Patents by Inventor Martha Desmond

Martha Desmond has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6493434
    Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for updating announcements on a packet network site such as a website. An exemplary method includes receiving an announcement through an audio interface and storing the announcement on a website server. In accordance with the exemplary method, merchants without Internet access can now update announcements on their websites quickly and economically by using an audio interface such as a conventional telephone. The updated announcements may be either audio or data. If the announcement received in the exemplary method is an audio announcement, it is converted from a first audio format into a second audio format prior to the step of storing the announcement. Whether the announcements are audio or data, the merchants' customers can then retrieve them by accessing the merchants' websites via the Internet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: Martha Desmond, Karrie Jo Hanson, Bethany Scott Robinson, Nancy Gannett Vickers
  • Patent number: 6466910
    Abstract: A method and apparatus that provide enhanced directory assistance information. An operator receives a request for directory information about a listed party over a telephone connection. It is then determined if enhanced directory information for the listed party is available in an enhanced information database. The enhanced directory information associated with the listed party is retrieved, from the enhanced information database, as a script that incorporates the enhanced directory information. The enhanced directory information can then be provided using the script. The enhanced directory information can be stored, for example, on a Web server that is updated by the listed party and the information can be transferred using a Phone Markup Language script.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: AT&T Corp.
    Inventors: Martha Desmond, Karrie Jo Hanson, Bethany Scott Robinson, David G. Unger, Michael Chris Varley
  • Patent number: 6269337
    Abstract: An operator receives a request for directory information about a listed party over a telephone connection. It is then determined if enhanced directory information for the listed party is available in an enhanced information database. The enhanced directory information associated with the listed party is retrieved, from the enhanced information database, as a script that incorporates the enhanced directory information. The enhanced directory information can then be provided using the script. The enhanced directory information can be stored, for example, on a Web server that is updated by the listed party and the information can be transferred using a Phone Markup Language script.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2001
    Assignee: AT&T Corp
    Inventors: Martha Desmond, Karrie Jo Hanson, Bethany Scott Robinson, David G. Unger, Michael Chris Varley