Establishing a communication event

• US 10,089,603 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2012
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Oberle, Vincent Marc, Roberts, Lindsay Simon, Wells, Tyler, Rosenberg, Jonathan David
• Primary Examiner(s): Khan, Aftab N
• Application Number:
  US13/611,635
• Publication Number:
  US 20140074944A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,211 Days
• Field of Search: 709204, 709206, 709212, 709213, 709214, 709216, 709217, 709223, 707798, 707758, 726 4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/655 Combination of telephone service and social networking messaging within social networks H04L51/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0024 Services and arrangements where telephone services are combined with data services arrangements which combine a telephonic equipment and a computer H04M7/0012

Abstract

Methods and computer program products for establishing communication events between an initiator user and a recipient user over a first communication system. The initiator and recipient users are contacts within a second communication system but are not contacts within the first communication system. For the initiator and recipient users, an association between a first user identity in the first communication system and a second user identity in the second communication system is determined. The initiator user device uses the association for the recipient user to determine the first user identity of the recipient user. A setup request to establish the communication event is sent over the first communication system from a first initiator client to a first recipient client. A communication event is authorized to proceed over the first communication system on the basis that the initiator user and the recipient user are contacts within the second communication system.

Claims

1. A method of establishing a communication event between an initiator and a recipient over a network in a first communication system having a first contact list, the method comprising:

associating, for the initiator, a first user identity for the initiator in the first communication system and a second user identity for the initiator in a second communication system;

accessing, via the network, contact details within a data store of a server of the second communication system, the contact details comprising an association of a first user identity for the recipient in the first communication system and a second user identity for the recipient in the second communication system to establish the second user identity of the initiator as a trusted contact of the second user identity of the recipient, the second user identity of the initiator being-in a second contact list of the second communication system;

determining, from the accessed contact details, the second user identity of the recipient in the second communication system, the second identity of the recipient not being in the first contact list;

determining the first user identity of the recipient in the first communication system from the determined second user identity of the recipient in the second communication system and the association of the first and second user identities of the recipient in the first and second communication systems;

proving the first user identity of the initiator in the first communication system to the recipient by sending, to the second communication system over the network, a certificate issued by a server in the first communication system, the certificate including the second user identity of the initiator in the second communication system, the second user identity of the initiator being in the second contact list to indicate that the initiator is a contact of the recipient in the second communication system;

obtaining a token from the first communication system; and

sending a setup request, over the network, from the initiator to the recipient to establish the communication event over the first communication system, the setup request being sent using the determined first identity of the recipient in the first communication system and including the token, the communication event authorized to proceed over the first communication system based on the association of the first and second user identities of the initiator in the second communication systems and on the second user identity of the initiator being in the second contact list.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the association of the user identities of the initiator is provided to the communication client of the recipient by including the user identity of the initiator in the second communication system in the setup request.

3. The method of claim 1

wherein the token indicates to a communication client for the first communication system installed on the user device of the recipient that the initiator is a contact of the recipient in the second communication system and that the communication event is authorised to proceed over the first communication system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication event involves two or more users and is an audio call, a video call, an instant messaging session or a file transfer.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing the association of the user identities of the initiator and the recipient in the second communication system.

6. The method claim 5 wherein each of the association of the user identities for the initiator and the recipient is stored for the duration for which the respective-initiator or recipient is online in both the first and second communication systems.

7. The method claim 5 wherein the association of the user identities of the initiator and the recipient are stored for the duration of the communication event, wherein responsive to the end of the communication event the associations of the user identities are no longer stored.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the association of the user identities are stored in a data store at the server of the second communication system.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the-association of the user identities of the initiator is provided to a communication client in a user device of the recipient by sending the association of the user identities of the initiator from the server of the second communication system to the user device of the recipient.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the association of the user identities of the recipient is sent from the server of the second communication system to a user device of the initiator.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the association of the user identities is stored in respective data stores at the user devices of the initiator and the recipient.

12. A system configured to establish a communication event between an initiator and a recipient over a network, in a first communication system having a first contact list, the system comprising:

a network interface configured for communication over the network;

one or more processors; and

a memory, coupled to the one or more processors, comprising instructions executable by the one or more processors to configure the system to;

associate, for the initiator, a first user identity for the initiator in the first communication system and a second user identity for the initiator in a second communication system;

access, via the network, contact details within a data store of a server of the second communication system, the contact details comprising an association of a first user identity for the recipient in the first communication system and a second user identity for the recipient in the second communication system to establish the second user identity of the initiator as a trusted contact of the second identity of the recipient, the second user identity of the initiator-in a second contact list of the second communication system;

determine, from the accessed contact details, the second user identity of the recipient in the second communication system, the second identity of the recipient not being in the first contact list;

determine the first user identity of the recipient in the first communication system from the determined second user identity of the recipient in the second communication system and the association of the first and second user identities of the recipient in the first and second communication systems;

prove the first user identity of the initiator in the first communication system to the recipient by-sending to the second communication system, over the network a certificate issued by a server in the first communication system, the certificate including the second user identity of the initiator in the second communication system, the second user identity of the initiator being in the second contact list to indicate that the initiator is a contact of the recipient in the second communication system;

obtain a token from the first communication system; and

send a setup request, over the network, from the initiator to the recipient to establish the communication event over the first communication system, the setup request being sent using the determined first identity of the recipient in the first communication system and including the token, the communication event authorized to proceed over the first communication system based on the association of the first and second user identities of the initiator in the second communication systems and on the second user identity of the initiator being in the second contact list.

13. A method of establishing a communication event between an initiator and a recipient over a network in a first communication system having a first contact list, the method comprising:

accessing a second contact-list within a second communication system to determine a second user identity of the recipient in the second communication system, the initiator and the recipient having respective second user identities in the second contact list;

associating the second user identity of the recipient in the second contact list of the second communication with a first user identity of the recipient in the first communication system obtained from the first contact list;

storing data indicating the association of the second user identity of the recipient with the first identity of the recipient in a data store of a server of the second communication system;

proving the first user identity of the initiator in the first communication system to the recipient by sending, to the second communication system over the network, a certificate issued by a server in the first communication system, the certificate including the second user identity of the initiator in the second communication system, the second user identity of the initiator being in the second contact list to indicate that the initiator is a contact of the recipient in the second communication system and to indicate that that the second user identity of the initiator is a trusted contact of the second user identity of the recipient;

obtaining a token from the first communication system; and

sending a setup request to establish the communication event over the first communication system from the initiator to the recipient using the determined first identity of the recipient, the setup request including the second user identity of the initiator in the second communication system and the token indicating that the communication event authorized to proceed over the first communication system based on the association of the first and second user identities of the initiator in the second communication systems and on the second user identity of the initiator being in the second contact list.