Managing Message Distribution

The present invention relates to a method for managing the distribution of messages in a network and in particular to managing the distribution of messages in a mobile telephone network.

It is known to provide many services over mobile networks to network users.

Some services are simple peer to peer services such as SMS and multimedia messages. Other services such as ring tone delivery, chat, news or other data services are commercial services implemented by service providers. As there are typically a number of competing mobile networks in any territory and it is desirable for a service provider to be able to provide services to as many users as possible, it is necessary for each service provider to be able to connect to each separate network. This can be achieved by dealing directly with each network operator. More commonly, each service provider accesses the plurality of networks via an aggregator. An aggregator is operable to direct data/messages between each service provider and each subscriber via the appropriate network operator. This reduces the costs for each service provider in maintaining connectivity to each network of interest. The aggregators also keep track of the number of messages passing between users and service providers and thus provide an audit trail for invoicing.

In most cases, this system works effectively however some service providers are unscrupulous. Such service providers may for instance ignore unsubscribe orders and continue to send (and charge for) content. Alternatively, some service providers

may continue to send (and charge for) content after a user preset credit limit has been breached. Other service providers may provide adult content to minors or other unsolicited content to users. As this content is routed through the aggregator and the network in the normal manner it is difficult to control such service providers other than with the blunt instrument of denying them access. Even if access is denied then the unscrupulous service provider may switch to an alternative aggregator and carry on as before.

Accordingly, there are difficulties at a network wide level in preventing unsolicited messages or invalid billing. There are also difficulties in applying sanctions to unscrupulous service providers. Additionally, it is difficult to protect minors from inappropriate content delivery.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of managing message distribution in a network that overcomes or alleviates at least some of the above problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of managing the distribution of a messages from a source to a destination comprising the steps of: determining whether a message should be subjected to one or more filters before onward distribution to its destination wherein if it is determined that the message should not be subjected to any filters, the message is distributed onward to the destination and if it is determined that the message should be subjected to one or more filters, the message is directed to the identified filter or to each identified filter

in turn wherein: if the message meets the filtering criteria and if further filters are to be applied the message is directed onward to the next filter; if the message meets the filtering criteria and if no further filters are to be applied the message is distributed to its destination; and if, at any stage, the message does not meet the filtering criteria of a particular filter distribution of the message is halted.

This provides a method by means of which messages can be easily filtered if required. This further allows for the monitoring and if required the blocking of delivery of unwanted messages sent by unscrupulous senders.

In the present application, the term message has been used to encompass any data passed over a network from a particular source to one or more destinations. In particular, the present invention may be applied to a mobile telephone network or to a plurality of interconnected mobile telephone networks. In some embodiments, the method may be used to filter messages sent by service providers (or secondary service providers) to users either directly via a particular network or indirectly via an aggregator.

The filters may be implemented by any one or all of: the network operators, the service providers or the aggregators as desired or as appropriate. If the message does not meet the filtering criteria of a particular filter distribution of the message may be halted either permanently or until the filter receives a message release authorisation. The message release authorisation may be provided by any one or all of: the user, a nominated other authority, the service provider or the network operator.

The filters may comprise simple routines checking the sender or destination details against a database. With particular regard to mobile telephone networks, the filters may comprise routines checking that the destination (user) has not exceeded a predetermined credit limit in a predetermined time period or that the destination (user) is not attempting to receive messages containing content, such as adult content, that they have requested not to receive.

The user may set the filters that they wish to have applied to messages sent to them from a particular source. The source may be a commercial source such as a service provider or may be another user. The filters may be reset or may be overridden by a specific request sent by the user. The request may be in response to an authorisation request or similar. Additionally or alternatively, the request need not be sent via a mobile network but may be sent via the internet, email or via the approp. Ie postal service. The user may set the filters by means of a request to the source or by a request to the network operator or to any other applicable body.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of determining whether a particular message is to be subjected to one or more filters, the method comprising the steps of: decoding the message source and destination identifiers; generating a key from said source and destination identifiers; performing a directory service lookup using said key wherein if said key exists in the directory the message is to be subjected to one or more filters and wherein if said key does not exist in the directory the message is not to be subject to filters before distribution to the identified destination.

This method enables high speed lookup to be implemented. This allows the method to be implemented without providing a significant delay in delivering messages that are not filtered.

The method of the second aspect of the present invention may operate in conjunction with and/or incorporate any or all features of the method of the first aspect of the present invention, as desired or as appropriate.

The message source and destination identifiers may be network addresses of the source and destination. In a mobile telephone network, the message source and destination identifiers are preferably the phone numbers of the message source and the message destination. In other networks, by way of example, the message source and destination identifiers could be email addresses or internet protocol addresses.

If said key exists in the directory, the method may include the further step of receiving from the directory associated information relating to the location of the or each filter to be applied to the message before the message may be distributed to its identified destination. The information relating to filter location may be supplied in the form of a list of filter locations. The filter locations may be ordered on the list in the order that they are required to be applied.

The associated filter location information may be updated separately to the key. Updating the location information may take the form of adding, removing or reordering the location information, hi this manner, the particular filtering to be applied to a particular message pathway can be rapidly and simply varied.

The filters may comprise simple routines checking the sender or destination details against a database.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of directing a message to a plurality of filters of known location in a desired order, the method comprising the steps of: generating a list of the filter locations, the filter locations on the list being arranged in the desired order; appending said list to said message; directing said message to the first filter location on said list; subsequently removing said first filter location from said list thereby generating a new list; and sending the message to the first filter location on said new list.

This provides a standard method by which one or more filters can be applied to a message and wherein different filters may be applied to different messages. The method also ensures that it is relatively easy to track the progress of the message.

The method of the third aspect of the present invention may operate in conjunction with and/or incorporate any or all features of the methods of the first and/or second aspects of the present invention, as desired or as appropriate.

The filter locations may be provided in the form of Uniform Resource

Locators (URLs). If required, one or more of the filters may be operable to add one or more additional filter locations to the list. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the filters may be operable to remove one or more filter locations from the list. Furthermore, one or more of the filters may be operable to change the order of

filter locations on the list. The added, removed or re-ordered filter locations may be in respect of either meeting filter criteria or not meeting filter criteria.

If the message does not meet the filtering criteria of a particular filter distribution of the message may be halted either permanently or until the filter receives a message release authorisation. If the message meets the filtering criteria and if no further filters are to be applied the message is distributed to its destination The filters may comprise simple routines checking the sender or destination details against a database.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a message distribution management system operating in accordance with the methods of the first and/or second and/or third aspects of the present invention.

The filters to be applied to the message(s) may be provided at separate locations connected to the message distribution management system. In this way, the message distribution management system can be operable for determining whether to apply a filter ands for distributing messages to filters or to destinations. As such, the message distribution management system is able to operate the above methods with- minimal delay.

The message distribution system may be operable to manage the distribution of messages between mobile service providers and subscribers to a mobile telephone network. The message distribution system may additionally or alternatively be operable to manage the distribution of messages between mobile telephone networks

provided by different network operators. In such embodiments, the message distribution management system is preferably connected to one or more network operators and to one or more aggregators.

The system may be operable to vary any one or all of the following: whether filtering is to be applied to a particular message pathway, what filters are to be applied to particular message pathways and in what order filters are to be applied to particular message pathways

In order that the invention be more clearly understood, it will now be described by ay of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: -

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a known arrangement for enabling service providers to route data, messages and services to users of a network;

Figure 2 shows a block diagram of a new network access arrangement according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a flow diagram indicating the method of operation of the network of figure 2;

Figure 4a is a block diagram of the routing information for a message provided on entry to the network access arrangement;

Figure 4b is a block diagram of the routing information for a message provided after entry to the network access arrangement, wherein the message is to pass through a single filter before onward distribution; and

Figure 4c is a block diagram of the routing information for a message provided after entry to the network access arrangement, wherein the message is to pass through a plurality of filters before onward distribution.

Referring now to figure 1 , a schematic block diagram of a mobile telephone system 100 for a particular territory is shown. In the mobile telephone system 100, the a plurality of users 101 are able to connect to a plurality (in this example, three) of different mobile networks 102 each operated by a different network operator 103. A plurality of service providers 105 or secondary service providers 106 provide services to the user 101. These services might typically include ring tones, news, games, audio/visual content or similar.

The service providers 105 are each connected to the network operators 103 via one or more aggregators 104. The aggregators 104 provide the service providers 105 with access to each network 103 via a single portal. The aggregators 104 also act to keep a record of traffic between each service provider 105 and each user 101 subscribing to the particular service provider 105 (or to supplementary services provided by supplementary service providers 106, which may be connected to aggregators via a service provider 105). This enables the aggregator 104, network operator 103 and service provider 105 to correctly invoice the user 101.

In some cases, the service provider 105 may send a user 101 unsolicited messages or may continue to send a user 101 messages after the user 101 has sent an unsubscribe message. As the aggregator does not keep track of the content of messages sent between users 101 and service providers 105, they cannot be sure whether messages sent by a service provider 105 are legitimate. Accordingly, the aggregators typically act to deliver (and charge for) all messages sent by a service provider 105, unless sufficient complaints are received. In such circumstances the service provider 105 may be denied access to the various networks 102.

In order to overcome such problems, the present invention proposes an arrangement according to figure 2. This provides a message distribution management system 110 positioned between the network operators 103 and the aggregators 104.

The message distribution management system 110 is operable to apply one or more filters to particular messages travelling between the aggregators and the network operators 103. If any messages do not comply with the applied filter criteria, they are halted.

The message distribution management system 110 operates in accordance with the method outlined in the flow chart of figure 3. The first step is the receipt of an inbound message at s201. The inbound message 201 is then processed at s202 to determine the message source and destination identifiers. At step s203, the message source and destination identifiers are then combined to form a key and the key is used as a lookup device in respect of records stored in directory 111. At s204 it is assessed whether there is a key in the directory matching the key generated from the source

and destination identifiers. If no key is found, then the method progresses to step s205 wherein the message is sent to the destination indicated. This ends the operation routine of the message distribution management system 110 for the particular message. This is a fast lookup method as the key is generated simply by combining source and destination identifiers and as there are only keys provided for messages requiring filtering. Accordingly messages to which no filter is applied can be rapidly distributed to their desired destination without noticeable delay.

If there is a key in the directory matching the generated key then the method progresses to step s206. This step involves obtaining a URL (uniform resource locator) list from the directory. The URL list provides the location (and if required the identification) of the or each filter to be applied to the message before delivery. The URL list is arranged in an order such that the first URL on the URL list is the primary URL and corresponds to the location of the first filter to be applied. Later URLs on the URL list correspond to the location of later filters to be applied.

This is illustrated further in figure 4. Figure 4a shows the source and destination identifiers 301, 302 of a message separated from the rest of the message. These identifiers are used to generate a key for retrieving filter information form a directory. In figure 4b a primary URL 303 (or first filter location) has been retrieved and is appended to the message. In figure 4c, a URL list 303a comprising a primary URL (or first filter location) and one or more secondary URLs has been retrieved and is appended to the message.

The filters locations are identified by URLs as they may be implemented by any suitable part of the telephone system 100. Typically the filters would therefore not be applied by the message distribution management system 110, but would be applied by a particular aggregator 104, service provider 103 or network operator 105. This is undertaken at step s207 wherein the message distribution management system 110 is operable to determine the location of the first filter in the list from the appended URL and distribute the message to that filter.

Once the message is received at the first filter location the first filter is applied. If the message conforms with the filter criteria, the method progresses to step s208 wherein the first filter location is removed from the URL list. If the message does not conform with the filter criteria, its distribution is halted. This may be a permanent halt or may be a halt pending a message release authorisation.

It is then determined whether there are any further filter locations on the URL list at step s209. If there are no furiher filter locations on the URL list, the method ends and the message is distributed to its intended destination at s211. If however, there are further filter locations on the URL list, the second filter location on the URL list is moved to the primary position on the URL list at step s210 and the method reverts to step s207 wherein the message is then directed to the location of the second filter from the original URL list, which is of course now the first filter location on- the new URL list.

This loop s207-s210 continues until filter criteria are not met, in which case the method ends at s211 and halts delivery of the message or until all filters in the URL list have been applied, in which case the message ends at s211 by distributing the message to its intended destination.

This method of applying a plurality of features in order is a standard approach that can be applied rapidly and simply to any message in the system. Additionally, variation in filtering requirements can be rapidly implemented by varying the URL list relating to a particular key. Additionally, if the filters are located at the aggregators 104 or the service providers 106, the operation of the message distribution management system can be implemented without causing significant delays to delivery of unfiltered messages.

As an example the system 110 may be applied to data services provided for a user 101 by a service provider 105. The data services may for example comprise a ring tones wherein the user 101 has requested that a number of ring tone be provided to the user 101 by the service provider 105 per month. The user 101 may have set a monthly spending limit with the service provider 105. In such a case, spending limit may be the first filter applied.

The operation could occur as follows, firstly a ring tone is sent by one of the service providers 105 to a user 101. This message is received by the message distribution management system 110 via one of the aggregators 104. The message distribution management system 110 generates a key by combining the short code

number of the service provider 105 and the mobile telephone number of the user 101. This key is used to search the directory 111 whereupon it is determined that there is a filter to be applied to messages transmitted from the particular source to the particular destination. The directory thus supplies the message distribution management system 110 with the URL of the filter, which may be at one of the aggregators 104. The message is thus directed back to the relevant aggregator 104.

The aggregator 104 then applies the particular filter, in this case this involves looking up the users account with the service provider 105 and determining whether the user 101 has exceeded their monthly credit limit. If it is determined that the user 101 has not exceeded their credit limit, the filter URL is removed from the message and it is directed back to the message distribution management system 110 for onward distribution to the user 101. If the user 101 has exceeded their credit limit then the message is halted. In some embodiments, the message may then be deleted. In other embodiments, this may trigger the filter to cause a new message to be sent to the user 101 indicating that they are out of credit and requesting specific authorisation to overrule the filter either on a one time basis or a permanent basis. If authorisation is given, the message is directed back to the message distribution management system 110 for distribution to the user 101.

In a further example, an additional filter is applied which determines whether or not any requested information contains adult content. In such a case, if the message passes the first filter it is then directed to a second URL wherein the adult content filter is applied. This second filter may be provided by the service provider,

the aggregator, or the network operator 103. If the message contains no adult content, the message is directed back to the message distribution management system 110 which distributes it to the user 101. If the message does contain adult content, as determined by the filter, it is halted. As before the halt may be permanent or may trigger the sending of an authorisation request. The user 101 may then override the filter. Alternatively, if the user is a minor, the authorisation request may be sent to the parent or guardian of the user 101.

The message distribution management system 110 need not only be provided between commercial operators 104, 105 106 and network users 101 but may also be provided between individual users 101 and or between different networks 103 (as is illustrated by the shadow message distribution management systems HOa shown in figure 2. This could be used to prevent harassment of one user 101 by another user 101 either in response to a complaint by a harassed user or potentially in response to a court order.

An additional advantage of the present invention is that it can reduce the number of connections needed to be maintained by each aggregator 104. Furthermore, as the aggregators 104 and the network operators 103 are able to use the message distribution management system 110 of the present invention to provide additional services to users 101 and to improve their accounting and reporting capabilities.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which is described by way of example only.