Patent ID: 7437408

Claim:
A method for use in managing access to and release of information in a collaborative environment, comprising the steps of: establishing a collaborative environment for collaboration among multiple network users, said collaborative environment including network structure for use in enabling a collaboration with respect to collaboration subject matter including sensitive information subject to a policy regarding handling thereof relative to particular ones of said network users, said policy being implemented by allowing access by one of said users to an altered version of said subject matter to facilitated collaboration and protect said sensitive information in accordance with said policy, said collaborative environment further including a computer-based tool for monitoring activities involving said collaboration subject matter; first operating said computer-based tool to identify an activity involving said sensitive information; second operating said computer-based tool to establish a log entry, separate from said collaboration subject matter, for said activity identifying a user associated with said activity and a nature of said activity, said log entry allowing, for auditing of operation of said network structure to verify, handling of said sensitive information in accordance with policy, wherein said activity comprises a request to access a document including said sensitive information; and third operating said computer-based tool to automatically, substantially free from any contemporaneous user control, to create an altered version of said document that is altered with respect to said item of sensitive information.