Secure inter-company collaboration environment
First Claim
1. A secure inter-company collaboration system, comprising:
- a set of one or more utility servers maintained by a first company;
a data storage communicatively coupled to at least one of the utility servers via a secured subnet and storing access-controlled data, wherein the data storage is partitioned by projects to isolate the access-controlled data based on the projects;
a set of resources residing on the set of utility servers, the set of resources comprising an application;
a secure network connection between the set of utility servers and a second company;
an access control mechanism configured to control access to the set of resources and to the secure network connection by the first company and the second company, wherein access is limited to specific authorized individuals from the first company and specific authorized individuals from the second company;
a remote controller configured to enable an authorized individual from the second company to remotely view a user interface of the application while an authorized individual from the first company is executing the application on the set of utility servers; and
a file manager configured to manage data files that are shared, according to one or more rules, among a group of authorized individuals from the first and second companies, and configured to operate automatically in the background according to the one or more rules.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An environment is described in which multiple companies can securely collaborate on a design or other project. The environment includes a set of resources residing on a set of one or more utility servers maintained by a first company, an access control mechanism for controlling access to the set of resources, a secure network connection between the set of utility servers and a second company, and a remote controller for remotely viewing, by an authorized individual from the second company, a user interface of an application while an authorized individual from the first company is executing the application on the set of utility servers. The secure network connection includes a secure association mechanism for establishing a secure association between participating parties, a virtual point-to-point network connection for transmitting data between associated parties, and an encryption/decryption mechanism.
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Citations
51 Claims
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1. A secure inter-company collaboration system, comprising:
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a set of one or more utility servers maintained by a first company; a data storage communicatively coupled to at least one of the utility servers via a secured subnet and storing access-controlled data, wherein the data storage is partitioned by projects to isolate the access-controlled data based on the projects; a set of resources residing on the set of utility servers, the set of resources comprising an application; a secure network connection between the set of utility servers and a second company; an access control mechanism configured to control access to the set of resources and to the secure network connection by the first company and the second company, wherein access is limited to specific authorized individuals from the first company and specific authorized individuals from the second company; a remote controller configured to enable an authorized individual from the second company to remotely view a user interface of the application while an authorized individual from the first company is executing the application on the set of utility servers; and a file manager configured to manage data files that are shared, according to one or more rules, among a group of authorized individuals from the first and second companies, and configured to operate automatically in the background according to the one or more rules. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A secure inter-company collaboration system, comprising:
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a first set of one or more utility servers maintained by a first company; a second set of one or more utility servers maintained by a second company; a data storage communicatively coupled to the first set of utility servers via a secured subnet and storing access-controlled data, wherein the data storage is partitioned by projects to isolate the access-controlled data based on the projects; a first set of resources residing on the first set of utility servers, the first set of resources comprising a first application; a secure network connection between the first and second sets of utility servers; an access control mechanism configured to control access to the first and second sets of utility servers and to the secure network connection by the first and second companies, wherein access to the first set of utility servers is limited to specific authorized individuals from the first company and access to the second set of utility servers is limited to specific authorized individuals from the second company; a remote controller configured to enable an authorized individual from the second company, using the second set of utility servers, to remotely view a user interface of the first application while an authorized individual from the first company is executing the first application on the first set of utility servers; and a file manager configured to manage data files that are shared, according to one or more rules, among a group of authorized individuals from the first and second companies, and configured to operate automatically in the background according to the one or more rules. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method for providing a secure inter-company collaboration environment for a design project, the method comprising:
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controlling access to a first set of one or more utility servers maintained by a first company, wherein access to the first set of utility servers is limited to specific authorized individuals from the first company; controlling access to a second set of one or more utility servers maintained by a second company, wherein access to the second set of utility servers is limited to specific authorized individuals from the second company; controlling access to a data storage communicatively coupled to the first set of utility servers via a secured subnet and storing access-controlled data, wherein the data storage is partitioned by projects to isolate the access-controlled data based on the projects; controlling access to a first set of resources residing on the first set of utility servers, wherein the first set of resources comprises a first application; controlling access to a secure network connection between the first and second sets of utility servers, wherein access to the secure network connection is limited to specific authorized individuals from the first and second companies; controlling access to a remote controller that enables an authorized individual from the second company, using the second set of utility servers, to remotely view a user interface of the first application while an authorized individual from the first company is executing the first application on the first set of utility servers; and controlling access to a file manager configured to manage data files that are shared, according to one or more rules, among a group of authorized individuals from the first and second companies, and configured to operate automatically in the background according to the one or more rules. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A system for providing a secure inter-company collaboration environment for a design project, the method comprising:
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means for controlling access to a first set of one or more utility servers maintained by a first company, wherein access to the first set of utility servers is limited to specific authorized individuals from the first company; means for controlling access to a second set of one or more utility servers maintained by a second company, wherein access to the second set of utility servers is limited to specific authorized individuals from the second company; means for controlling access to a data storage communicatively coupled to the first set of utility servers via a secured subnet and storing access-controlled data, wherein the data storage is partitioned by projects to isolate the access-controlled data based on the projects; means for controlling access to a first set of resources residing on the first set of utility servers, wherein the first set of resources comprises a first application; means for controlling access to a secure network connection between the first and second sets of utility servers, wherein access to the secure network connection is limited to specific authorized individuals from the first and second companies; means for controlling access to a remote controller that enables an authorized individual from the second company, using the second set of utility servers, to remotely view a user interface of the first application while an authorized individual from the first company is executing the first application on the first set of utility servers; and means for controlling access to a file manager configured to manage data files that are shared, according to one or more rules, among a group of authorized individuals from the first and second companies, and configured to operate automatically in the background according to the one or more rules.
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Specification