Patent ID: 7716288

Claim:
A method for an enabled recipient to handle a received rights-managed email with protected content from a sender, the email comprising a main information portion having a message that the email is rights management protected and an attachment portion having the protected content, the method comprising: using an email application to receive the email having protected content in the attachment portion thereof, the protected content being encrypted and decryptable according to a decryption key, the decryption key being encrypted according to a public key of a rights management server to result in an encrypted decryption key; recognizing that the email has the protected content in the attachment portion thereof; discounting the main information portion of the email; examining the attachment portion of the email comprising the encrypted decryption key and rights data relating to the protected content, the rights data setting forth each entity that has rights with respect to the protected content, and for each such entity a description of such rights; using the email application to place the email in a queue when the email is received while the recipient is connected to a network; retrieving the rights data in the attachment portion of the email; while the recipient is connected to the network, using a trusted component to retrieve the email from the queue and to forward the retrieved rights data to a rights management server, such rights management server for determining that the recipient is an entity listed in the rights data and issuing to the recipient a license corresponding to the protected content based on the rights data, such license specifying rights the recipient has with respect to the protected content as determined from the rights data and also including the decrypted decryption key from the rights data; reviewing the issued license to determine that the recipient has a right to render the protected content of the attachment portion of the email; retrieving the decryption key from the license; and rendering the content.