Patent ID: 7359497

Claim:
An information processing method for a right of users to speak in an audio teleconference, said information processing method comprising: receiving a request to transfer said right to speak, which includes identification information of a first user who is a transfer destination of said right to speak, from a terminal of a second user; judging, by referring to a data storage that stores state data concerning a state of said audio teleconference, said state data including participant data regarding the users participating in said audio teleconference and right-to-speak information indicating which of the users has said right to speak, whether a first condition that said identification information of said first user is included in the participant data, and a second condition that indentification information of said second user is identical to the right-to-speak information, are satisfied; upon detecting that said first condition and said second condition are satisfied, storing said identification information of said first user as the right-to-speak information in said data storage storing said state data; and transmitting data representing that said first user has said right to speak to a terminal of said first user.