USOO81 1764.4B2
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Chaganti et al.
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 8,117,644 B2
`Feb. 14, 2012
`
`(54) METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ONLINE
`DOCUMENT COLLABORATION
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`(75) Inventors: Naren Chaganti, Town & Country, MO
`(US); Sitapathi Rao Chaganti, Nellore
`(IN); Damayanti Chaganti, Nellore (IN)
`(73) Assignee: Pennar Software Corporation,
`Alexandria, VA (US)
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`(21) Appl. No.: 12/799,945
`(22) Filed:
`May 5, 2010
`(65)
`Prior Publication Data
`US 2011 FOOO4943 A1
`Jan. 6, 2011
`O
`O
`Related U.S. Application Data
`(63) Continuation-in-part of application No. 09/478,796,
`filed on Jan. 7, 2000, now Pat. No. 6,845,448.
`
`51) Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`H04L 29/06
`(52) U.S. Cl. ..................... 726/2: 726/3; 726/4; 713/182
`(58) Field of Classification Search ........................ None
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
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`(Continued)
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Moozakis, Chuck “Internet Printing Takes Hold' dated Sep. 29.
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`(Continued)
`Primary Examiner — Benjamin Lanier
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`A method and system for online document collaboration
`includes the steps of establishing on a server computer
`coupled to the Internet an account for each of a plurality of
`users; storing on the server computer a document created by
`a first user; associating a set of access restrictions with the
`document, said access restrictions including an ability to
`access the document for modification by one of a first group
`ofusers, said first group of users being users whose identities
`kn
`h
`p
`iving, f
`d
`are known to the Server computer, receiving, from a Secon
`user, a request to modify the document, wherein said request
`to modify accompanies the second user's identification infor
`mation; verifying the identity of the second user, permitting
`the second user to modify the document based on a set of
`access rights granted to the second user; receiving approval or
`disapproval for the modifications from one or more users; and
`storing identifying information of the one or more users who
`approved or disapproved the modifications to the document.
`In alternative embodiments, the method further includes the
`step(s) of storing the modified document, storing the identity
`of the user who modified the document, notifying one or more
`members of a group if the document is modified or transmit
`ting the modified document to one or more members of a
`group.
`
`11 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`
`
`CG
`PROGRAS
`O
`
`
`
`20
`3.
`
`O
`
`SO
`
`to SERYOUE
`DATASSENFERFACE
`EDUE
`STASTICSOE
`
`REPORTGENERATION
`is
`18 MODE
`OTHERCULESOPERATING
`SYSTECOMICATIONLAYERS
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 1
`
`

`

`US 8,117,644 B2
`Page 2
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`1/1998 Beauregard et al. .......... 345/429
`5,765,152 A
`6/1998 Erickson ............................... 1f1
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`9/2002 Glassman ..........
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`1/2003 Levy ............................. 704/27O
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`
`
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`org.hk/conproceed.html.
`Robert Gellman, “Public Registers and Privacy: Conflicts with Other
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`vacy Protection Builds Trust in Electronic Commerce Global Net
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`Philip E. Agre, “Imagining Surveillance: Notes on 1984 and Enemy
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`Simon Davies, “Big Brother at the Box Office-Electronic Visual
`Surveillance and the Big Screen.” 21st International Conference on
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`tice Information by Justice Agencies: The Need for Principles of
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`2000 from http://www.pco.org.hk/conproceed.html.
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 2
`
`

`

`US 8,117,644 B2
`Page 3
`
`Souheil El Zein, "Reconciling Data Protection Regulations with the
`Requirements of Judicial and Police Co-operation.” 21st Interna
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`conproceed.html.
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`nal Experts—Cooperation or Attack?', 21st international Confer
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`
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`Germany,” 21st International Conference on Privacy and Personal
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`International Conference on Privacy and Personal Data Protection,
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`ing Privacy Against Surveillance Digital Works,” 21st International
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`conproceed.html.
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`2000 from http://www.pco.org.hk/old press.html, pp. 1-3.
`* cited by examiner
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 3
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2012
`
`Sheet 1 of 8
`
`US 8,117,644 B2
`
`REQUESTER v 05
`
`REQUESTER
`E
`
`- 106
`
`is
`
`USER
`COMPUTER
`
`103
`
`04
`
`O8
`CD
`DATABASE
`
`100
`
`ru S
`
`O7
`
`SERVERCOMPUTER
`SECURITYMODULE
`120
`DATABASEINTERFACE
`30
`MODULE
`STATISTICSMODULE
`
`140
`
`REPORT GENERATION
`MODULE
`OTHERMODULESOPERATING
`SYSTEM.COMMUNICATIONLAYERS
`
`150
`
`Aig. 1
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 4
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2012
`
`Sheet 2 of 8
`
`US 8,117,644 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`INTIALIZATIONBYA
`PERSONAL INFORMATION
`REPOSITORYSERVICE PROVIDER
`(PIRSP
`
`
`
`
`
`AUSERACCESSES THEPIRSP
`WEBSITEPIRSPSERVERCOMPUTER
`ESTABLISHES ASECURECONNECTION
`WITH THE USERSCOMPUTER
`
`USERESTABLISHES ANACCOUNT
`WITH THESERVERCOMPUTER
`
`USERISASSIGNEDANACCOUNT
`NUMBER WHICH ISSTORED BY
`THESERVERCOMPUTERIN
`THEDATABASE
`
`USERACCESSSRECORDED IN
`THEDATABASEFORAVOTTRA
`
`
`
`
`
`USERENTERS PERSONAL INFORMATION
`ANDOPTIONALLYELECTSAPAYMENT
`PLAN
`
`Alig. 2a
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`200
`
`202
`
`204
`
`2O6
`
`208
`
`210
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 5
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2012
`
`Sheet 3 of 8
`
`US 8,117,644 B2
`
`DATABASE INTERFACEMODULEEXECUTES
`AQUERYMADEBYTHEREQUESTOR
`STATISTICALORREPORTING FUNCTIONS
`AREOPTIONALLY EXECUTED
`
`
`
`RETRIEVED INFORMATIONSSENTSECUREY
`TRANSMITTED TOTHEREQUESTORREQUESTOR
`SCHARGEDAFEE
`
`USERCHANCESARENOTIFIED TO ANY
`ENTITIES DESIGNATED BY THE USER
`
`ANAUDITTRALOFAACCESSESS
`MANTAINED ANDRECORDEDIN
`THEDATABASE
`
`Afg. 2b
`
`22
`
`224
`
`226
`
`228
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 6
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2012
`
`Sheet 4 of 8
`
`US 8,117,644 B2
`
`
`
`ACCOUNTSETUP
`
`? 300
`
`SUBMT
`
`30
`
`Afg. 3
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 7
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2012
`
`Sheet 5 of 8
`
`US 8,117,644 B2
`
`
`
`NAME OF THE LIBRARY
`
`OVERALL SECURITY LEVEL
`
`(DEFAULT-0)
`
`u-402
`
`hu.404
`
`TYPE OF FILE
`
`FORMATTED TEXT (WORD)
`
`ASCIITEXT A406
`
`HTML
`
`RTF
`
`JPEG
`
`MPEG
`
`AUTHOR
`
`FILE NAME
`
`PERMISSION TO USERS V408
`ATSECURITYLEVEL
`ATSECURITYLEVEL
`
`(> READ (X WRITE
`(> READ O WRITE
`{X DELETEXO EDIT
`
`CREATING SPACE IN LIBRARY WITH SECURITYLEVELS V400
`AND PERMISSIONS
`
`FIG 4
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 8
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2012
`
`Sheet 6 of 8
`
`US 8,117,644 B2
`
`
`
`SOURCE: http://www.source.com/1/2/b/Movie. mpg
`DESTINATION: www.library.com/username/account id
`Destination PaSSWOrd: ADD THIS ONE
`
`{O)
`HTML
`
`()
`{O)
`{O)
`RTF JPEG MPEG
`
`NAME OF THE LIBRARY
`
`SECURITY LEVEL
`FILE TYPE
`
`{O
`{X
`FORMATTED
`TEXT (WORD) ASSI
`
`AUTHOR
`
`FILE NAME
`
`ISBN NO.
`
`USER PERMISSIONS (DEFAULT)
`
`CONTENTS OF A REGUEST TO ADD ANITEM TO A USER
`LIBRARY
`
`FIG. 5
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 9
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2012
`
`Sheet 7 of 8
`
`US 8,117,644 B2
`
`
`
`00 ||
`
`
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 10
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 14, 2012
`
`Sheet 8 of 8
`
`US 8,117,644 B2
`
`3
`
`g
`
`s
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 11
`
`

`

`1.
`METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ONLINE
`DOCUMENT COLLABORATION
`
`US 8,117,644 B2
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This is a continuation-in-part application of the com
`monly-owned application Ser. No. 09/478.796 filed Jan. 7,
`2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,448.
`
`10
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`
`This invention is related in general to electronic informa
`tion repositories, and in particular, to an online personal
`library.
`
`15
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`The public interconnected computer networks—com
`monly called the Internet and colloquially called the web—
`have made possible a number of applications that were hith
`erto unthinkable. In general, a user visits web pages using a
`browser program executing on a client computer. When the
`user visits a web page, a document Such as a news article, a
`downloadable file such as an e-book, downloadable software
`programs such as those available at www.shareware.com, a
`piece of music, a graphical image or other Such object that is
`of interest, it may be a case that the user prefers to read or refer
`to the object at a later date. Currently the user has several
`choices—he can print the web page, download the page to his
`client computer, or make a book mark to enable an easy return
`to the web site for reference at a later date. But there are
`problems with each of these methods.
`Printing every web page that is of interest quickly becomes
`unmanageable. A product called SurfSaver'TM is a browser
`add-on, which lets a user to store Web pages directly from the
`browser into searchable folders on the user's client computer.
`While SurfSavertM can be used to organize and search the
`information the user gathers on the Internet, it requires the
`user to download Software to the client computer and create
`an information store for web pages downloaded to the client
`computer. But Such downloading of web pages, documents,
`or files may consume significant resources on the client com
`puter, and these downloaded web pages or files may not be
`readily available in a form that can be shared by others.
`Book marking the web page or the location is a better
`solution than the above two methods. A typical bookmark
`comprises a location or address, usually specified in a Uni
`Versal Resource Locator format, and a mnemonic so that the
`user remembers what information is stored at the location. In
`general, the browser program Stores bookmarks in a special
`“book mark” file on the client computer. The location of this
`bookmark file is typically known to the browser, which loads
`the contents of the file and presents the bookmarks to the user
`when he makes an appropriate selection on the browser.
`Examples of Such book marking methods are found in the
`commercially available browser programs such as Internet
`ExplorerTM, in which program the bookmarks are called
`“Favorites.
`Often, it is the case that either the bookmarks are too many
`or they become “stale.” Bookmarks become stale when a site
`to which the bookmark points no longer hosts the web page
`addressed by the bookmark. The user, who depended on the
`availability of the information online, is now left with a book
`mark that does not point to useful data.
`Additionally, sharing information with others either in a
`controlled manner or with a widespread audience is becom
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`ing an increasing need. Sharing information that is restricted
`as to the number of copies that can be made without infringing
`an author's or a publisher's rights is becoming important.
`There is a need, therefore, for a method and system to improve
`the state of the art to address these and other issues.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`The present invention is related to online repositories,
`which are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.
`09/478,796 filed Jan. 7, 2000, which disclosure is incorpo
`rated herein by reference in its entirety. A description of
`electronic message handling systems is provided in the Mas
`ters thesis by Naren Chaganti, “Integrating Electronic Mes
`sage Handling Systems with Databases: A Security Perspec
`tive', submitted to the Faculty of Computer Science
`Engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington, Tex.,
`May 1992, which is incorporated by reference in this disclo
`Sure in its entirety.
`In one aspect, the present invention allows a user to create
`an online personal library for storage of digital items. As used
`in this application, an “item” or a “digital item’ is any piece of
`analog or digital information Such as a web page, data, a
`document such as a news article, word processor document,
`spread sheet, presentation, e-book, Software programs,
`music, video, movie, a graphical image Such as a photograph,
`a three-dimensional image, or a similar thing.
`Two different roles for a person are envisioned to describe
`the principles of the present disclosure. They are: (1) a “user.”
`who is a person or a computer program that creates or effec
`tively "owns” the online personal library; and (2) a
`“requester, who is a person or a computer program that
`accesses the information stored in the personal library estab
`lished by the user. Further, there is a service provider, which
`could be a person, a company or a computer program that
`establishes a server computer (“server”) and allows users to
`use the server to create, maintain and operate the personal
`library. The service provider is not an essential entity to
`enable the principles of the present invention. The user and
`the requester may be the same entity, but performing different
`roles. Alternatively they could be separate entities.
`The present invention is also directed toward a method and
`system for gathering, storing personal information on a server
`computer and releasing Such information to authorized
`requesters. Several types of information are stored for release
`to different entities with appropriate authorization.
`In one embodiment, the present invention is directed
`toward a method of for automatically disbursing personal
`information belonging to a user to a requester that is autho
`rized by the user by transmitting said personal information
`from a server computer operated by a service provider, said
`server computer coupled to a database, the method compris
`ing the steps of establishing an account for the user with the
`server computer, assigning an identifier to the user, entering
`personal information belonging to the user, said personal
`information comprising at least one of a plurality of informa
`tion objects; assigning at least one of a plurality of security
`levels to each information object; storing in the database the
`user identifier, the information object and the security level
`assigned to the information object; receiving a request to
`message from the requester, said request message comprising
`at least the user identifier; retrieving from the database the
`information object pertaining to the user identifier, securely
`transmitting the information object to the requester. In a fur
`ther aspect, the invention comprises the steps of presenting an
`authorization by the requester; and Verifying the requester's
`authorization.
`
`Adobe - Exhibit 1019, page 12
`
`

`

`US 8,117,644 B2
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`15
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`3
`Further, any modifications, updates, or changes are auto
`matically notified to any authorized requesters. The requester
`optionally provides information about to whom and where to
`notify changes, such as address changes. Sending a message
`to an electronic mailbox can accomplish Such change notifi
`cation function. In a preferred embodiment, a frequent unau
`thorized requester of information can be tagged as 'junk
`requester, to whom no further information will be released.
`In another aspect of an embodiment, a user creates the
`online personal library on a server connected to a data com
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`munication network Such as the Internet. In alternative
`embodiments, the user may subscribe to a service provided by
`an online service provider. In an embodiment, the user allo
`cates a pre-determined amount of storage space on a storage
`device such as a hard disk. The user can increase this storage
`space as required. Alternatively, the server is preprogrammed
`to automatically increase the allocated space as the need
`arises, or after the user pays a Subscription fee or a one-time
`fee for the space.
`When Such extra space is allocated, in one embodiment, the
`user is physically allocated the extra storage space for use to
`create or expand his library that could be accessed by request
`ers. In some embodiments, a program limiting the user to use
`only certain storage space is reprogrammed so that the user is
`allowed to use a larger space for the library. In one case, the
`user may control the way in which the library is created:
`requesters may merely use the library according to the
`schema established by the user. Alternatively, the user may
`allow a requester to alter the schema as well.
`The storage space may be contiguous space in one physical
`device, or it could be distributed over a large number of
`physically separate disks that are accessible to the user over a
`network such as a Local Area Network, a Wide Area Network
`or a public data network. In case where the storage space is
`distributed over several physical devices, a controller—
`which could be a computer program—allows the user to
`access such distributed Storage space in a transparent manner
`so that the user or requesters that access the library are
`unaware of the particular fashion in which the data are stored
`in a distributed manner over the network.
`The library may be partitioned to have a number of direc
`tories and sub-directories, identified by labels or icons. The
`labels or icons may be implemented as hyper links. Each
`directory or sub-directory can be either visible or invisible, or
`can be separately protected by a password or other device. In
`order to establish this method of protection, the library
`schema advantageously uses a plurality of levels, at least one
`of the pluralities of levels to be allocated to each piece of data,
`at a fine granular level.
`Once the user establishes a space to hold information, the
`server computer may assign an address—such as an Internet
`address in a dotted-decimal form or in an alphanumeric for
`mat, for example, http://library. Serviceprovider.com or
`library (a serviceprovider.com—to the online library. This
`Internet address identifies the library to a user that subse
`quently accesses the library. The user then is allowed to
`upload digital items to the library from any computer Such as
`his client computer. The user may direct a third party to
`transmit a digital item to the user's library by giving the third
`party his library’s identifier. For example, the user may
`request a service Such as e-books or other type of service by
`providing an identifier of the digital item, a destination
`address, which is a library address, an account name, and/or
`other required identifying or authorizing information Such as
`a password if necessary. The user or the third party may then
`manually or via an automatic process send the digital item to
`the library via methods to transmit data Such as E-mail, hyper
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`text transfer protocol, file transfer protocol, Unix-to-Unix
`Copy program (UUCP), or by dragging and dropping the
`digital item into the library.
`When a requester's device accesses the server, the request
`er's device may first establish a connection, and make a
`request for a digital item stored in the library. This may
`happen by sending a packet of data containing a request
`message to the server. In one embodiment, the requester's
`identifying information is presented to the server in the packet
`or in a second packet. In response, the server may verify the
`requester's identification information against Stored informa
`tion in a database coupled to the server. Thereafter, the server
`may deliver the requested digital item to the requester's
`device, or any other device designated by the requester. In the
`case the digital item is delivered to a different device, the
`server may disconnect the requester's device, and thereafter
`establish a second connection with the designated device to
`deliver the requested digital item.
`Depending on the security level of the requester, or security
`level of a password that the requester provides, or the type or
`address (such as an Internet address) of a device used by the
`requester, the time of day, the day of week, or other criterion
`established by the user, the requester is authorized to view or
`access a particular portion of the library. This authorization
`may enable the requester to perform a selection of Such tasks
`as, in the case of a document, insert, delete or modify text,
`images or an audio clip, underline text, highlight or make
`margin notes with or without a digital signature, and the like,
`if the requester is permitted or authorized to do so. As stated
`above, the authorization can be separately provided or could
`be encoded in the type of password provided to the requester.
`Under this selective authorization scheme, a requester may be
`given only a Subset of the available permissions to perform
`operations—i.e., the requester may be allowed only to view
`but not edit a document; only to add to but not delete from a
`Video clip; only to make margin notes on a document but not
`change or underline the original text, make changes that are
`visible only to a select group of persons; and other similar
`tasks. When a requester edits a document, all other persons in
`the select group are automatically notified that a change has
`been made. In one embodiment, the changes are downloaded
`to the devices specified—if any—by the group. In other
`embodiments, the notified persons may Subsequently access
`and retrieve the document to view or further edit the docu
`ment, or provide a signature of approval or disapproval and
`store it in the library. In this manner, a document may be
`placed online, edited by one or more requesters, viewed or
`approved by others with secure digital signatures without the
`need to meet each other face-to-face.
`The present invention may also be used to distribute infor
`mation to a group of persons—either a closed Subset of
`known persons or a larger audience on the network—without
`violating any copyright or other restrictions on items. Where
`an item is copyrigh