Document access management system

• US 7,958,562 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2006
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 6, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Gaucas, Dale E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zand; Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): GUIRGUIS, MICHAEL M
• Application Number:
  US11/412,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20070255743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,867 Days
• Field of Search: 707/9, 726/5, 726/28, 713/182, 715750-758, 709/226
• US Class Current: 726/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/608 Secure printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices

Abstract

In accordance with one embodiment, apparatus are provided including a document access arbiter, a guest access control mechanism, and a guest setup interface. The document access arbiter securely controls user access to a secured document repository. The guest access control mechanism provides, to guest users, selective access to respective select set of documents in the secure document repository. The guest users include users that do not have account holder access to the document repository. The guest setup interface presents, via a computer screen, guest parameter graphical tools to account holder users having account holder access to the repository.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

a document access arbiter to securely control user access to a secure document repository;

a guest access control mechanism to provide, to guest users, selective access to respective select sets of documents in the secure document repository, a given guest user among the guest users being a user that does not have account holder access to the document repository and that, before a given account holder with account holder access sets up the given guest user to have guest access via a guest setup interface, has no access to the document repository; and

the guest setup interface to present, via a computer screen, guest parameter graphical tools to plural account holder users having only non-owner account holder access to the repository, the guest parameter graphical tools being configured to receive via a given one of the non-owner account holders interacting with the computer screen, for the given guest user, guest user identifying information identifying the given guest user and associated access parameters specifying a type of access to be given to the given guest user.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an access control list to hold respective access control list entries for a guest user, each entry including guest user identification information, access parameters, and guest trustworthiness information.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a secure document repository.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an enterprise application including the secure document repository.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the secured document repository includes a document management system.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document access arbiter includes a mail agent that supports an email-based repository interface.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the mail agent includes an S/MIME mail agent.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guest parameter graphical tools include a document graphical tool to allow a given account holder user to input, via the computer screen, a select set of documents.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the guest parameter graphical tools includes a mechanism to allow the input, via the computer screen, of a select set of documents from among a set of documents owned by the given account holder.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the guest parameter graphical tools further include a guest user graphical tool to allow the given account holder user to input, via the computer screen, guest user information.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the guest user information includes access information.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the guest user information includes a unique identifier identifying the guest user.

13. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the guest user information includes an identifier identifying the guest user and wherein the guest user information also includes trusted entity verification information verifying the identification corresponding to the identifier and verifying the trustworthiness of that entity.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the guest user information includes certification authority information and certificate revocation list information.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the identifier includes an email address of the guest user.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the trusted entity verification information includes a unique identifier of a digital certificate and certificate revocation link information.

17. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a cross-document repository management mechanism, including a local list within the document repository of private certification authorities of another document repository as trusted authorities.

18. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an access control list upkeep mechanism to repeatedly remove, deactivate, or expire access control list entries that correspond to now revoked certificates.

19. A method comprising:

securely controlling user access to a secure document repository;

providing, to guest users, selective access to respective select sets of documents in the secure document repository, a given guest user among the guest users being a user that does not have account holder access to the document repository and that, before a given account holder with account holder access sets up the given guest user to have guest access via a guest setup interface, has no access to the document repository; and

presenting the guest setup interface to account holder users to present, via a computer screen, guest parameter graphical tools to plural account holder users having only non-owner account holder access to the repository, the guest parameter graphical tools being configured to receive via a given one of the non-owner account holders interacting with the computer screen, for the given guest user, guest user identifying information identifying the given guest user and associated access parameters specifying a type of access to be given to the given guest user.

20. Machine-readable non-transitory media encoded with data, the encoded data being interoperable with a machine to cause:

securely controlling user access to a secure document repository;

providing, to guest users, selective access to respective select sets of documents in the secure document repository, a given guest user among the guest users being a user that does not have account holder access to the document repository and that, before a given account holder with account holder access sets up the given guest user to have guest access via a guest setup interface, has no access to the document repository; and

presenting the guest setup interface to account holder users to present, via a computer screen, guest parameter graphical tools to plural account holder users having only non-owner account holder access to the repository, the guest parameter graphical tools being configured to receive via a given one of the non-owner account holders interacting with the computer screen, for the given guest user, guest user identifying information identifying the given guest user and associated access parameters specifying a type of access to be given to the given guest user.