METHOD OF CONTROLLING SHARING OF PARTICIPANT IDENTITY IN A GROUP COMMUNICATION SESSION

• US 20120135775A1
• Filed: 11/30/2010
• Published: 05/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: DROZT, PETER M., AGULNIK, ANATOLY
• Granted Patent: US 9,450,991 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/76 Group identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services

Abstract

A system and methods for increasing the granularity of privacy control in a group communication session are presented. A privacy rule is established for a participant in the session. The privacy rule specifies for different identity sharing triggers whether the participant identity is to be shared with other participants in the session. The privacy of the participant is able to be different dependent on the particular identity sharing trigger. The privacy rule is set by participant initiating the session, a separate server, or the participant. In the last case, the participant is able to specify privacy for a media or data stream when requesting the floor to transmit the stream. The identity of the participant is automatically modified dependent on session context information.

Claims

1. A method for controlling sharing of participant identity in a group communication session, the method comprising establishing a privacy rule for a participant in the group communication session, the privacy rule specifying whether for each of a plurality of identity sharing triggers an identity of the participant is to be shared with other participants in the group communication session.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identity sharing triggers include sharing of the identity in a listing of session participants, as an initiating participant of the group communication session, as a source of each of different media streams and command/control information during the group communication session, as a participant with special privileges or a specific function.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the media streams include an audio stream, a video stream, an isolated image and text.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the privacy rule is set by an initiating participant of the group communication session, and the participant is different from the initiating participant.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the privacy rule is established by a server.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the privacy rule is established by the participant.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the participant requesting a floor for a media stream and modifying a previous privacy rule of the participant prior to requesting the floor.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising permitting the participant to modify only some of the identity sharing triggers of a previous privacy rule of the participant.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing, by a centralized entity, a privacy rule for each participant in the group communication session, the privacy rules able to be different between different participants.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the centralized entity is an initiating participant or a server and provides a default privacy rule for each participant, the method further comprising applying the default privacy rule of a particular participant only if the particular participant does not provide its own privacy rule.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising permitting each participant in the group communication session to establish its own privacy rule.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a particular participant sets whether its identity is to be private in a message used by the particular participant to request a floor, whether the identity of the particular participant is able to be different depending on the floor requested.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically modifying the privacy rule based on session context information.

14. A method for controlling privacy among participants in a group communication session, the method comprising:

distributing a first transmission of the group communication session from a participant in the group communication session to other participants in the group communication session; and

distributing to the other participants a second transmission of a different type than the first transmission,

wherein whether the participant is identified or hidden to the other participants in relation to the first and second transmission is able to be different for the first and second transmission.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein whether the participant is identified as a source of the first transmission is set by an initiating participant of the group communication session.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein whether the participant is identified as a source of the first transmission is set by a server.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein whether the participant is identified as a source of the first transmission is set by the participant.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the participant is able to indicate whether to be identified as the source of the first transmission prior to the first transmission.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the participant is able to indicate whether to be identified as the source of the first transmission in a message from the participant requesting to be the source of the first transmission.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein whether the participant is identified as a source of the first transmission is automatically modified dependent on session context information.

21. A communication device comprising:

a receiver configured to receive different streams from other participants in a group communication session;

a processor configured to determine whether an identity of a participant is to be displayed dependent on an identity sharing trigger of the participant such that whether the identity of the participant is to be displayed is able to be different for different identity sharing triggers, the identity sharing triggers including sharing of the identity in a listing of session participants, as an initiating participant of the group communication session, as a source of each of different streams during the group communication session, as a participant with special privileges or a specific function and as a source of information that can be distributed in the group communication session; and

a display configured to display the identity of the participant when the identity of the participant is to be displayed and otherwise indicating that the identity sharing trigger for the participant is anonymous.