Patent ID: 6553110
Filing Date: 2003-04-22
Classification: H04L,H04M,H04Q

Abstract:
A method of selective telephone caller identification, comprising the steps of:providing a list of telephone numbers of second parties to which a first party is willing to release identification information regarding the first party, to a telephone company by the first party, if the first party subscribes to a call blocking service with the telephone company; storing the list of telephone numbers in a database if the first party subscribes to the call blocking service; determining whether the first party subscribes to the call blocking service with the telephone company when the first party dials a telephone number to make a telephone call; searching the list of telephone numbers in the database by the telephone company when the first party dials a telephone number to make a telephone call, to determine if the dialed telephone number is on the list of telephone numbers, when the first party subscribes to the call blocking service; blocking the telephone call by the first party to the second party when it is determined that the first party subscribes to the call blocking service and the dialed telephone number is not on the list of stored telephone numbers; providing connection between the first party and the second party when it is determined that the first party subscribes to the call blocking service and that the dialed telephone number is on the list of stored telephone numbers; encrypting said identification information regarding the first party; adding a message header to the encrypted identification information corresponding to whether a signal sent by the telephone company to said second party is an unblocked signal, a blocked signal or an encrypted signal; and sending said encrypted identification information regarding the first party to the second party when it is determined that the first party subscribes to the call blocking service and the dialed telephone number is on the list of stored telephone numbers.