US 7099304

Patent Overview: US7099304B2

Title: Apparatus, methods and systems for anonymous communication

Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US7099304](/patent/US7099304)/en

Bibliographic data (per supplied text):

• Patent number: US7099304B2
• Application number: US09/947,116
• Filing date: 2001-09-04
• Priority date (stated as an assumption, not a legal conclusion): 2000-09-05
• Publication date: 2006-08-29
• Inventors: Christina Ying Liu; William Ho Chang
• Original/current assignee listed: Flexiworld Technologies Inc
• Legal status: Ceased, with an adjusted expiration of 2024-04-30
• Classification: H04M3/42 (systems for anonymous communication between parties, e.g. by use of disposal contact identifiers), among others

Purpose and plain-language scope (only as supported by the excerpt):
The patent concerns anonymous communication. The classification indicates systems providing anonymous communication between parties, for example through disposable contact identifiers. The prior-art keywords listed are "station," "communication," "party," "reference code," and "transaction," suggesting embodiments in which a party communicates via a reference code rather than revealing direct identity details. The listed classifications also cover telephonic exchanges, authorization-code arrangements, digital voice transmission over IP networks, and telephone services combined with data services such as instant messaging and electronic mail. The excerpt states that "the Internet is a collection of computer networks from which users obtain and share information"; other definitions are cut off.

What the excerpt does not establish:
The supplied text is an excerpt and omits the abstract, claims, and description ("consult the source for omitted text"). It does not permit a reliable statement of independent claim scope, specific apparatus components, or method steps beyond the keywords and classifications above. It does not establish the exact priority basis, the number or content of claims, or the scope of intervening family members (the listed reissue/continuation applications are only referenced as priority links, not described here). Per instruction, this overview does not address litigation, ownership transfers, validity, or prior art, and includes no facts beyond those supplied.