Methods and systems for controlling access to presence information according to a variety of different access permission types
First Claim
1. In a computer network including a server computer system network connectable to at least a plurality of client computer systems for which the server computer system maintains presence information, a method of exercising fine grain control of access to the presence information using a plurality of access permission types used for accessing the presence information, the method comprising the following:
- an act of the server computer system receiving a request from a client computer system including an instruction to change an access permission status for at least a subset of the plurality of client computer systems, the access permission corresponding to one of the plurality of access permission types to the presence information;
an act of the server computer system setting at least an entry in a data field in response to the request, the entry representing the changed access permission status; and
an act of the server computer system determining whether or not to allow access to the presence information based on the entry in the data field.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems are described for controlling access to presence information using a plurality of different access permission types. Presence information is maintained over a computer network and describes availability of computers and associated users over that network. For example, instant messaging applications often involve maintaining presence information. Users control access to presence information using a number of different access permission types such as the right to view accurate presence information, the right to view any presence information, or the right to act on accessed presence information. By using several different access permission types, the present invention enables finer control over access to presence information.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. In a computer network including a server computer system network connectable to at least a plurality of client computer systems for which the server computer system maintains presence information, a method of exercising fine grain control of access to the presence information using a plurality of access permission types used for accessing the presence information, the method comprising the following:
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an act of the server computer system receiving a request from a client computer system including an instruction to change an access permission status for at least a subset of the plurality of client computer systems, the access permission corresponding to one of the plurality of access permission types to the presence information;
an act of the server computer system setting at least an entry in a data field in response to the request, the entry representing the changed access permission status; and
an act of the server computer system determining whether or not to allow access to the presence information based on the entry in the data field. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. In a computer network including a server computer system network connectable to at least a plurality of client computer systems for which the server computer system maintains presence information, a method of exercising fine grain control of access to the presence information using a plurality of access permission types used for accessing the presence information, the method comprising the following:
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an act of the server computer system receiving a request from a client computer system including an instruction to change an access permission status for at least a subset of the plurality of client computer systems, the access permission corresponding to one of the plurality of access permission types to the presence information; and
a step for the server computer system determining whether or not to allow access to the presence information based on the instruction. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. In a computer network including a server computer system network connectable to at least a plurality of client computer systems for which the server computer system maintains presence information, a method of exercising fine grain control of access to the presence information using a plurality of access permission types used for accessing the presence information, the method comprising the following:
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an act of a client computer system creating a request including an instruction to change an access permission status for at least a subset of the plurality of computer systems, the access permission corresponding to one of the plurality of access permission types to the presence information; and
an act of a client computer system transmitting the request to the server computer system. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure having a plurality of fields, the data structure comprising:
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a principle identifier field that identifies a client computer system to which access control is to apply when accessing presence information;
a grant field that identifies any permission types that are to be granted to the client computer system when the client computer requests access to the presence information; and
a deny field that identifies any permission types that are to be denied to the client computer system when the client computer requests access to the presence information. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification