Facilitating meeting invitation extension

• US 9,009,227 B2
• Filed: 04/04/2011
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Malkin, Peter K., Seelam, Seetharami R.
• Primary Examiner(s): BURGESS, BARBARA N
• Application Number:
  US13/079,241
• Publication Number:
  US 20120254305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,471 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/204, 709/205, 709/217, 709/223, 709/224, 709/227, 709/228
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment

Abstract

Enabling meeting extensions using an electronic meeting scheduling system may include enabling a second user invited to a meeting by a first user via an electronic meeting scheduling system to invite one or more third users to the meeting; and applying one or more meeting attributes set by the second user to said one or more third users.

Claims

1. A method of enabling meeting extensions using an electronic meeting scheduling system, comprising:

enabling, via the electronic meeting scheduling system, a second user invited to a meeting by an invitation from a first user via an electronic meeting scheduling system to invite, by using an extended invitation, one or more third users to the meeting;

creating, based on the invitation from the first user and the extended invitation by the second user, a hierarchical data structure that represents the first user invitation and the extended invitation;

preventing a notification of the extended invitation from being sent to said first user and invitees invited by said first user other than said second user;

applying one or more meeting attributes, set by the second user, to said one or more third users; and

automatically sending, via the electronic meeting scheduling system and according to the created hierarchical data structure, one or more modifications made to said one or more meeting attributes to said one or more third users,

wherein the meeting is one of a multimedia conference, a teleconference, a video conference and an audio conference, and

said one or more meeting attributes include one or more of;

at least time duration of the meeting, time duration within the meeting during which said one or more third users are invited to participate, descriptive information associated with the meeting which said one or more third users can access

wherein a processor coupled to a memory device perform the steps of;

enabling, creating, preventing, applying, and sending.

2. The method of claim 1, further including:

allowing the second user to add another location to the meeting or set another communication channel for the meeting or combinations thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more modifications include:

changes to time and date of the meeting, changes to descriptive information associated with the meeting, changes to a list of invitees, changes to the time duration of the meeting, changes to the time duration within the meeting during which said one or more third users are invited to participate, or combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second user is enabled to extend meeting invitation if the second user is authorized by the first user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more third users are further enabled to invite one or more additional users to the meeting, add an additional location to the meeting or add one or more additional resources to the meeting, or combinations thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein invitations to said one or more third users are deleted if the second user is deleted from the meeting.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein changes to the meeting made by the second user or one or more third users or both are sent to the first user for acceptance by the first user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein an indication of who invited whom, or who added which location, or both are provided as part of information associated with the meeting.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

preventing the first user, who is an original leader of the meeting, from attending the meeting.

10. A system for enabling meeting extensions using an electronic meeting scheduling system, comprising:

a processor;

an electronic meeting scheduling module operable to run on the processor and further operable to enable a second user invited to a meeting by an invitation from a first user to invite, by using an extended invitation, one or more third users to the meeting, create, based on the invitation from the first user and the extended invitation by the second user, a hierarchical data structure that represents the first user invitation and the extended invitation, and allow the second user to set one or more meeting attributes to be applied to said one or more third users;

said electronic meeting scheduling module further operable to prevent a notification of the extended invitation from being sent to the first user and invitees invited by the first user other than the second user, to apply one or more meeting attributes, set by the second user, to said one or more third users, and to automatically send, based on the created hierarchical data structure, one or more modifications made to said one or more meeting attributes to said one or more third users; and

a shared storage for storing information associated with the meeting, the first user, the second user and said one or more third users,

wherein the meeting is one of a multimedia conference, a teleconference, a video conference and an audio conference, and

said one or more meeting attributes include one or more of;

at least time duration of the meeting, time duration within the meeting during which said one or more third users are invited to participate, descriptive information associated with the meeting which said one or more third users can access.

11. The system of claim 10, further including:

allowing the second user to add another location to the meeting or set another communication channel for the meeting or combinations thereof.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein said one or more modifications include:

changes to time and date of the meeting, changes to descriptive information associated with the meeting, changes to a list of invitees, changes to the time duration, changes to the time duration within the meeting during which said one or more third users are invited to participate, or combinations thereof.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein invitations to said one or more third users are deleted if the second user is deleted from the meeting.

14. A computer program product embodying a non-transitory computer readable storage device, the non-transitory computer readable storage device storing a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method of enabling meeting extensions using an electronic meeting scheduling system, comprising:

enabling, via the electronic meeting scheduling system, a second user invited to a meeting by an invitation from a first user via an electronic meeting scheduling system to invite, by using an extended invitation, one or more third users to the meeting;

creating, based on the invitation from the first user and the extended invitation by the second user, a hierarchical data structure that represents the first user invitation and the extended invitation;

preventing a notification of the extended invitation from being sent to the first user and invitees invited by the first user other than the second user;

applying one or more meeting attributes, set by the second user, to said one or more third users; and

automatically sending, via the electronic meeting scheduling system and according to the created hierarchical data structure, one or more modifications made to said one or more meeting attributes to said one or more third users,

wherein the meeting is one of a multimedia conference, a teleconference, a video conference and an audio conference, and

the one or more meeting attributes include one or more of;

at least time duration of the meeting, time duration within the meeting during which said one or more third users are invited to participate, descriptive information associated with the meeting which said one or more third users can access.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, further including:

allowing the second user to add another location to the meeting or set another communication channel for the meeting or combinations thereof.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein said one or more modifications include:

changes to time and date of the meeting, changes to descriptive information associated with the meeting, changes to a list of invitees, changes to the time duration of the meeting, changes to the time duration within the meeting during which said one or more third users are invited to participate, or combinations thereof.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein invitations to said one or more third users are deleted if the second user is deleted from the meeting.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein changes to the meeting made by the second user or one or more third users or both are sent to the first user for acceptance by the first user.

19. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein an indication of who invited whom, or who added which location, or both are provided as part of information associated with the meeting.