Abstract:
Systems and methods for collaborating over the Internet (or an intranet) in which two or more parties, such as a user and an agent, can share dynamic content generated by a web site server. Collaboration can be accomplished on live, dynamic pages without imposing a proxy server between user browsers and the web servers. Mechanisms prevent multiple submissions, and filters can be provided to selectively filter versions of a page for different users.

Description:
This Patent application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/347,870, filed Jul. 6, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,216, entitled “COPY SERVER FOR COLLABORATION AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE”. The entire contents and teachings of this referenced application are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is growing in popularity with increased use of the Internet and the world wide web. While some web sites just provide information over the web and then rely on telephone calls for placing orders or buying products and services, many other companies, including booksellers and mutual fund companies, allow purchases to be made and other commerce to be transacted over the web. These companies typically have a web server with back end processing software and a database with information that can be provided over the web, including product information and ordering forms. These sites are typically designed to generate dynamic content that is personalized and secure for self-service. If a user is having a problem working with a form on the web site or finding relevant information, the user may be able to call a call center to ask about the problem and describe what he or she sees. 
   A prior method for collaboration, in which content can be shared over the Internet between a user and an agent, is described in patent publication WO 97/42728, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
   Dynamic content is content that requires some processing to typically add or select information that is customized or unique to the user in some way. For example, a user who is already known to the web site could be served with a form in which a name, address, and credit card number are filled in at the web site, in advance, for the convenience of the purchaser. Other examples include pages in which content is based on information provided by the user, such as mapping information that obtains from the user an initial position and a destination and performs calculations that determine the directions. 
   When more than one participant to a collaboration session wish to collaborate with respect to a page that has dynamic content, it is desirable that each user see the same dynamically generated content. However, it would not be desirable for each participant to have the same processing performed repeatedly, because such duplication would create additional overhead and potentially duplicate audit trails and even business transactions. Furthermore, it is very desirable to restrict access to the shared session to collaboration participants, protecting shared content from unauthorized access from the Internet. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention includes systems and methods for collaborating over the Internet (or an intranet) in which two or more participants, such as one or more users and an agent, can share dynamic content generated by a web site server. The invention facilitates collaboration on real, active forms and dynamic pages without the need to impose a proxy server between user browsers and web servers. The invention also includes mechanisms to facilitate content capture, to prevent multiple submissions, to selectively filter content from either the agent or user views; and to limit collaborative access to collaboration participants. 
   The invention includes a copy server that can store dynamic content after it is generated by the web site in such a way that the content can be provided repeatedly to two or more participants to a collaboration session without interacting with a web content server, application server, or database. The use of the copy server thus eliminates additional overhead of producing identical dynamic pages for multiple participants, and in some applications will eliminate redundant database entries associated with the production of a dynamic page, such as form submissions and audit trails. 
   The copy server is different from a proxy server, in that, unlike proxied pages, the copied page in the copy server has live links and active buttons that direct all of the participants browsers back to the original web site rather than to the copy server. 
   The participants collaborate through a collaboration server, as described in the incorporated document. The content in the copy server can be protected and thus can be made secure such that only authorized participants to a collaboration session are permitted to collaborate using the shared content in the copy server. To accomplish this, the collaboration server communicates with the copy server to identify to the copy server the authorized participants to the collaboration session so that the copy server can restrict access to the content in the copy server. 
   The copy server can also present different pages to different participants using filters. Such different participants will typically be grouped by role, e.g., as an agent or as a user. The filter, copy server, and collaboration server work together to allow a user and an agent to have the same view of dynamic content where needed, and filter information from one or more different types of views so that one participant may not see everything that another participant does. Such filtering can be controlled, for example, such that the agent sees only what the agent needs, while excluding other content. One use for filtering is to remove a “submit” button from an order form to permit the agent and the user from both submitting the form on behalf of the user. 
   The present invention also includes components to capture dynamic content and store that content in the copy server. These components are called adapters because they are specific for different types of e-commerce platforms, making the copy server easier to use. In other words, they “adapt” the copy server to different e-commerce environments. 
   Another feature of the adapters (or appropriate custom code) is the ability to synchronize access to a page to prevent race conditions between multiple participants and to avoid redundant operations. Once identical copies of a page are loaded into multiple participant browsers, a race condition may be created if more than one participant operates on the page and then submits that page to the web server. The adapter only allows one participant to operate on the page through the adapter; subsequent operations are blocked. When a result page is generated from the operation in response to the participant who submitted the page, that resulting page is copied into the copy server and thus becomes the copied page for access by each participant. 
   Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  are block diagrams of embodiments of systems according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating the filtering function. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , an entity  10  that performs commerce over the Internet, such as an on-line financial services company or an on-line bookseller, has a web site with an HTTP content server  12  that allows a user browser  14  to interact with the web site. User browser  14  accesses content server  12  through the Internet to request information. If the user is requesting static content, i.e., a page of information that does not change regardless of who is accessing it, such as a typical home page, content server  12  can retrieve the page from its own file system  22  and serve the page to user browser  14 . For dynamic content, content server  12  passes the request for information to an application server  16 . If the application is intended merely to serve dynamic, personalized content, it might format a dynamic page whose content depends on the identity of the client browser. If the application server is a front end to a transaction-based system, then server  16  provides the request to back office processing  19 , which uses data from the database  20  in order to provide the processed information back to user browser  14  via application server  16  and content server  12   
   With or without the back office processing  18  and database  20 , this is known as a typical multi-user self-service (non-collaborative) environment. In such a case, a user may not recognize that the content is static or dynamic. Nevertheless, it is possible for each user to experience unique, personalized content which depends on the identity of the user. 
   According to the present invention, an additional server, referred to as a copy server  24 , is provided. Application server  16  has code  18  that causes server  16  to interact with copy server  24  through an application programming interface (API)  26  in copy server  24 . Application server  16  provides to the copy server a copy of the page, form, or other dynamic content (referred to here generally as a “page”) received from back office processing  19  to become copied page  28  in copy server  24 . Copy server  24  stores copied page  28  along with a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with copied page  28  to allow subsequent access. Code  18  captures the page that is provided from processing  19 , causes copied page  28  to be stored in copy server  24 , and obtains from copy server  24  the URL to identify the copied page. Code  18  then causes the browser requesting the original page to be redirected to the copied page  28  in the copy server  24 . The redirection is accomplished with a redirect header provided to content server  12  over connection  30 , and then from content server  12  as indicated by line  32  to user browser  14 . 
   User browser  14  thus receives the URL in the redirect header for copied page  28 , and uses that URL as indicated by line  34  to automatically access copied page  28  over HTTP. The user, on receiving copied page  28 , can then fill in information, for example, if the page is a form, and submit the form back to the web site through content server  12 . All of the links in the page relate to the original content server  12  to force operations on the copied page back to the original content server  12 . Any resulting response from the application server can again be stored as a copied page. 
   The copied page is the basis for the collaboration. As described in the incorporated patent document, the user, if desiring a collaboration session, can provide the URL to a collaboration server  40 , which forwards the URL to an agent browser  42 , and if appropriate to other user browsers. Meanwhile, the user and agent can talk over a separate telephone line  56  or by using voice-over-IP. Agent browser  42  can then use that URL from collaboration server  40  to access and retrieve copied page  28 , so that agent browser  42  and user browser  14  both have copied page  28  and both have direct access to the copied page. Such access to copied page  28  is desirable for the user and agent to be able to confer about the content of the copied page. 
   Collaboration server  40  is preferably an enterprise-class, HTTP server application that enables agents to visually interact with remote users over the Internet while the user and agent can also conduct a voice conversation about the visually shared material. To participate in a collaborative session, a customer need only have an Internet-connected computer and a Java-enabled browser. The voice connection can take place over a separate telephone line or over a single voice/data connection if the appropriate voice-over-IP (VoIP) hardware and software are in place. The agents can share static and dynamic web content with users, can navigate with the users around the web, demonstrate software, help users complete secure web-based forms, or transfer downloadable files, all while simultaneously conducting a voice conversation. Such collaboration is described in more detail in the incorporated patent publication. 
   One characteristic of copy server  24  is that the copied page loaded into user browser and agent browser contains live links to content server  12  directly, and that application server  16 , back office processing  18 , and database  20  were accessed (and perhaps updated) only one time in the original production of the copied page. This feature is thus unlike a proxy server in which the proxy server appears to the user to be the actual location of the information, when in fact the proxy server has an internal mapping to an actual location of the information. Bookmarks and historical (cached) pages stored in the browser come from the proxy server not the original source of the dynamic page. A proxy server would also have an undesirable limitation in that the proxy captures all the actual history of the client browser, depriving the content server of valuable data. The copy server  20 , on the other hand, does not isolate the content server  12  from the client browser  14  nor does it isolate the server from the direct browser interaction. 
   In another embodiment of the present invention also shown in  FIG. 1 , code  18  of the type indicated above for use in application server  16  could alternatively be provided as code  50  in content server  12 , with the code coupled to API  26  as represented by dashed line  52 . 
   Copy server  24  can regulate access to copied page  28  so that only authorized participants in a collaboration session are permitted to access the copied page. Collaboration server  40  communicates via connection  58  and copy server API  26  to copy server  24  and tells copy server  24  when participants are added or removed from a collaboration session. Agent browser and user browsers request and receive unique cookies from copy server  24  via HTTP connections  34  if they identify themselves as authentic participants. Subsequent requests for copied pages are granted by the copy server as long as the users are authentic participants in the session. 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , in another embodiment of the present invention, unlike the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in which the user and agent can directly access copied page  28  from a copy server, a copy server  56  is located behind the security infrastructure of content server  12  and application server  16 . Server  16  has code  54  for interacting with copy server  56 . In this case, the process is similar to that in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , except that the user browser  14  is redirected to copied page  28  through application server  16  and code  54 . This approach is more secure, and can take advantage of a more powerful application server for faster processing, although it does mean that the application server will have more functions to perform. 
   The server code for interacting with the copy server, whether code  18 ,  50 , or  54 , each be custom code written by application programmers or system integrators on site for use with copy server API  26 . As custom code, it becomes part of the application infrastructure of the site. Alternatively, such code may be an off-the-shelf product, installed and part of the systems infrastructure of the site. As a product, it is a specialized “adapter” that permits a generic plug-in copy server  24  or  56  technology to interoperate with a variety of application server  16  and content server  12  platforms without requiring custom code. Generic adapter technology is “ported” or “adapted” to many specific web server  12  and application server  16  platforms. 
   The server code for interacting with the copy server, whether code  18 ,  50 , or  54  may also be configured to allow certain URL&#39;s to pass through without being copied and without the requesting browser  14  or  42  being redirected. In some cases this is desirable to distribute cookies and other header information to all participants&#39; browsers. 
   The system of the present invention also preferably includes a filter  50  that operatively works with copy server  24  to determine who the user is, what page the user is requesting, and what information each participant can see. This filter can be used to share some portions of the copied page among all participants but not all portions of the page. Such a filter can preserve secrecy, provide efficiency, and prevent accidental or malicious entry of an order by the wrong participant. The security issue can arise in case information can be displayed on a screen that should not be seen by an agent or user, e.g., if the user accesses account information that also references another user&#39;s information, or if an agent needs to check a resource on the web site that also has information that is confidential to other parties. The filter can also be used to offer a button to one participant in a collaborative session while removing it from another, preventing the accidental or malicious operation on a copied page by the wrong user. 
   Efficiency savings can be obtained because the filter can avoid the need to display unnecessary information on both views, such as additional features that are available but for which agent services are not required, or to filter out logos, advertising, or other information not needed by the agent. 
   Filter  50  essentially modifies copied page  28  in order to provide that copied page back to the user or the agent thus providing a user version and an agent version of the copied page. Because the agent is associated with the web site entity, the agent can either register through collaboration server  40  to copy server  24  or the agent may be identifiable based on an aspect of their request. The filter will thus be able to discriminate the user version of the copied page from the agent version of the copied page. The filtering code will typically be associated with particular pages, such that for a particular form and type of participant (agent or client), the code will suppress some piece of the form. 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , copy server  24  can provide copied page  28  to a user view  60  or an agent view  62 . In this example, user view  60  has a form region  64 , an ad  66 , and a submit button  68 . Agent view  62 , however, only has form  64  but does not provide ad  66 , and also does not provide submit button  68  that would otherwise allow either participant to submit the form. This filtering can be achieved with code designed for and associated with specific forms, or certain types of information, such as a PIN, can always be suppressed to the agent. Thus, a request for the page causes a filter routine to be invoked to determine how to display information. 
   To prevent multiple processing on a page, the server code for interacting with the copy server, whether code  18 ,  50 , or  54  can determine when a page has been submitted and prevent a further submission until a result page is sent. Referring again to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , assume there is a collaboration session and a first user enters information into the copied page and submits the page back to the web site for processing. The operation is sent from user browser  42  or  14  to content server  12  to application server  16  where code  18  is invoked to determine if this is the first operation on a copy or not. If it is the first operation on the copy, the application continues and may interact with back office processing  19  and database  20 . If a second user (or agent) tries to submit the page with different inputs, code  18  stops the processing on the second submission and generates and returns a configurable “please wait” result page to the second user&#39;s browser indicating that the second user has to wait. When the first submission is processed, a resulting page is captured by code  18 , stored as a copied page  28  in the copy server  24 , and the first user is redirected to the copy page. Once the copied page becomes current in the collaboration server  40 , it replaces the “please wait” page on the second user&#39;s browser and can be viewed and discussed further by the participants. The system thus prevents inconsistent or duplicative submissions of the shared copied page. 
   Having described preferred embodiments of the present invention, it should be apparent that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.