Systems and methods for security and privacy controls for videoconferencing

• US 9,041,765 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2011
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Blue Jeans Network, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Periyannan, Alagu, Ramakrishnan, Krish, Anand, Raghavan, Raghavan, Anand, Kalluri, Ravi Kiran, Weber, Emmanuel
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US13/105,704
• Publication Number:
  US 20110279637A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,476 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14.01, 348/14.02, 348/14.03, 348/14.09, 348/14.08, 348/585, 370/260, 370/262, 455/404.1, 705/7.19, 709/204, 713/193, 713/161, 715/753, 726/6
• US Class Current: 348/14.08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/265 Mixing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/141 between two video terminals, e.g. videophone telephonic communication systems combined with television receiver for reception of entertainment or information matter H04M11/085
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

A new approach is proposed that contemplates systems and methods to support the operation of a Virtual Media Room or Virtual Meeting Room (VMR), wherein each VMR can accept from a plurality of participants at different geographic locations a variety of video conferencing feeds of audio and video streams from video conference endpoints and enables a multi-party video conferencing session in real time among the plurality of participants. Each of the participants is offered a rich set of conferencing and collaboration interaction hitherto not experienced by video conferencing participants and a moderator of the video conference is further offered with in-meeting management and control over a plurality of security and privacy settings during the video conference. These interactions encompass controlling of a video conferencing session, its configuration, privacy, security, the visual layout of the participants, customization of the VMR and adaptation of the room to different vertical applications.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a virtual meeting room (VMR) engine, which in operation, accepts from a plurality of participants to a video conference a plurality of audio and video streams from a plurality of video conference endpoints each associated with one of the plurality of participants;

enables a multi-party video conferencing session in real time among the plurality of participants;

a user experience engine, which in operation, provides a moderator of the video conference with in-meeting management and control of a plurality of security and privacy settings to render content of the video conference to provide a different user experience for a subset of the plurality of participants during the video conference.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the user experience engine enables participants associated different types of the video conference endpoints to talk to each other over the Internet during the video conference.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein:

the user experience engine enables participants associated H.323 conference endpoints to talk to participants associated with desktop endpoints to talk each other over the Internet during the video conference.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the user experience engine enables each of the plurality of participants to control which active participants to the VMR to view in his/her video windows on the screen of his/her video conference endpoint.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the user experience engine enables each of the plurality of participants to control layout options on the screen of his/her video conference endpoint.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the user experience engine enables the moderator to mute a particular speaker at the video conference.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the user experience engine enables the moderator to control and/or broadcast layouts associated with one of the video conference endpoints to all or a subset of the participants.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the user experience engine enables the moderator to share additional materials selectively with a subset of the participants.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the user experience engine enables the moderator to prescribe a standard layout of the screen of his/her video conference point and a set of displayed callers for other participants to see.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the user experience engine enables the moderator to choose to display caller specific metadata on the respective video windows of a subset of the participants.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the user experience engine enables the moderator to add or remove participants from the video conference through a real-time, dynamic web interface.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the user experience engine enables private conferences in the video conference by creating sub-rooms in a main VMR that a subset of the participants to the main VMR can join and have private chats.

13. A method, comprising:

accepting from a plurality of participants to a video conference a plurality of audio and video streams from a plurality of video conference endpoints each associated with one of the plurality of participants;

enabling a multi-party video conferencing session in real time among the plurality of participants;

providing a moderator of the video conference with in-meeting management and control of a plurality of security and privacy settings to render content of the video conference to provide a different user experience for a subset of the plurality of participants during the video conference.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

enabling participants associated different types of the video conference endpoints to talk to each other over the Internet during the video conference.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

enabling participants associated H.323 conference endpoints to talk to participants associated with desktop endpoints to talk each other over the Internet during the video conference.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

enabling each of the plurality of participants to control which active participants to the video conference to view in his/her video windows on the screen of his/her video conference endpoint.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

enabling each of the plurality of participants to control layout options on the screen of his/her video conference endpoint.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

enabling the moderator to mute a particular speaker at the video conference.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

enabling the moderator to control and/or broadcast layouts associated with one of the video conference endpoints to all or a subset of the participants.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

enabling the moderator to share additional materials selectively with a subset of the participants.

21. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

enabling the moderator to prescribe a standard layout of the screen of his/her video conference point and a set of displayed callers for other participants to see.

22. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

enabling the moderator to choose to display caller-specific metadata on the respective video windows of a subset of the participants.

23. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

enabling the moderator to add or remove participants from the video conference through a real-time, dynamic web interface.

24. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

enabling private conferences in the video conference by creating sub-rooms in a main VMR that A subset of the participants to the main VMR can join and have private chats.