Patent ID: 7698379

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of controlling access to documents, comprising: maintaining a first list defining who may access a base document; maintaining a second list defining who may perform operations on the base document; upon receipt of a request from a user to create a workflow, accessing the first list and the second list to determine whether the user may create a workflow relating to the base document; if the first list and the second list indicate the user may create a workflow relating to the base document, creating a copy of the base document; and while the copy of the base document is in the workflow, in response to a request from a user to access the base document, providing the user access to the base document when it is determined by referencing at least the first list that the user should not be provided access to the copy of the base document, and providing the user access to the copy of the base document when it is determined by referencing at least the first list that the user should be provided access to the copy of the base document.