Sharing user-generated notes

• US 9,495,559 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2012
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chegg Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Chegg Incorporated
• Inventors: Le Chevalier, Vincent, Eder-Pressman, Ohad, Konforty, Roded, Geiger, Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Viet
• Application Number:
  US13/717,331
• Publication Number:
  US 20140019562A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,429 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/205, 709/217, 709/219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2228 Indexing structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/94 Hypermedia Hyperlinking G06F40/134
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/70 Protecting specific internal or peripheral components, in which the protection of a component leads to protection of the entire computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/20 Education
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments

Abstract

A method for sharing notes created in a multilayered document among users of a social network within a digital education platform is provided. In one embodiment, the digital education platform allows a user to create notes linked to a particular location in the document using a notepad application. Notes are aggregated and stored in the user'"'"'s personal library on the digital education platform. When a user requests to share another user'"'"'s notes and is granted access, the digital education platform retrieves the other user'"'"'s notes and inserts the shared notes into the requesting user'"'"'s existing notes associated with the document, based on their individual sharing attributes and metadata.

Claims

1. A method for sharing notes associated with a document on a computer system, the method comprising:

creating, by a first user, notes associated with a location within the document by linking the first user'"'"'s notes to a portion of a table to contents of the document that reference the location within document, wherein the notes are associated with the document and stored on the system;

receiving, at the system, a request from a second user to share the notes created by the first user, the second user'"'"'s existing notes associated with the same document stored on the system;

designating access rights to the second user to share the notes created by the first user, the access rights defined by the first user when creating the notes, the access rights specifying a time constraint on access to the first user'"'"'s notes by the second user and permission for one or more access types given to the second user for accessing the first user'"'"'s notes;

inserting, by the system, the first user'"'"'s notes into the second user'"'"'s existing notes associated with the document in accordance with the access rights designated to the second user, wherein inserting includes

accessing the table of contents for the document,

identifying page locations within an instance of the document provided to the second user and referenced by the portion of the table of contents linked to the first user'"'"'s notes, the instance of the document provided to the second user also comprising the second user'"'"'s notes linked to portions of the same table of contents, and

enabling display of the first user'"'"'s notes at the identified page locations, within the instance of the document provided to the second user, that are referenced by the portion of the table of contents linked to the first user'"'"'s notes; and

notifying the second user of the availability of the shared notes, thereby allowing the second user to retrieve the shared notes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein inserting the first user'"'"'s notes into the second user'"'"'s existing notes comprises inserting a reference or a pointer, within the document, to the first user'"'"'s notes in the second user'"'"'s existing notes.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying the second user of the availability of the shared notes comprises sending a notification message to the second user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the time constraint on the access rights designated to the second user define a predetermined period of time during which the second user is provided access to the first user'"'"'s notes and the access types for which permission can be given to the second user include edit, re-share, review, and comment access types.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the second user has an access right to share the notes; and

accepting the request if the second user has the access right to share the notes, otherwise rejecting the request to share the notes.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

updating, by the first user, notes associated with the document on the system, wherein the notes has been shared with the second user;

synchronizing, by the system, the updated notes in the second user'"'"'s notes associated with the document.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the access rights defined by the first user vary as a function of time of access, by the second user, of the first user'"'"'s notes; and

inserting the first user'"'"'s notes into the second user'"'"'s existing notes in accordance with the access rights comprises determining a time of viewing of the first user'"'"'s notes by the second user and filtering the first user'"'"'s notes for insertion based on the determined time of viewing and access rights defined by the first user for the determined time of viewing.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the access rights defined by the first user vary as a function of social connectivity of a requesting user; and

inserting the first user'"'"'s notes into the second user'"'"'s existing notes in accordance with the access rights comprises determining a social connectivity of the second user and filtering the first user'"'"'s notes for insertion based on the determined social connectivity of the second user and access rights defined by the first user for the determined social connectivity.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the request from the second user to share the notes created by the first user comprises an indication to view the first user'"'"'s notes along with the second user'"'"'s existing notes independent of the document, the second user'"'"'s existing notes linked to portions of the same table of contents of the document;

inserting the first user'"'"'s notes into the second user'"'"'s existing notes associated with the document comprises organizing the first user'"'"'s notes with respect to the second user'"'"'s notes based on relative portions of the table of contents to which the first and second user'"'"'s notes are linked; and

enabling display, to the second user, of the first user'"'"'s notes organized with respect to the second user'"'"'s existing notes without providing the document.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer program instructions for sharing notes associated with a document, the computer program instructions comprising instructions for:

creating, by a first user, notes associated with a location within the document by linking the first user'"'"'s notes to a portion of a table to contents of the document that reference the location within document, wherein the notes are associated with the document and stored on the system;

receiving, at the system, a request from a second user to share the notes created by the first user, the second user'"'"'s existing notes associated with the same document stored on the system;

designating access rights to the second user to share the notes created by the first user, the access rights defined by the first user when creating the notes, the access rights specifying a time constraint on access to the first user'"'"'s notes by the second user and permission for one or more access types given to the second user for accessing the first user'"'"'s notes;

inserting, by the system, the first user'"'"'s notes into the second user'"'"'s existing notes associated with the document in accordance with the access rights designated to the second user, wherein inserting includes

accessing the table of contents for the document,

identifying page locations within an instance of the document provided to the second user and referenced by the portion of the table of contents linked to the first user'"'"'s notes, the instance of the document provided to the second user also comprising the second user'"'"'s notes linked to portions of the same table of contents, and

enabling display of the first user'"'"'s notes at the identified page locations, within the instance of the document provided to the second user, that are referenced by the portion of the table of contents linked to the first user'"'"'s notes; and

notifying the second user of the availability of the shared notes, thereby allowing the second user to retrieve the shared notes.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein inserting the first user'"'"'s notes into the second user'"'"'s existing notes comprises inserting a reference or a pointer, within the document, to the first user'"'"'s notes in the second user'"'"'s existing notes.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein notifying the second user of the availability of the shared notes comprises sending a notification message to the second user.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the time constraint on the access rights designated to the second user define a predetermined period of time during which the second user is provided access to the first user'"'"'s notes and the access types for which permission can be given to the second user include edit, re-share, review, and comment access types.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the computer program instructions further comprise instructions for:

determining whether the second user has an access right to share the note; and

accepting the request if the second user has the access right to share the note, otherwise rejecting the request to share the note.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the computer program instructions further comprise instructions for:

updating, by the first user, a note stored in the first user'"'"'s notes associated with the document on the system, wherein the note has been shared with the second user;

synchronizing, by the system, the updated note in the second user'"'"'s notes associated with the document.