System and method for verified contract acceptance

Abstract

The invention provides a system and method for determining when a message is received by a recipient or an agent for the recipient. A link is activated at the recipient to provide an indication that the message has been opened by the recipient. The activation of the link may cause a server remote from the recipient to take some further action.

1 - 83 . (canceled) 
     
     
         84 . A method for recording the content of a reply manually initiated by a recipient to an offer to enter an agreement, the offer transmitted over a network and through a server displaced from a recipient, comprising:
 receiving a message from a sender, the message containing an offer by the sender to enter an agreement with the sender;   recording the message by the server;   transmitting the recorded message from the server to the recipient;   generating a manually initiated reply to the recorded message at the recipient, the manually initiated reply including an indication of an action related to the offer contained in the recorded message;   receiving the manually initiated reply at the server;   recording the manually initiated reply by the server;   transmitting the registered manually initiated reply to the sender by the server.   
     
     
         85 . The method of  claim 84 , wherein recording the message by the server includes storing a copy of the message in a memory associated with the server. 
     
     
         86 . The method of  claim 84 , wherein recording the message by the server includes
 assigning a unique identification to the message; and   storing the unique identification of the message in a database.   
     
     
         87 . The method of  claim 85 , wherein recording the message by the server includes adding a clickable link to the copy of the message allowing the recipient to indicate the action taken by the recipient by manually clicking on the link included in the recorded message. 
     
     
         88 . The method of  claim 84 , wherein transmitting the registered manually initiated reply to the sender includes transmitting proof of the content of the manually initiated reply to the sender. 
     
     
         89 . The method of  claim 84 , wherein the indication of acceptance or rejection of the offer contained in the message is an indication of the recipient altering the content of the recorded message. 
     
     
         90 . The method of  claim 84 , wherein the indication of the action taken by the recipient is a signature of the recipient. 
     
     
         91 . The method of  claim 84 , wherein the indication of the action taken by the recipient is an indication of acceptance or rejection by the recipient of the offer contained in the recorded message. 
     
     
         92 . The method of  claim 84 , wherein the indication of the action taken by the recipient is an indication of an offer by the recipient to modify the offer of the message. 
     
     
         93 . The method of  claim 84 , further comprising transmitting to the recipient proof of the action taken by the recipient. 
     
     
         94 . The method of  claim 92 , further comprising transmitting to the recipient proof of the offer to modify the offer of the message, including any alteration to the language of the offer made by the recipient. 
     
     
         95 . The method of  claim 84 , wherein the manually initiated reply is encrypted before being transmitted to server. 
     
     
         96 . The method of  claim 84 , wherein the recorded message containing the offer is transmitted to a plurality of recipients, and further comprising aggregating manually initiated replies received at the server from the one or more of the plurality of recipients and transmitting a report of the aggregated manually initiated replies to the sender. 
     
     
         97 . The method of  claim 96 , wherein the report includes the indication of the action taken by each of the recipients whose manually initiated reply was received at the server. 
     
     
         98 . The method of  claim 84 , further comprising generating a receipt and transmitting the receipt to the recipient by the server if the indication of the action taken by the recipient received at the server is an indication of acceptance of the offer, the receipt containing proof of the indication of acceptance and a new offer. 
     
     
         99 . The method of  claim 98 , wherein the new offer includes a clickable link, wherein clicking on the link by the recipient activates the link. 
     
     
         100 . The method of  claim 99 , wherein activating the link indicates acceptance of the new offer by the recipient. 
     
     
         101 . The method of  claim 100 , wherein activating the link indicates acceptance of the new offer by the recipient, and further comprising transmitting the acceptance of the offer to a second server different from the server, and recording the indication of acceptance at the second server. 
     
     
         102 . The method of  claim 84 , wherein the server adds a clickable link to the recorded message and the recorded message is transmitted to an email address associated with the recipient, wherein the manually initiated reply includes clicking on the link by the recipient, and receiving the manually initiated reply at the server further comprises verifying that the email address associated with the recipient is actually associated with the recipient. 
     
     
         103 . A system for recording the content of a reply manually initiated by a recipient to an offer, the offer transmitted over a network and through a server displaced from a recipient, comprising:
 a server configured by programming commands to receive a message from a sender, the message containing an offer by the sender,   record the message at the server,   transmit the recorded message from the server to the recipient,   receive a manually initiated reply to the recorded message from the recipient, the manually initiated reply including an indication of an action taken by the recipient related to the registered message,   record the manually initiated reply at the server, and   transmit the recorded manually initiated reply to the sender.   
     
     
         104 . The system of  claim 103 , wherein the server is further configured by programming commands to assign a unique identification to the message and to store the unique identification of the message in a database. 
     
     
         105 . The system of  claim 103 , wherein the server is further configured by programming commands to add a clickable link to the message transmitted from the server to the recipient. 
     
     
         106 . The system of  claim 105 , wherein the server is configured by the programming commands to receive a command resulting from clicking on the clickable link in the message. 
     
     
         107 . The system of  claim 103 , wherein the manually initiated reply is encrypted before being transmitted to server. 
     
     
         108 . The system of  claim 103 , wherein the recorded message containing the offer is transmitted to a plurality of recipients, and wherein the server is further configured by programming commands to aggregate manually initiated replies received at the server from the one or more of the plurality of recipients and to transmit a report of the aggregated manually initiated replies to the sender. 
     
     
         109 . The system of  claim 108 , wherein the report includes the indication of the action taken by each of the recipients whose manually initiated reply was received at the server. 
     
     
         110 . The system of  claim 103 , wherein the server is further configured by programming commands to generate a receipt and to transmit the receipt to the recipient if the indication of the action taken by the recipient received at the server is an indication of acceptance of the offer, the receipt containing proof of the indication of acceptance of the offer and a new offer. 
     
     
         111 . The system of  claim 110 , wherein the new offer includes a clickable link, wherein clicking on the link by the recipient activates the link. 
     
     
         112 . The system of  claim 111 , wherein activating the link indicates acceptance of the new offer by the recipient. 
     
     
         113 . The system of  claim 112 , wherein activating the link indicates acceptance of the new offer by the recipient, and wherein the server is further programmed by software commands to transmit the acceptance of the new offer to a second server different from the server, and wherein the second server is programmed by software commands to record the indication of acceptance at the second server. 
     
     
         114 . The system of  claim 103 , wherein the server is further programmed by software commands to add a clickable link to the recorded message and to transmit the recorded to an email address of the recipient, wherein the manually initiated reply includes clicking on the link by the recipient, and the server is further programmed by software commands to verify the that the email address is associated with the recipient when the manually initiated reply is received at the server.