Patent ID: 7603357

Claim:
A computer program product, stored on a machine-readable medium, the computer program product comprising instructions to perform operations comprising: proving a first copy of an original asset for use by a first user, the original asset being available for use and editing by multiple users, the original asset and the first copy each having a corresponding state; monitoring changes in the state of the original asset, in the state of the first copy, and in one or more additional states corresponding to one or more additional copies of the original asset, the additional copies of the original asset corresponding to one or more concurrent users from the multiple users, the changes being caused by actions of the first user and the concurrent users; if a conflict is detected between the state of the first copy and the state of the original asset, or between the state of the first copy and the states of the additional copies, providing guidance to the first user about how to resolve the conflict; detecting when the first user has made one or more changes to the first copy of the original asset; and upon detecting that the first user has made one or more changes to the first copy of the original asset, automatically attempting to lock the original asset on behalf of the first user, wherein detecting the conflict comprises determining whether the original asset is already locked on behalf of one of the multiple users, and wherein the instructions providing guidance comprises providing the first user with an option to disregard the changes made to the first copy of the original asset.