire list of contacts on the user device. For each contact with a mobile number, an email address is added to the contact book in the pre-defined format, for example- contactphone @ emaildomain.com. The registered user can send an email to any of the contacts by just clicking on this email address, even if the contact is not registered with the messaging service.

The present invention can be designed for different levels of user authentication where the user is required to authenticate with the messaging service to get full access to all the features. Prior to authentication, user's access to the automatically created mailbox may be constrained. For example, the user may only be allowed to read the messages received in the mailbox, but prohibited to send, reply or forward the messages; or user may only be allowed to use the mailbox only for a defined period without registering.

The authentication is done by using the phone number of the user which is being used for creation of the email ID and OTP/PIN/Pas sword/ Biometric/any other user authentication process available. Once the user is authenticated for the email service, the user can use the email account like any other email account to send and receive emails.

While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more preferred aspects, which aspects have been set forth in considerable detail for the purposes of making a complete disclosure of the invention, such aspects are merely exemplary and are not intended to be limiting or represent an exhaustive enumeration of all aspects of the invention. Further, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes may be made in such details without departing from the spirit and the principles of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1) A system to enable a user to access email messaging services without being pre- registered on the email service, wherein the system comprises:

a trigger module,

a control module,

server or cloud, and

a user device; wherein a request for generation of on the fly email account is initiated in a necessary format including user's unique identification, through various events and is sent to the trigger module;

the trigger module receives the request, identifies and retrieves unique identification information that is required for creation of an email account and checks if the user is already registered with the messaging service; if user is already registered with the service, the email is sent to the existing mail box of user;

if user is not registered with the service, then trigger module forwards the retrieved information and sends request to the control module for email account creation; the control module creates the email account and mailbox on the server or cloud and sends notification on the user device through SMS or Internet Message informing the user about creation of email id and mailbox along with a unique internet address pointing to the location of the email.

2) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein unique identity of user may be mobile number, driving licence, social security number, credit card number, vehicle registration number, biometrics (such as retina scan, fingerprints and face scan) and others such identities.

3) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the events for generation of an email ID are either initiated by the user or third parties interested in communicating with the user. 4) The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein a third party may initiate the event for creation of an email ID for user by sending an email to the messaging service in a predefined format or specific format or syntax including user unique identification or through any software, API, device that allows the unique identification of user to be sent to the trigger module of messaging service.

5) The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein user requests the event to create an email account on the messaging service through mobile platform or interface, on the web browser or by sending an SMS from mobile number to a specified number in a predefined format or by giving a missed call to the messaging service on a specified number or calling an agent of the messaging service.

6) The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein if the user's unique identification is not the mobile number, the trigger module requests the appropriate database and retrieves the mobile number of the user and sends it to the control module.

7) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein sending email in a pre-defined format through the messaging service is used as a command to initiate further activities by a receiving system.

8) The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein an automatic, customized interface is created for the user on user device on receipt of a trigger from sender based on the user and recipient profile and pre-defined rules that govern the sender - user relationship.

9) A method to enable a user to access email messaging services without being pre- registered on the email service, wherein the method comprises: initiating a request for generation of on the fly email account in a necessary format including user's unique identification, through various events and sending it to the trigger module

receiving the request by the trigger module and then identifying and retrieving unique identification information that is required for creation of an email account and checking if the user is already registered with the messaging service; sending the email to the existing mail box of user, if user is already registered with the service;

forwarding the retrieved information by the trigger module, if user is not registered with the service, to the control module for email account creation; creating email account and mailbox on the server or cloud by the control module and sending notification on the user device through SMS or Internet Message informing the user about creation of email id and mailbox along with a unique internet address pointing to the location of the email.

10) The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein unique identity of user may be mobile number, driving licence, social security number, credit card number, vehicle registration number, biometrics (such as retina scan, fingerprints and face scan) and others such identities.

11) The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the events for generation of an email ID are either initiated by the user or third parties interested in communicating with the user.

12) The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein a third party may initiate the trigger for creation of an email ID for user by sending an email to the messaging service in a predefined format or specific format or syntax including user unique identification or through any software, API, device that allows the unique identification of user to be sent to the trigger module of messaging service.

13) The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein user requests the events to create an email account on the messaging service through downloading the application, on the web browser or by sending an SMS from his mobile number to a specified number in a predefined format or by giving a missed call to the messaging service on a specified number or calling an agent of the messaging service.

14) The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein if the user's unique identification is not the mobile number, the trigger module requests the appropriate database and retrieves the mobile number of the user and sends it to the control module. 15) The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein sending email in a pre-defined format to messaging service is used as a command to initiate further activities by a receiving system. 16) The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein an automatic, customized interface is created for the user on user device on receipt of a trigger from sender based on the user and recipient profile and pre-defined rules that govern their relationship.