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US 2014/0177479 A1Published application
No Call List Deterrent
AssigneeCenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC
InventorCharles Ivan Cook
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Novel tools and techniques for deterring unsolicited calls are described for deterring unsolicited telephone calls that include a service provider searching and determining that the originating telephone number is in a no-call list, and based on this determination, prohibiting the call from terminating (i.e., connecting with the destination telephone number). Penalties may also be imposed against callers (e.g., solicitors) for no-call violations.
Claims26
A method of deterring unsolicited telephone calls, the method comprising:
- maintaining, at a telecommunication service provider, a database of telephone numbers that originate unsolicited telephone calls;
- receiving, at a telephone switch operated by the telecommunication service provider, a first call originating from an originating telephone number and directed to a destination telephone number;
- searching, with a computer system, the database for the originating telephone number;
- determining, at the computer system, that the originating telephone number originates unsolicited telephone calls;
- and
- prohibiting termination of one or more telephone calls originated from the originating telephone number, based at least in part on determining that the originating telephone number originates unsolicited telephone calls.
3 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- a computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions executable by one or more computers to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising:
- instructions for maintaining a database of telephone numbers that originate unsolicited telephone calls;
- instructions for searching, with a computer system, the database for an originating telephone number, upon receiving, at a telephone switch operated by the telecommunication service provider, a first call originating from the originating telephone number and directed to a destination telephone number;
- instructions for determining that the originating telephone number originates unsolicited telephone calls;
- and
- instructions for prohibiting termination of one or more telephone calls originated from the originating telephone number, based at least in part on determining that the originating telephone number originates unsolicited telephone calls.
3 more elements
A system, comprising:
- a database of telephone numbers that originate unsolicited telephone calls;
- a telephone switch configured to receive a first call originating from an originating telephone number and directed to a destination telephone number;
- and
- a computer system in communication with the database and the telephone switch, the computer system comprising:
- one or more processors;
- and
- a computer readable medium in communication with the one or more processors, the computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions executable by the computer system to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising:
- instructions for searching the database for the originating telephone number;
- instructions for determining that the originating telephone number originates unsolicited telephone calls;
- and
- instructions for prohibiting termination of one or more telephone calls originated from the originating telephone number, based at least in part on determining that the originating telephone number originates unsolicited telephone calls.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.