Managing unified communications conferences via categories

• US 8,886,720 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2008
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Serr, Robert, Huddleston, Scott, McClelland, Mark, Madsen, Mark, Bubolz, Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): Hussain, Tauqir
• Application Number:
  US12/143,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20090319913A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,332 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5063 Centrally initiated conference, i.e. conference server dials participants
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems

Abstract

A conference management system is described for administering large numbers of conferences in an organization. The conference management system receives a hierarchical set of categories from a system administrator and configuration settings for each category. When a user requests to create a new conference, the conference management system creates the conference and assigns the new conference to a category. The conference takes on the settings of the category to which it belongs, which eliminates individual configuration of each conference. Administrators can also delegate authority to manage conferences to others in the organization.

Claims

1. A method performed on a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a request to create a conference;

creating the requested conference; and

assigning the created conference to a category at a level of a hierarchy of categories, where the hierarchy is configured for at least one conference to be assigned to levels of the hierarchy, where the assigned conference inherits conference attributes from the hierarchy based on the level of the assigned category, where the created conference is configured for overriding at least one of the inherited conference attributes, and where at least one of the inherited conference attributes enables a participant in the created conference to manage an aspect of the created conference.

2. The method of claim 1 where each category in the hierarchy is configured for inheriting conference attributes from its parent category.

3. The method of claim 1 where the conference attributes include at least a list of participants of the created conference.

4. The method of claim 1 where the conference attributes differentiate active participants of the created conference from passive participants of the created conference.

5. The method of claim 1 where the conference attributes differentiate one or more users authorized to participate in the created conference from one or more users authorized to administer the created conference.

6. The method of claim 1 where the requested conference is specified to be a text conference, an audio/video conference, or a data conference.

7. The method of claim 1 where the conference attributes indicate recording of a conference.

8. A system comprising a computing device and at least one program module that are together configured for performing actions comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a request to create a conference;

creating the requested conference; and

assigning the created conference to a category at a level of a hierarchy of categories, where the hierarchy is configured for at least one conference to be assigned to levels of the hierarchy, where the assigned conference inherits conference attributes from the hierarchy based on the level of the assigned category, where the created conference is configured for overriding at least one of the inherited conference attributes, and where at least one of the inherited conference attributes enables a participant in the created conference to manage an aspect of the created conference.

9. The system of claim 8 where each category in the hierarchy is configured for inheriting conference attributes from its parent category.

10. The system of claim 8 where the conference attributes include at least a list of participants of the created conference.

11. The system of claim 8 where the conference attributes differentiate active participants of the created conference from passive participants of the created conference.

12. The system of claim 8 where the conference attributes differentiate one or more users authorized to participate in the created conference from one or more users authorized to administer the created conference.

13. The system of claim 8 where the requested conference is specified to be a text conference, an audio/video conference, or a data conference.

14. The system of claim 8 where the conference attributes indicate recording of a conference.

15. At least one computer-readable memory device storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform actions comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a request to create a conference;

creating the requested conference; and

assigning the created conference to a category at a level of a hierarchy of categories, where the hierarchy is configured for at least one conference to be assigned to levels of the hierarchy, where the assigned conference inherits conference attributes from the hierarchy based on the level of the assigned category, where the created conference is configured for overriding at least one of the inherited conference attributes, and where at least one of the inherited conference attributes enables a participant in the created conference to manage an aspect of the created conference.

16. The at least one computer-readable memory device of claim 15 where each category in the hierarchy is configured for inheriting conference attributes from its parent category.

17. The at least one computer-readable memory device of claim 15 where the conference attributes include at least a list of participants of the created conference.

18. The at least one computer-readable memory device of claim 15 where the conference attributes differentiate active participants of the created conference from passive participants of the created conference.

19. The at least one computer-readable memory device of claim 15 where the conference attributes differentiate one or more users authorized to participate in the created conference from one or more users authorized to administer the created conference.

20. The at least one computer-readable memory device of claim 15 where the requested conference is specified to be a text conference, an audio/video conference, or a data conference.