Approach For Sharing Electronic Documents During Electronic Meetings

• US 20160373516A1
• Filed: 06/22/2015
• Published: 12/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Reyes, Alex
• Granted Patent: US 10,484,452 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2113 Multi-level security, e.g. mandatory access control
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2358/00 Arrangements for display data security
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0027 Collaboration services where a computer is used for data transfer and the telephone is used for telephonic communication

Abstract

An approach is provided for sharing electronic documents during electronic meetings. Client devices of meeting participants are configured with a file sharing application that allows participants of an electronic meeting to request and receive, during the electronic meeting, electronic documents that are displayed during the electronic meeting. The file sharing application allows presenters to review and approve or deny requests for electronic documents, and to apply security restrictions to electronic documents on a participant-by-participant basis. Security restrictions may also be specific to particular electronic meetings and access to electronic documents shared during electronic meetings may be restricted to users who were participants of the electronic meetings. The approach is not limited to files per se and is applicable to sharing any type of data in any format or structure.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more memories communicatively coupled to the one or more processors;

a display;

a collaboration client executing on the apparatus and configured to support an electronic meeting via one or more networks with another apparatus that is external to the apparatus; and

a file sharing application configured to;

receive, from a user, a request for the user to access a particular electronic document that was displayed during the electronic meeting,

determine, based upon electronic meeting tracking data, whether the user was a participant of the electronic meeting when the particular electronic document was displayed during the electronic meeting,

in response to determining, based upon electronic meeting tracking data, that the user was a participant of the electronic meeting when the particular electronic document was displayed during the electronic meeting, then;

decrypting an encrypted version of the electronic document to recover the electronic document using one or more of data generated by a file sharing application of a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, or data specified by a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, and

causing the electronic document to be presented to the user.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data generated by the file sharing application of the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting is specific to the electronic meeting.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the file sharing application is further configured to decrypt the encrypted version of the electronic document to recover the electronic document using both the data generated by a file sharing application of a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting and the data specified by a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data specified by a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting is an alphanumeric string.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the encrypted version of the electronic document is generated by a file sharing application of the presenter using data generated by the file sharing application of the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the file sharing application is further configured to request from the file sharing application of the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, one or more of the data generated by the file sharing application of a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, or the data specified by the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the file sharing application is further configured to cause the electronic document to be displayed to the user in a read-only viewer that prohibits a copy of the electronic document from being made.

8. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when processed by one or more processors, cause:

a file sharing application executing on an apparatus to;

receive, from a user, a request for the user to access a particular electronic document that was displayed during the electronic meeting,

determine, based upon electronic meeting tracking data, whether the user was a participant of the electronic meeting when the particular electronic document was displayed during the electronic meeting,

in response to determining, based upon electronic meeting tracking data, that the user was a participant of the electronic meeting when the particular electronic document was displayed during the electronic meeting, then;

decrypting an encrypted version of the electronic document to recover the electronic document using one or more of data generated by a file sharing application of a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, or data specified by a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, and

causing the electronic document to be presented to the user.

9. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the data generated by the file sharing application of the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting is specific to the electronic meeting.

10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, further comprising additional instructions which, when processed by the one or more processors, cause the file sharing application to decrypt the encrypted version of the electronic document to recover the electronic document using both the data generated by a file sharing application of a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting and the data specified by a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting.

11. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the data specified by a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting is an alphanumeric string.

12. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the encrypted version of the electronic document is generated by a file sharing application of the presenter using data generated by the file sharing application of the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting.

13. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, further comprising additional instructions which, when processed by the one or more processors, cause the file sharing application to request from the file sharing application of the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, one or more of the data generated by the file sharing application of a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, or the data specified by the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting.

14. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, further comprising additional instructions which, when processed by the one or more processors, cause the file sharing application to cause the electronic document to be displayed to the user in a read-only viewer that prohibits a copy of the electronic document from being made.

15. A computer-implemented method comprising:

a file sharing application executing on an apparatus;

receiving, from a user, a request for the user to access a particular electronic document that was displayed during the electronic meeting,

determining, based upon electronic meeting tracking data, whether the user was a participant of the electronic meeting when the particular electronic document was displayed during the electronic meeting,

in response to determining, based upon electronic meeting tracking data, that the user was a participant of the electronic meeting when the particular electronic document was displayed during the electronic meeting, then the file sharing application;

decrypting an encrypted version of the electronic document to recover the electronic document using one or more of data generated by a file sharing application of a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, or data specified by a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, and

causing the electronic document to be presented to the user.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the data generated by the file sharing application of the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting is specific to the electronic meeting.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising the file sharing application decrypting the encrypted version of the electronic document to recover the electronic document using both the data generated by a file sharing application of a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting and the data specified by a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the data specified by a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting is an alphanumeric string.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the encrypted version of the electronic document is generated by a file sharing application of the presenter using data generated by the file sharing application of the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising the file sharing application requesting from the file sharing application of the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, one or more of the data generated by the file sharing application of a presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting, or the data specified by the presenter of the electronic document during the electronic meeting.