Collaborative browsing of the internet
US6732145B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 27, 1998 |
| Grant date | May 4, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 11, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L67/131
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a technique for collaborative browsing among users at two or more different PCs. In an illustrative system in accordance with the present invention, copies of selected URLs are shared among collaborating PCs, each of which uses the URL to retrieve the corresponding document. In this system, a PC is configured to select hyperlinks for itself and one or more other PCs. Each URL corresponding to a selected hyperlink is communicated via the Internet (using standard Internet protocols) to a server. The server broadcasts the URL to the collaborating PCs each of which retrieves the corresponding document in conventional fashion. The server knows the IP addresses of the collaborating PCs through a collaboration set-up process which occurs in advance of the actual collaborative browsing session.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.