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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8103960 | System and method for preventing screen-scrapers from extracting user screen names Graphic screen names are used instead of using text screen names in a Web chat room or an instant messaging system so that screen scrapers cannot generate an e-mail list for spam by extracting the screen names from the Web chat room or instant messaging system. ... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8099670 | Systems and media for updating an instant messaging system Systems and media for updating an instant messaging system on a network are disclosed. More particularly, hardware and/or software for updating status indicators such as ‘away’ messages of an instant messaging system are disclosed. Embodiments include determinin... | 01/17/2012 |
| 8082511 | Active and passive personalization techniques A method for personalizing content for a particular user in a computing system comprising a user interface configured to display content. The method comprises identifying a long term profile having one or more features in a feature set and a long term level of impor... | 12/20/2011 |
| 8056011 | Method and system for providing contact management to chat session participants A method and system for providing contact management to participants engaged in a communication session permits chat session participants to a communication session to determine common contacts that exist between the chat session participants. Dependent on the acces... | 11/08/2011 |
| 8024663 | Composition assisting apparatus and composition assisting system [Object] To provide communication space for the user to have crossing over of discussions with respect to plural phrases while allowing the discussions to be conducted individually in parallel. [Means for Solution] A module for generating phrase object (FO) d... | 09/20/2011 |
| 8019646 | Method of providing customer services Customer services are provided by storing predetermined trigger information in association with predetermined content. A real-time text chat established over a network between at least one agent device and at least one customer device is monitoring for the predeterm... | 09/13/2011 |
| 8006191 | Chat room with thin walls A method, system and graphical user interface for a chat room system is disclosed. One aspect of certain embodiments includes sending messages that originate from a user's current chat room as well as messages that originate from nearby chat rooms to the user. Both ... | 08/23/2011 |
| 8005821 | Noise in secure function evaluation Systems and methods for injecting noise into secure function evaluation to protect the privacy of the participants and for computing a collective noisy result by combining results and noise generated based on input from the participants. When implemented using distr... | 08/23/2011 |
| 7913176 | Applying access controls to communications with avatars Senders of instant messages may inspire perception by a recipient of avatars capable of being animated in order to customize or personalize communication exchanges from the sender. The avatar, an animation of or associated with the avatar, an object associated with ... | 03/22/2011 |
| 7890876 | Electronic messaging contextual storefront system and method An electronic messaging contextual storefront system and application provides electronic and instant messaging with contextual graphical and textual content which corresponds with or is related to the subject matter of an electronic or instant message string or chat... | 02/15/2011 |
| 7890875 | IM conversation management A method and apparatus for managing IM conversations is provided. In response to idle time and, preferably, read message status, particular current conversations are removed from a list of current conversations. The removed conversations may be moved to an archive w... | 02/15/2011 |
| 7861176 | Methods and systems for providing online chat The present disclosure relates generally to digital conferencing. A chat server causes a chat user interface to appear as a popup window hovering over a web page. In response to a first event, the chat server causes the chat user interface to appear as part of the w... | 12/28/2010 |
| 7849411 | Enabling participation in an online community using visual machine-readable symbols A facility for coordinating an online discussion is described. The facility receives an indication that a user has captured a machine-readable symbol encoding an identifier that identifies a particular online discussion. In response, the facility incorporates into a... | 12/07/2010 |
| 7827497 | User interface and method for viewing short messages on a wireless device A method is performed by an electronic communication device. The method includes storing electronic messages, and storing criteria for determining whether a stored message is related to a current message. A current electronic message is displayed to a user of the co... | 11/02/2010 |
| 7735014 | Device-directed default list naming for mobile electronic device Methods and systems for ensuring that a default contact list display name presented on a mobile electronic device is meaningful to a user of the mobile electronic device. Such a mobile electronic device in some embodiments comprises a user interface, a wireless inte... | 06/08/2010 |
| 7721217 | Templates for themed instant messages A method for templates for implementing instant message themes is provided. For example, the user selects between a “to-do” theme, an “invite” theme, a “postcard” theme, a “reminder” theme, etc. If the user selects the “to-do” theme, the to-do te... | 05/18/2010 |
| 7721216 | Visual group interface for group connectivity A communication icon represents a shared connection allowing members of an online group to interact with each other and participate in different activities together. The icon through which the group interacts resides on each group member's desktop and has many attri... | 05/18/2010 |
| 7698648 | Animation of icons based on presence A method and system for indicating availability of a contact is provided. The presence system displays to the user an indication of the presence state in association with the contact. The presence system provides an indication of the availability associated with the... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7698649 | Facilitating communications between computer users across a network An icon or file is provided to facilitate communications across a network. The icon or file represents a contact or set of contacts and is separate from the communications program's user interface. At least one action is executed in response to an operation performe... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7669135 | Using emoticons, such as for wireless devices A method and system for generating a displayable icon or emoticon form that indicates the mood or emotion of a user of the mobile station. A user of a device, such as a mobile phone, is provided with a dedicated key or shared dedicated key option that the user may s... | 02/23/2010 |
| 7669134 | Method and apparatus for displaying information during an instant messaging session A method and an apparatus are provided for controlling a graphical user interface to display information related to a communication session. Information relating to data produced by a first participant to the communication session is displayed on a first display uni... | 02/23/2010 |
| 7647560 | User interface for multi-sensory emoticons in a communication system Methods and systems for providing dynamic emoticons during chat sessions across game consoles are disclosed. A dynamic emoticon may include haptic, visual, and/or auditory components. Each component may have an associated intensity level, e.g., based on a pressure w... | 01/12/2010 |
| 7620902 | Collaboration spaces A computer implemented method and system enable users to create a social network providing access to other users. By providing access to such networks via a visual presentation, the system renders content available for access by other network members. Access is some... | 11/17/2009 |
| 7600184 | High density visualizations for threaded information High-density computer display visualization formats provide improved visualization of large amounts of threaded information. These visualization formats are suitable for a wide variety of threaded information environments including newsgroups, threaded Web discussio... | 10/06/2009 |
| 7503007 | Context enhanced messaging and collaboration system A context enhanced messaging and collaboration system in which resources related to the context of text messages may be automatically identified and exchanged between users in association with the text messages, is provided. A graphical user interface (GUI) is provi... | 03/10/2009 |
| 7493567 | Method and system for pinning contacts and items The present invention provides a method and system of pinning and displaying pinned items. Pinned items are displayed such that they are visually distinguishable and prioritized higher than related non-pinned items. For example, pinned contacts are displayed at the ... | 02/17/2009 |
| 7484176 | Reactive avatars Avatars are used to graphically represent users in a communications session, and the avatars are capable of being animated. An indication of an animation of one of the avatars is received. Another avatar that represents another of the users is animated in response t... | 01/27/2009 |
| 7484177 | User interface and method for viewing short messages on a wireless device A user interface and method for viewing short messages on a wireless device includes a viewing screen, a processor, a memory device and a message software interface module. The memory device stores electronic messages that have been transmitted or received by the wi... | 01/27/2009 |
| 7472352 | Method and system for automatic handling of invitations to join communications sessions in a virtual team environment A collaboration services suite is adapted to support a plurality of integrated telecommunications services accessed by geographically dispersed team members using a virtual team environment (VTE) client that generates a graphical user interface (GUI) for each of the... | 12/30/2008 |
| 7469384 | Method and system for creating a virtual team environment A collaboration services suite is adapted to support a plurality of integrated telecommunications services accessed by geographically dispersed team members using a virtual team environment (VTE) client that generates a graphical user interface (GUI) for each of the... | 12/23/2008 |
| 7447996 | System for using gender analysis of names to assign avatars in instant messaging applications A software module for displaying gender-based avatar representations of users in instant messaging communications comprises a username analysis component and an interface component. The username analysis component is configured to be implemented within an instant me... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7444379 | Method for automatically setting chat status based on user activity in local environment A method is presented for managing user chat status in a chat application. The chat application automatically detects user activity and/or user inactivity external to the chat application and then automatically sets a user chat status value within the chat applicati... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7444377 | Apparatus, method and program for supporting conversation, and conversation supporting system A conversation supporting apparatus for supporting conversation among a plurality of participants in an occasion in which the participants participate, comprises personal information storing unit for storing personal information including at least one characteristic... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7441199 | Multimode interactive television chat A user interface device has a graphical user interface that can simultaneously display a combination of television and Internet content in various display modes. The display modes may have different proportions, positioning or other features of the Internet and tele... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7437410 | Systems and methods for interfacing with a user in instant messaging Reducing the amount of input required by a user to enter an electronic message. When an electronic message is received, one or more language expressions associated with the electronic message are displayed to a user. The user may select one or more of the language e... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7434168 | Method and apparatus for sending E-mail, method and apparatus for receiving E-mail, sending/receiving method and apparatus for E-mail, sending program supplying medium, receiving program supplying medium and sending/receiving program supplying medium A method and apparatus for sending or receiving an E-mail using animated representation as if a pet were going out of or coming into a GUI picture simulating the insides of both a sender's room and a receiver's room for letter delivery and dispatch. Moreover, the pe... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7434169 | Facilitating communications between computer users across a network A stand-alone icon (i.e., an icon that is not part of an application interface) is provided to facilitate communications across a network between users of at least one communications program. The icon represents a contact or a set of contacts. Status information reg... | 10/07/2008 |
| 7430720 | System and method for preventing screen-scrapers from extracting user screen names Graphic screen names are used instead of using text screen names in a Web chat room or an instant messaging system so that screen scrapers cannot generate an e-mail list for spam by extracting the screen names from the Web chat room or instant messaging system. ... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7426539 | Dynamic bandwidth control Data transfer over a computer network relating to a data object of a multiple user network application, from a network user who owns the data object to an updating user, is achieved by transfer of a subset of data fields that define the data object, such that the su... | 09/16/2008 |
| 7426538 | Dynamic media content for collaborators with VOIP support for client communications Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for delivering dynamic media content to collaborators. Embodiments include providing collaborative event media content, wherein the collaborative event media content includes a grammar and a structured doc... | 09/16/2008 |
