Patent ID: 6076101
Filing Date: 2000-06-13
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
An electronic mail processing system which controls delivery of an e-mail message sent by a sender to a plurality of recipients, comprising:outgoing message storage means for storing the e-mail message sent by the sender;outgoing mail information registration means for storing information corresponding to which recipients of the plurality of recipients the e-mail message should be delivered;message sending means for enclosing bonus point information in the e-mail message stored in said outgoing message storage means and sending the e-mail message having the bonus point information to a registered recipient of the plurality of recipients who is registered in said outgoing mail information registration means, the bonus point information indicating that bonus points will be awarded to the registered recipient if the registered recipient responds to the e-mail message;message receiving means for receiving a reply message sent by the registered recipient in response to the e-mail message sent by said message sending means, and analyzing the reply e-mail message to determine bonus points to be awarded to the registered recipient; andrecipient information storage means, coupled to said message receiving means, for holding a bonus point account of each recipient and adding the determined bonus points to the bonus point account of the registered recipient that sent the reply message,wherein said message receiving means further comprises:reply count evaluation means, responsive to the reply message sent from the registered recipient, for determining whether the reply message is an initial reply message from the registered recipient by referring to recipient-specific information stored in said recipient information storage means;bonus point comparison means, activated in response to said reply count evaluation means determining that the reply message is not an initial reply message, for comparing a bonus point earning value that was previously given to the registered recipient with a new bonus point earning value calculated with respect to the reply message; andpoint accounting means for adding the new bonus point earning value to a bonus point account of the registered recipient when the reply message is the initial reply message or when the new bonus point earning value is larger than the previously given bonus point earning value.