Patent ID: 8291471

Claim:
A method for managing access to a first document, the method comprising: creating a first data set comprising metadata relating to the first document, the metadata relating to the first document comprising one or more document access rules for accessing the first document; creating a second data set comprising metadata relating to a second document, the metadata relating to the second document comprising one or more document access rules for accessing the second document; storing the first and second documents; storing the metadata relating to the first document and the metadata relating to the second document; determining and storing a key for accessing the first document on the condition that the one or more document access rules for accessing the first document are met; releasing the key to one or more users responsive to a request from at least one user of the one or more users and to a determination that the one or more document access rules for accessing the first document are met, the one or more document access rules for accessing the first document comprising a rule requiring that the one or more document access rules for accessing the second document are met; and enabling the one or more users to access the first document using the key.