Program, method, and information processing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a program, a method and an information processor for promoting the use of an electronic contract by further facilitating the management of a contract while limiting a target person who can browse the contract depending on the contract.SOLUTION: In a server 20 which is an information processor, a storage part 202 has a document management database 213 for managing a document such as contract document data showing contract contents agreed by persons concerned, and a user database 211 for storing information of persons concerned related to a contract of the contract document data. When receiving a request to refer to the contract data from a user, the control unit 203 specifies a range in which the contract data can be referred to according to whether the user who makes the request is a person concerned with the contract data, and presents the contract data to the user who makes the request according to the specified range in which the contract data can be referred to.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program, a method, and an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] In conducting business activities, various contracts are concluded and the concluded contracts are managed. Electronic contract services are also used to approve document data between the parties, and the approved document data is managed on the service. For example, there are witness and party-based electronic signature methods.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes an electronic contract system. As a method of electronic contracting, Patent Document 1 describes uploading electronic data of a contract to a cloud server, accepting an operation by the sender to agree to the contract, the sender designating the user of the recipient requesting the contract, sending an email to the recipient requesting the conclusion of the agreement, and accepting an operation by the recipient to agree. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-21710 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Whether a contract is signed using paper or electronic documents, once the contract is concluded, it is necessary to manage the concluded contract. For example, when the contract period expires, decisions must be made as to whether to renew the contract and, if so, whether to change the terms of the contract. For this reason, there may be a department, such as the legal department, whose main job is to manage contracts.

[0006] Some contracts are particularly confidential due to various reasons, such as legal requirements or the parties' circumstances, such as business strategies. For example, facts related to corporate acquisitions, such as M&A contracts, are often considered to be highly confidential as insider information, and it is sometimes desirable for the contents of the contract to be known only to those involved in the contract.

[0007] On the other hand, as mentioned above, it is also necessary to store the contract and manage decisions such as renewal upon expiration of the contract period, but the parties involved in the contract conclusion do not necessarily have to take on the task of managing the contract.

[0008] As mentioned above, there is a risk that the need to access contracts for management purposes and the need to limit the persons who can access contracts are in conflict, which could result in a lack of promotion of the use of electronic contracts.

[0009] Therefore, there is a need for a technology that can make it easier to manage contracts while limiting the persons who can view the contracts as described above. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a program for operating a computer including a computer processor and a storage unit is provided. The storage unit is configured to store contract data indicating contract contents agreed upon by the parties and information on parties involved in the contract in the contract data. The program causes the computer processor to execute the following steps: accepting a request from a user to reference the contract data; specifying a range of the contract data that can be referenced depending on whether the requested user is a party to the contract data; and presenting the contract data to the requested user depending on the specified range of reference. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present disclosure, depending on the contract, it is possible to further facilitate management of the contract while limiting the persons who can view the contract as described above. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the system 1. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the server 20. As shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the terminal 10. As shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the data structure of the user database 211. As shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of the fastening management database 212. As shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the data structure of the document management database 213. As shown in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the data structure of the business operator management database 214. As shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the data structure of the review history database 215. As shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the data structure of the approval request database 216. As shown in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the data structure of the sealed letter setting database 217. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for accepting a setting to make a sealed letter for contract data that has been concluded. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for accepting a setting to make the contract data into a sealed document at the stage when the approver approves the contract data. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the flow of processing in which a user views contract data that has been set to be enclosed. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for canceling the setting of a sealed letter when a time requirement is met. [Figure 15]FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for canceling the setting of a sealed letter in accordance with the purpose of the contract. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for canceling the setting to make a sealed letter in response to a user operation. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 shows an example of an operation screen for setting the range of letters to be sealed. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 shows an example of an operation screen for viewing contract data that has been set to be enclosed. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 shows an example of an operation screen when canceling the setting to make the contract data into an envelope. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals. The names and functions of the components are also the same. Therefore, detailed descriptions thereof will not be repeated.

[0014] <Outline of embodiment> Below, we will explain electronic contracts and document management systems. For example, there are contracts such as loan agreements and M&A contracts that are recognized as having highly confidential text. There is a demand for the scope of access to such contracts to be limited to those who know about the contract and those who agree to the contract. There is also a need to conclude such contracts electronically, rather than by stamping them on paper.

[0015] On the other hand, once a contract is concluded, whether it is a paper contract with a seal or an electronic contract, work must be done to manage the contract period, etc. This work is not necessarily carried out by the parties to the contract, but may be carried out separately by a person who manages the contract (a contract manager).

[0016] Therefore, it is necessary to balance the demands for manageability (ability to view documents for the purpose of managing contracts) with the demand for confidentiality (ability to limit viewing to those involved).

[0017] In the following embodiments, a technology for restricting (masking) access to a contract by limiting it to information that must be kept confidential will be described. While all parties to the contract can view all contract information (contract, management information), including information that must be kept confidential (while allowing access in an unmasked state), access is restricted and the contract administrator can view the information in a masked state. For example, the contract administrator can recognize the existence of a contract on his or her screen, but the content is displayed in a way that prevents the administrator from viewing it. Here, information necessary for contract management tasks, such as who within the company is involved in the contract and the date and time the contract was sent and received, is presented unmasked to the contract administrator.

[0018] For example, in the process of an electronic contract, the sender of the contract may be able to set up masking depending on the confidentiality of the contract. In the process of an electronic contract, anyone who participates in the approval workflow may be treated as a party to the contract.

[0019] In this way, a contract manager who is not a party to a masked contract can be prevented from viewing information such as the document title, information about the other party, access to the contract file, and information for managing the contract (such as the contract period and whether it is automatically renewed), while still being able to view the existence of the contract and information about the party within the company. By being able to view information about the party within the company, the contract manager can inquire about the contract contents with the party. This makes it possible to better balance the requirements for manageability and confidentiality.

[0020] <1.1 Overall system configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the system 1.

[0021] 1 includes a server 20 for a contract conclusion and document management service, a user terminal 10, a server 93 for a document review service, a server 94 for a business information provision service, a server 95 for an artificial intelligence (large-scale language model) service, and a server 96 for a personnel management service. These devices are connected for communication via a network 80.

[0022] In the illustrated example, the terminal 10 is shown as the terminal used by users of the contract conclusion and document management service provided by the server 20, and each user operates their own terminal.

[0023] Server 20 is a device that provides a service for electronically concluding contracts and a service for managing document data concluded through electronic contracts. In system 1, the contract conclusion service provided by server 20 and the document data management service may be provided by different devices or different businesses. For example, server 20 may provide a document management service and, in addition to data on electronically signed contracts, optically read paper contracts with stamps to extract information such as the contract period and whether the contract is automatically renewed, and manage this information together with the scanned data on the contract as management information. This allows users to be notified when the contract period expires.

[0024] The server 20 is a server that provides services to support operations such as applications for approval in organizations (business companies, etc.) that conduct business activities. The server 20 provides a service to users that enables them to design a workflow for obtaining budget approval among multiple users, for example.

[0025] The terminal 10 is a device operated by a user.

[0026] The server 92 of the business support system service provides users with tools that can be used in the business of the organization. The server 92 of the business support system service provides users with a system for submitting approval applications as part of the business of the organization.

[0027] The document review service server 93 is a service that supports document data reviews by accepting document data such as contracts and term sheets that specify contract terms and providing users with information such as whether each clause is favorable or unfavorable to the company, whether there are any missing clauses, and the importance of review items. The document review service server 93 provides a service that supports the above review using a rule base or a trained model. For example, a rule base may be used to review document data by previously associating specific wording or expressions with favorable or unfavorable conditions and explanations. Furthermore, the above review service can be provided by using data obtained by experts reviewing contracts, term sheets, etc. as training data to generate a trained model that responds with review results in response to input document data. The document review service server 93 can also summarize the contents of contracts and generate review comments using a large-scale language model and provide the results to users.

[0028] The server 94 of the business information providing service collects information on organizations and groups such as business companies, and provides a service of presenting this information to users. The server 94 accumulates information related to the operation of organizations, etc. by collecting publicly available information such as news articles and investor relations information, and also by the operator of the business information providing service independently collecting information through interviews, etc. This information includes information related to the credibility of organizations such as business companies. The server 94 collects the following information as information related to the operation of organizations, etc., and provides it to users. IR information and news articles, including M&A announcements, business partnerships, etc. Interviews with people involved in the organization The server 94 also collects the following information relating to the organization's credibility: Whether the organization is (or may be) a party that falls under the conditions for contract termination, such as being an anti-social force. For example, there may be publicly available information, such as a database or news article, that indicates that the organization falls under the above conditions. The reputation of a business company or other organization, such as when consumers have a negative reaction and the information is spread in the news, on social media, etc. For example, information may be spread on social media with a certain number of impressions along with negative keywords. Information about business performance, such as sales, revenue (profit amount, profit margin, etc.), and assessment results regarding business continuity (continued losses, possibility of bankruptcy, bond ratings, etc.). The large-scale language model service server 95 is a server that executes language processing tasks using a language model constructed by a learning process including artificial intelligence (AI). An LLM (Large Language Model) is a server that has previously learned a large amount of large-scale data (text data, etc.), such as web content on the Internet, or a large amount of data stored in a specified database, and can execute various language processing tasks by providing the task.

[0029] The artificial intelligence service server 95 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "large-scale language model service server 95") accepts prompt inputs in the form of text, images, voice, etc., and generates and responds to the prompts. Examples of LLMs include GPT-3 and GPT-4 developed by OpenAI, and BERT developed by Google.

[0030] The personnel management service server 96 provides services to support recruitment, labor, and other operations for users such as the personnel department of an organization that conducts business activities. The personnel management service server 96, for example, manages a list of employees, and updates the employee list each time an employee joins or leaves the company. The personnel management service server 96 stores information for managing human resources, such as employee salaries and employee evaluations.

[0031] In this embodiment, each device (terminal device, server, etc.) can also be considered as an information processing device. That is, a collection of devices can be considered as one "information processing device," and system 1 can be formed as a collection of multiple devices. The way in which multiple functions required to realize system 1 according to this embodiment are allocated to one or multiple pieces of hardware can be determined appropriately in consideration of the processing capacity of each piece of hardware and / or the specifications required for system 1.

[0032] The terminal 10 is realized, for example, as follows. · Handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets Desktop PCs (Personal Computers), laptop PCs Wearable devices worn by users (wristwatches, glasses, etc.) The terminal 10 includes a communication IF (Interface) 12 , an input device 13 , an output device 14 , a memory 15 , a storage 16 , and a processor 19 .

[0033] The communication IF 12 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals so that the terminal 10 can communicate with an external device.

[0034] The input device 13 is a device for receiving input operations from a user (for example, a touch panel, a touch pad, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, etc.).

[0035] The output device 14 is a device (such as a display or speaker) for presenting information to the user.

[0036] The memory 15 is for temporarily storing programs and data to be processed by the programs, and is a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0037] The storage 16 is for storing data, and is, for example, a flash memory or a hard disk drive (HDD).

[0038] The processor 19 is hardware for executing an instruction set written in a program, and is composed of an arithmetic unit, a register, a peripheral circuit, and the like.

[0039] The server 20 includes a communication IF 22 , an input / output IF 23 , a memory 25 , a storage 26 , and a processor 29 .

[0040] The communication IF 22 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals so that the server 20 can communicate with external devices.

[0041] The input / output IF 23 functions as an interface with an input device for receiving input operations from the user and an output device for presenting information to the user.

[0042] The memory 25 is for temporarily storing programs and data to be processed by the programs, and is a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0043] The storage 26 is for storing data, and is, for example, a flash memory or a hard disk drive (HDD).

[0044] The processor 29 is hardware for executing an instruction set written in a program, and is composed of an arithmetic unit, registers, peripheral circuits, and the like.

[0045] <1.2 Functional configuration of server 20> 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the server 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the server 20 functions as a communication unit 201, a storage unit 202, and a control unit 203.

[0046] The communication unit 201 performs processing for the server 20 to communicate with external devices.

[0047] The storage unit 202 stores various databases such as a user database 211, a contract management database 212, a document management database 213, a business management database 214, a review history database 215, an approval application database 216, and an envelope setting database 217.

[0048] The user database 211 is a database for managing users.

[0049] The user database 211 contains information such as the user's name, employee number, etc., for using the services provided by the server 20. Details will be described later.

[0050] The contract conclusion management database 212 is a database that manages the contract conclusion process carried out by the electronic contract service provided by the server 20. Details will be described later.

[0051] The document management database 213 is a database for managing document data, and includes information for managing document data concluded through the electronic contract service provided by the server 20. Details will be described later.

[0052] The business management database 214 is a database that stores information on organizations such as businesses. For example, the server 20 communicates with the business information providing service server 94 to acquire this information and update the business management database 214. Details will be described later.

[0053] The review history database 215 is a database that manages the history of reviews of document data such as contracts, etc. Details will be described later.

[0054] The approval request database 216 is a database that manages approval requests for concluding contracts, etc. For example, the server 20 communicates with the server 92 of the business support system service, acquires information related to approval requests, and updates the approval request database 216. Details will be described later.

[0055] The envelope setting database 217 is a database that stores the range of restrictions on viewing for non-related parties, the range of viewing allowed, and conditions for lifting the viewing restrictions, while allowing those related to the document (for example, approvers of a contract, or persons set by the administrator as related parties to the document) to view the documents managed in the document management database 213. Details will be described later.

[0056] The control unit 203 is realized by the processor 29 reading a program stored in the storage unit 202 and executing instructions included in the program. By operating in accordance with the program, the control unit 203 exhibits functions shown as a reception control module 2041, a transmission control module 2042, a user management module 2043, a conclusion processing module 2044, a document management module 2045, an approval processing module 2046, a mask setting module 2047, and a review processing module 2048.

[0057] The reception control module 2041 controls the process by which the server 20 receives signals from external devices in accordance with a communication protocol.

[0058] The transmission control module 2042 controls the process in which the server 20 transmits signals to external devices in accordance with a communication protocol.

[0059] The user management module 2043 is a module for managing information about each user who uses the system 1. Specifically, the user management module 2043 accepts registration of information about each user and updates the user database 211.

[0060] The conclusion processing module 2044 controls the process of the parties approving document data as a process for concluding a contract by electronic contract. Specifically, the conclusion processing module 2044 notifies each user who approves the document data, and updates the conclusion management database 212 in response to the operation of approving the document data.

[0061] The document management module 2045 controls the process of managing document data by referring to the document management database 213. Specifically, the document management module 2045 notifies the user whether to renew the contract when the contract period expires, based on the information about the contract period set in the document data, and updates the document management database 213 in response to the user's operation (such as renewal).

[0062] The approval request processing module 2046 receives an operation to apply for approval from a user and controls the process in which an approver approves the approval. Specifically, the approval request processing module 2046 notifies each user who approves the approval request, and updates the approval request database 216 in response to the operation to approve the approval.

[0063] The mask setting module 2047 accepts settings for restricting viewing of document data to users who are not related parties to the document data, and updates the envelope setting database 217. The mask setting module 2047 refers to the envelope setting database 217 and presents the document data based on the range of viewing of the document data depending on the user viewing the document data (depending on whether the user is set as a related party to the contract). When the mask setting module 2047 refers to the envelope setting database 217 and determines that the conditions for lifting the viewing restriction are met, it lifts the viewing restriction and presents the document data to the user.

[0064] The review processing module 2048 records a review of document data to be reviewed (for example, each clause of a contract is the subject of review) and updates the review history database 215. The review processing module 2048 communicates with the document review service server 93 and transmits the document data to be reviewed, causing the server 93 to perform review processing, and receives the results to update the review history database 215. The review processing module 2048 also accepts an operation to review document data (for example, an operation to input comments associated with the entire contract or each clause of the contract) from the user who is performing the review, and updates the review history database 215.

[0065] <1.3 Configuration of Terminal 10> FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the terminal 10. As shown in FIG.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 10 includes multiple antennas (antenna 111, antenna 112), communication units (first communication unit 120, second communication unit 121) corresponding to the respective antennas, an input device 130 (including a touch-sensitive device 131), a display 132, an audio processing unit 140, a microphone 141, a speaker 142, a position information sensor 150, a camera 160, a motion sensor 170, a memory unit 180, and a control unit 190. The terminal 10 also has functions and configurations (e.g., a battery for storing power, a power supply circuit for controlling the supply of power from the battery to each circuit, etc.) that are not specifically shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the blocks included in the terminal 10 are electrically connected by a bus or the like.

[0067] The antenna 111 emits a signal emitted by the terminal 10 as a radio wave. The antenna 111 also receives a radio wave from space and provides the received signal to the first communication unit 120.

[0068] The antenna 112 emits a signal emitted by the terminal 10 as a radio wave. The antenna 112 also receives a radio wave from space and provides the received signal to the second communication unit 121.

[0069] The first communication unit 120 performs modulation / demodulation processing and the like for transmitting and receiving signals via the antenna 111 so that the terminal 10 can communicate with other wireless devices. The second communication unit 121 performs modulation / demodulation processing and the like for transmitting and receiving signals via the antenna 112 so that the terminal 10 can communicate with other wireless devices. The first communication unit 120 and the second communication unit 121 are communication modules including a tuner, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) calculation circuit, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) calculation circuit, a high-frequency circuit, and the like. The first communication unit 120 and the second communication unit 121 perform modulation / demodulation, frequency conversion, and the like for wireless signals transmitted and received by the terminal 10, and provide the received signals to the control unit 190.

[0070] Input device 130 has a mechanism for accepting input operations by a user. Specifically, input device 130 is configured as a touch screen and includes touch-sensitive device 131. Touch-sensitive device 131 accepts input operations by a user of terminal 10. Touch-sensitive device 131 detects the user's touch position on the touch panel, for example, by using a capacitive touch panel. Touch-sensitive device 131 outputs a signal indicating the user's touch position detected by the touch panel to control unit 190 as an input operation.

[0071] The display 132 displays data such as images, videos, and text under the control of the control unit 190. The display 132 is realized by, for example, an LCD, an organic EL display, or the like.

[0072] The audio processing unit 140 modulates and demodulates audio signals. The audio processing unit 140 modulates a signal provided from the microphone 141 and provides the modulated signal to the control unit 190. The audio processing unit 140 also provides the audio signal to the speaker 142. The audio processing unit 140 is realized, for example, by a processor for audio processing. The microphone 141 accepts audio input and provides an audio signal corresponding to the audio input to the audio processing unit 140. The speaker 142 converts the audio signal provided from the audio processing unit 140 into audio and outputs the audio to the outside of the terminal 10.

[0073] The location information sensor 150 is a sensor that detects the location of the terminal 10, and is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) module. The GPS module is a receiving device used in a satellite positioning system. The satellite positioning system receives signals from at least three or four satellites, and detects the current location of the terminal 10 equipped with the GPS module based on the received signals.

[0074] The camera 160 is a device that receives light with a light receiving element and outputs the received light as a captured image. The camera 160 is, for example, a depth camera that can detect the distance from the camera 160 to a subject being photographed.

[0075] The motion sensor 170 includes an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, etc., and detects the movement of the terminal 10 .

[0076] The storage unit 180 is configured with, for example, a flash memory, and stores data and programs used by the terminal 10. The various types of information stored in the storage unit 180 will be described later.

[0077] The control unit 190 controls the operation of the terminal 10 by reading a program stored in the storage unit 180 and executing instructions included in the program. The control unit 190 is, for example, an application processor. By operating in accordance with the program, the control unit 190 fulfills the functions of an operation reception unit 191, a transmission / reception unit 192, a data processing unit 193, a notification control unit 194, and a storage control unit 195.

[0078] Operation acceptance unit 191 performs processing to accept a user's input operation to an input device such as touch-sensitive device 131. Operation acceptance unit 191 determines the type of operation, such as whether the user's operation is a flick operation, a tap operation, or a drag (swipe) operation, based on information about the coordinates where the user has touched touch-sensitive device 131 with a finger or the like.

[0079] The transmitting / receiving unit 192 performs processing for the terminal 10 to transmit and receive data to and from an external device such as the server 20 in accordance with a communication protocol.

[0080] The data processing unit 193 performs calculations on data that the terminal 10 has received as input in accordance with a program, and outputs the calculation results to a memory or the like.

[0081] The notification control unit 194 performs processing for displaying a display image on the display 132, processing for outputting sound from the speaker 142, and processing for generating vibrations.

[0082] The storage control unit 195 controls the storage of data in the storage unit 180 .

[0083] A description will be given of various types of information stored in storage unit 180. In one aspect, storage unit 180 stores various types of information such as user information 181.

[0084] The user information 181 is information about a user who uses the services of the server 20. The user information 181 includes, for example, information such as the employee number and name of the user.

[0085] <2 Data Structure> 4 is a diagram showing the data structure of the user database 211. The user database 211 includes the following items: "User ID," "Business Operator ID," "Name," "Email Address," "Department," "Position," "Date of Employment," "Date of Resignation," and "Qualifications."

[0086] The item "user ID" is information that identifies each user.

[0087] The item "business operator ID" is information that identifies each business operator.

[0088] The item "Name" is information about the user's name.

[0089] The item "email address" is information that identifies a user and serves as contact information for the user.

[0090] The item "department" is information about the user's department.

[0091] Specifically, the item "department" may include the following as information about the department to which the user belongs: - Business departments, sales departments, etc. that do not primarily handle legal affairs Departments that primarily handle legal affairs, such as the legal department and intellectual property department The item "position" is information about the position of the user.

[0092] The item "Date of joining" is information about the date on which a user joined an organization.

[0093] The item "Retirement Date" is information about the date on which the user retired from the organization.

[0094] The item "Qualifications held" is information about qualifications held by the user.

[0095] Specifically, the item "Qualifications held" includes the following information as qualifications held by the user: Qualifications that are expected to give the knowledge to review contracts, such as a lawyer Qualifications that are expected to show knowledge of business activities, such as small and medium-sized enterprise management consultants Qualifications that are expected to have the necessary knowledge in accounting, tax, etc., such as certified public accountants and tax accountants 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of the agreement management database 212. The agreement management database 212 includes an item "agreement ID," an item "sender ID," an item "recipient ID," an item "data to be agreed upon," an item "first email address," an item "second email address," an item "sent date and time," an item "user signature date and time," an item "agreement completion date and time," and an item "status."

[0096] The item "contract ID" is information that identifies each contract conclusion procedure.

[0097] Specifically, the item "Conclusion ID" includes identification information issued by the server 20 when a new registration of a process for concluding an electronic contract by specifying an approver is accepted for document data to be approved by the parties.

[0098] The item "sender ID" is information for identifying the party who will be the sender when the party approves document data.

[0099] Specifically, the item "sender ID" may be associated with information about the business (business ID) or information about the user (user ID) managed in the user database 211.

[0100] The item "recipient ID" is information for identifying the party who will be the recipient when the party approves document data.

[0101] Specifically, the item "Receiver ID" is information that identifies the party designated by the sender's user as the receiver, and like the sender ID, may be associated with information about the business (business ID) or the user (user ID) managed in the user database 211.

[0102] The item "data to be concluded" is document data to be approved by the parties.

[0103] Specifically, the item "data to be concluded" indicates data (files such as PDF) of transaction documents such as contracts, applications, and estimates.

[0104] The item "first email address" is information for identifying a user who will be the sender in the process of concluding a contract by approving document data, and is the email address that will be used to contact the user.

[0105] Specifically, the item "first email address" is the email address of the user who performs the operation to send document data as the sender.

[0106] The item "secondary email address" is information for identifying a user who approves as a recipient in the process of concluding a contract by approving document data, and is an email address that serves as a contact point for that user.

[0107] Specifically, the item "second email address" is the email address of the user who will approve the document data as the recipient. Note that there may be multiple users who approve the document data among the parties, and if the user who sends the document data specifies the email addresses of multiple users who will approve the document data, the specified email addresses are also managed in the agreement management database 212.

[0108] The item "transmission date and time" is information about the date and time when an operation to transmit document data was accepted from a user who will be the sender in order to request approval of the document data from each user.

[0109] The item "user signature date and time" is information on the date and time when the user performed an operation to approve the document data.

[0110] Specifically, the item "User Signature Date and Time" includes information on the timing when a user who has been requested to approve document data checks the document data, performs an operation to approve, and then digitally signs the document data by having the operation accepted by the server 20. The server 20 digitally signs the document data each time a user performs an operation to approve, and stores the timing information in the agreement management database 212.

[0111] The item "conclusion completion date and time" is information about the date and time when the conclusion of the contract was completed.

[0112] Specifically, when a contract is concluded using the electronic contract service provided by server 20, the item "Date and time of conclusion completion" stores the date and time information in the conclusion management database 212, assuming that the conclusion of the contract is completed when all users designated to approve the document data perform the approval operation.

[0113] The item "status" is information indicating the stage at which the contract conclusion work is currently underway.

[0114] Specifically, the item "status" may include the following as the stage of the contract conclusion process: Before sending: Indicates that the document data has been registered on the server 20 by the sender, but has not yet been sent to the recipient. - In Progress: Indicates that the document data has been sent and approval by each user has not yet been completed. Completed: Indicates that the contract has been concluded Rejected, returned: Indicates that the contract was not completed due to reasons such as the user not approving the document data, or a timeout occurring after a certain period of time had passed without approval being completed. 6 is a diagram showing the data structure of the document management database 213. The document management database 213 includes an item "document management ID," an item "contract ID," an item "document title," an item "contract start date," an item "contract expiration date," an item "automatic renewal status," and an item "related parties."

[0115] The item "document management ID" is information for identifying each document data being managed.

[0116] The item "contract ID" is information that identifies each contract conclusion procedure that the parties have performed to approve the document data.

[0117] Specifically, the item "contract ID" may be associated with information (contract ID) that identifies each contract conclusion, which is managed in the contract management database 212.

[0118] The item "document title" is information about the title of the document data being managed.

[0119] Specifically, the item "document title" may be a word used as a type or name of a contract, such as a confidentiality agreement, a sales contract, or a license agreement.

[0120] The item "contract start date" is information indicated as the start date of the contract in the document data.

[0121] Specifically, the value of the item "contract start date" may be set as follows. When the contract is concluded, the server 20 reads the start date of the contract from the contract data. - Information entered by the user as the contract start date The same applies to the following items "Contract Expiration Date" and "Automatic Renewal Enabled."

[0122] The item "contract expiration date" is information indicated as the contract expiration date in the document data.

[0123] The item "automatic renewal" is information indicating whether the contract period is automatically extended (automatic renewal) when the contract period expires in the document data without the parties having to re-enter the contract.

[0124] The item "related party" is information on a user who is designated as a related party to a document (for example, a contract) managed by the document management database 213.

[0125] Specifically, the item "related parties" may manage the following users as information on related parties of document data. A user who is recorded as a user who approves the document data in the agreement management database 212. Note that the server 20 may identify the person concerned with the document data by referring to the user who approved the document data in the agreement management database 212, without storing the information on the person concerned in the document management database 213. In the contract conclusion service provided by the server 20, in addition to the user who approves the document data, the designated user (the transfer destination user) is accepted as the user to share the document data with once the conclusion is completed. For example, in the case of minutes of a board of directors meeting, a director may approve the document data and share the approved minutes with other users such as executive officers. -Other users designated by users who approve the document data and have the authority to view the document data as parties involved in the document data 7 is a diagram showing the data structure of the business operator management database 214. The business operator management database 214 includes an item "business operator ID," an item "business operator name," an item "disclosed information type," an item "disclosed information link," an item "disclosure date and time," and an item "disclosed content summary."

[0126] The item "business operator ID" is information that identifies each business operator.

[0127] Specifically, the item "business ID" may be associated with information about the business (business ID) managed in the user database 211.

[0128] The item "business name" is information about the name of the business.

[0129] The item "disclosed information type" is information about the type of information that is disclosed about the business operator.

[0130] Specifically, the item "disclosed information type" may hold the following types of information: IR information (more specifically, information on M&A, financial results, fundraising, etc.) Product information (e.g., product development plans, product releases, etc.) ·Business partnership Personnel information (such as announcements of members joining the management team) The item "Public Information Link" is information on a reference destination for referencing publicly available information.

[0131] Specifically, the item "public information link" includes information such as the URL where the publicly available information is posted.

[0132] The item "publication date and time" is information about the timing at which the information was made public.

[0133] Specifically, the item "publication date and time" includes the following timing information: Date and time information included in publicly available information (for example, the distribution date and time included in a news article) Timing information recorded by the business information providing service server 94 crawling or manually collecting public information The item "Summary of Disclosure Contents" is a summary of the disclosed information.

[0134] Specifically, the item "Summary of Disclosure Contents" holds information summarized as follows. Information that has been summarized by the large-scale language model service server 95 from the published information. For example, the summarized information is obtained by sending the published information to the large-scale language model service server 95 together with a prompt that instructs the summary to be within a certain number of characters and in a specified format. For example, the specified format may include a prompt to summarize along predetermined items such as the parties involved in the published information, the published event, etc. This makes it even easier for the server 20 to collect and store information about each business in the business management database 214. Information that has been manually summarized from the publicly available information by the operator of the server 20, the operator of the server 94 of the business information providing service, etc. 8 is a diagram showing the data structure of the review history database 215. The review history database 215 includes an item "review ID," an item "document data," an item "document management ID," an item "review date and time," an item "review user," an item "review content," and an item "review requester's evaluation."

[0135] The item "review ID" is information that identifies each review performed on document data.

[0136] The item "Document Data" is information about the document data to be reviewed.

[0137] The item "document management ID" is information for identifying each document data being managed.

[0138] Specifically, the item "document management ID" may be associated with information (document management ID) that identifies each piece of document data, which is managed in the document management database 213.

[0139] The item "review date and time" is information about the date and time when the review was performed.

[0140] The item "reviewer user" is information about the user who reviewed the item.

[0141] The item "review content" is information indicating the results of the review.

[0142] Specifically, the item "review content" may include the following as review results: - Review results by the document review service server 93 (advantages and disadvantages of the conditions, importance, proposed revisions, etc.) Comments and suggested corrections entered by users (including information about users who enter review comments) The item "rating of review requester" is information indicating the rating of the user who requested the review on the review content of the reviewer.

[0143] Specifically, the item "review requester's evaluation" includes the result of the user who requested the review evaluating the reviewer based on the operation performed on the review result, and the following are possible. The user who requested the review can set a score for the review result. The number of reactions, such as "likes," added to posts sent via messaging tools to contact users for reviews 9 is a diagram showing the data structure of the approval request database 216. The approval request database 216 includes an item "approval request ID," an item "applicant ID," an item "approver ID," an item "application date," an item "approval date," an item "application content," and an item "conclusion ID."

[0144] The item "approval request ID" is information that identifies each approval request.

[0145] The item "Applicant ID" is information that identifies the user who is the applicant for the approval request.

[0146] Specifically, the item "applicant ID" may be associated with user information (user ID) managed in the user database 211.

[0147] The item "Approver ID" is information that identifies the user who approves the approval request.

[0148] Specifically, the item "approver ID" may be associated with user information (user ID) managed in the user database 211.

[0149] The item "application date" is information about the date and time when an operation to transmit the approval request data was accepted from the applicant user in order to request each user to approve the approval request data.

[0150] The item "approval date" is information about the date and time when the user performed an operation to approve the data of the approval request.

[0151] The item "application content" is information indicating the content of the approval request.

[0152] Specifically, the item "application content" includes the content of the approval request, such as: Conclusion of contracts Budget approval Expense claim The item "contract ID" is information that identifies each contract conclusion procedure.

[0153] Specifically, the item "conclusion ID" may be associated with information (conclusion ID) that identifies each contract conclusion procedure, which is managed in the conclusion management database 212. This associates the approval request data in the approval request database 216 with the contract conclusion data in the conclusion management database 212.

[0154] 10 is a diagram showing the data structure of the envelope setting database 217. The envelope setting database 217 includes an item "document management ID," an item "envelope setting business ID," an item "envelope setting user ID," an item "envelope setting date and time," an item "viewing restriction range," an item "viewable range," an item "cancellation conditions," an item "cancelled," and an item "cancellation date and time."

[0155] The item "document management ID" is information for identifying each document data being managed.

[0156] Specifically, the item “document management ID” may be associated with the document management ID managed in the document management database 213 .

[0157] The item "Envelope Setting Business ID" is information about a business that sets the scope of access restrictions for document data.

[0158] Specifically, the item "envelope setting business ID" may be associated with a business ID managed in the user database 211.

[0159] The item "envelope setting user ID" is information about a user who sets the range of access restrictions for document data.

[0160] Specifically, the item "envelope setting user ID" may be associated with user information (user ID) managed in the user database 211. Furthermore, the user who can set the range of restricted viewing may be the user who sent or received the document data and performed the operation to approve it (the user who is managed as having signed in the contract management database 212).

[0161] The item "Letter setting date and time" is information on the timing at which the range of access restrictions for document data was set.

[0162] Specifically, the item "Letter Set Date and Time" includes the following timing information: When a contract is concluded (for example, a user designated as a sender or a receiver in the contract management database 212 may set the above at the time of sending or receiving). After the contract is concluded (for example, the sender or recipient may set the above settings at any time after the contract is concluded) Before a contract is concluded (for example, at the stage of an approval request before a contract is concluded, it may be specified to set a range of access restrictions on document data. In this case, information to that effect may be managed in the approval request database 216. The server 20 refers to the approval request database 216, and if the above setting has been made for document data related to the conclusion of a contract, it accepts the setting of a range of access restrictions on the document data) The item "viewing restriction range" is information on the range of restrictions on viewing of document data.

[0163] Specifically, the item "viewing restriction range" accepts the following settings as the range for restricting viewing. The entire contents of the contract (only parties to the contract can view files signed by the parties) · Contract clause unit - Contract wording (for example, some clauses (such as amounts, scope of license, etc.) may be restricted to viewing by those not involved) Information for managing contracts (contract period, contract date, etc.) The item "viewable range" is information about the range of viewable document data that can be viewed by non-related parties.

[0164] Specifically, the item "viewable range" accepts the following settings as the range that can be viewed by non-related parties: Note that this information may also be set to a range that can only be viewed by related parties. -Information on the user's side among the parties involved in the flow that approved the document data Information to manage the contract The item "cancellation condition" is information on the condition for canceling the setting of the range of restrictions on viewing of document data.

[0165] Specifically, the item "cancellation conditions" includes the following cancellation conditions: A certain period of time has passed since the conclusion of the contract. For example, a certain period of time has passed since the contract date indicated in the document data, or a certain period of time has passed since the timing of the completion of the contract. Here, the certain period of time may be a period of time indicated by law or rules established within the business company as a period during which documents are not to be disclosed. An event that corresponds to the purpose of the contract has occurred. For example, if such an event occurs, the circumstances that restrict access to the document data may no longer exist. For example, in the case of a contract relating to an M&A transaction, a press release announcing the M&A may be issued, and the parties and the purchase price may be made public, which may mean that access to the document data no longer needs to be restricted. Even if the scope of viewing is set to be restricted, the setting can be cancelled by an operation of a related person who can view the contents of the document data (for example, a user of the item "related person" in the document management database 213). The item "Released" is information indicating whether or not the setting of the range restricting viewing of document data has been cancelled.

[0166] The item "Removal Date and Time" is information about the timing when the setting of the range of restricted viewing was removed.

[0167] <3 operations> FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for accepting a setting to make a sealed letter for contract data that has been concluded.

[0168] In step S1121, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 refers to the document management database 213 and outputs to the user terminal 10 a list of contracts that have been concluded and are being managed.

[0169] In step S1111, the terminal 10 displays on the screen the list of contracts received from the server 20, and accepts the specification of the contract to be masked, the setting of the range to be masked (the range to restrict viewing), and the setting of the conditions for removing the mask from, for example, the user of the parties to the contract (the "Parties" item in the document management database 213, the user who signed the contract shown in the contract management database 212, etc.). The terminal 10 transmits the contents of the user's operation to the server 20.

[0170] In step S1123, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 updates the envelope setting database 217 based on the information on the user's operation details received from the terminal 10. As a result, when a user attempts to view the concluded contract, the mask setting module 2047 allows the user to view the document data depending on the masked range and whether or not the viewing user is a related party to the document data.

[0171] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for accepting a setting to make the contract data into a sealed document at the stage when the approver approves the contract data.

[0172] In step S1221, the contract conclusion processing module 2044 of the server 20 outputs to the terminal 10 an operation screen for transmitting a contract conclusion request.

[0173] In step S1211, the terminal 10 displays an operation screen and receives from the user the specification of the contract to be concluded and the information of the user who will be the destination (receiver). The terminal 10 receives from the user who will be the sender the setting of the range to be masked and the setting of the conditions for removing the mask for the contract to be concluded.

[0174] The contract data is managed as something agreed upon by the parties by recording the operation of approving the contract data in the server 20. When approving the contract data, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 receives a setting from the user (sender or receiver) who will be the approver as to whether or not to limit the scope of access to the contract data.

[0175] Specifically, as an operation for approving contract data, when one of the users of the parties to the contract of the contract data acts as the sender and sends an approval request to the other parties, or when a user who will be the recipient in response to the transmission receives an approval request, the mask setting module 2047 may receive from the user who is the approver a setting as to whether or not to limit the range of information that can be referenced.

[0176] When one of the parties to the contract data accepts a setting to limit the range of data that can be referenced, while the other party does not, the mask setting module 2047 may store whether or not there is a limit to the range of data that can be referenced for each party in association with the contract data in the envelope setting database 217. For example, one of the parties may not have a limit to the range of data that can be referenced, but the other party may have a limit to the range of data that can be viewed only by those involved in the contract data.

[0177] When a setting is made to restrict the range of accessibility of one of the parties to the contract data, the mask setting module 2047 may set a user who has no restrictions on the range of accessibility of the contract data as the user who approves the contract data, regardless of whether a setting is made to restrict the range of accessibility of the other parties. For example, if one of the parties has not set any restrictions on the range of accessibility, but the other has set restrictions on the range of accessibility that can be viewed only by those involved in the contract data, then it is possible that one of the parties may also set restrictions.

[0178] In step S1223, the concatenation processing module 2044 of the server 20 updates the concatenation management database 212 in accordance with the information of the recipient designated by the sender. The mask setting module 2047 updates the sealed letter setting database 217 if the sender has set a mask.

[0179] In step S1225, the contract conclusion processing module 2044 of the server 20 transmits the contract conclusion request to the specified recipient. In the example of Fig. 12, it is shown that the contract conclusion request is transmitted to a terminal different from the terminal of the sender.

[0180] In step S1227, the conclusion processing module 2044 of the server 20 accepts an operation to approve the contract data from the recipient and updates the conclusion management database 212. When the mask setting module 2047 accepts a setting of the mask range and the setting of the conditions for removing the mask from the recipient, it updates the envelope setting database 217 according to the recipient's setting.

[0181] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the flow of processing in which a user views contract data that has been set to be enclosed.

[0182] In step S1321, the document management module 2045 of the server 20 refers to the document management database 213 and the sealed letter setting database 217, and determines whether or not the access is from a party to the contract for each contract under management. The document management module 2045 outputs information for displaying a list of contracts to the terminal 10 as an operation screen for viewing the contracts.

[0183] In step S1311, the terminal 10 displays a screen including a list of contracts. For contracts for which the user of the terminal 10 has restrictions on viewing, the server 20 displays the list of contracts by restricting the range of viewing in accordance with the settings in the envelope setting database 217. For example, if there is a restriction on the range of accessibility for the name of a contract in the list of contracts, the range of accessibility is restricted by obscuring, blacking out, or hiding the relevant range, while still allowing the user to confirm that the contract exists. The terminal 10 accepts an operation from the user to specify the contract to be viewed.

[0184] In step S1323, the document management module 2045 of the server 20 receives a request from the user to refer to the contract data.

[0185] In step S1325, if the user making the request is a party to the contract, the document management module 2045 of the server 20 outputs the contract data to the terminal 10 without any restrictions on the range of accessibility. If the user making the request is not a party to the contract data, the mask setting module 2047 outputs the contract data to the terminal 10 without allowing viewing of the range of data that cannot be accessed, and may output information about the party to the contract data (for example, information about the user who became an approver within the organization).

[0186] The mask setting module 2047 may specify, as the range of accessibility, at least one of the following as the range of the contract data that cannot be accessed by users who are not related parties: the wording of the clauses in the contract data, the clauses in the contract data, or the entire contract content shown in the contract data.

[0187] The mask setting module 2047 stores document information used to manage contract data, such as information on the parties and the contract period, in addition to information on the clauses of the contract content, and as for the scope of accessibility, if the user making the request is not a party to the contract data, the document information may be viewable while restricting access to information on the clauses of the contract content.

[0188] The mask setting module 2047 may specify the range of information that can be accessed by users who are not related parties, depending on the type of contract in the contract data.

[0189] More specifically, if the contract type of the contract data is an M&A contract, the mask setting module 2047 may specify that users who are not involved should not be allowed to view at least one of the information about the parties to the M&A contract and the amount related to the M&A.

[0190] In step S1313, the terminal 10 displays the contract data on the display 132 according to the range that can be referred to.

[0191] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for canceling the setting of a sealed letter when a time requirement is met.

[0192] In step S1421, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 cancels the state in which the scope in which the contract data can be referenced is restricted when a person who is not a related party to the contract data is not involved in the contract data when specific conditions are satisfied. More specifically, the mask setting module 2047 refers to the envelope setting database 217 and identifies contract data for which the state in which the scope in which the contract data can be referenced is restricted is to be cancelled due to timing requirements.

[0193] The mask setting module 2047 identifies, as a specific condition, contract data for which a certain period of time has passed since the contract data was agreed upon by the parties.

[0194] In step S1423, if the conditions for removal are met, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 removes the restriction on the range in which the contract data can be referenced, and updates the envelope setting database 217.

[0195] In step S1425, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 notifies the parties involved in the contract data related to the cancellation (such as the ``Parties'' item in the document management database 213, the user who became the approver in the contract management database 212, etc.) of the cancellation.

[0196] In step S1411, the terminal 10 displays the contract from which the restriction on the range of accessibility has been lifted.

[0197] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for canceling the setting of a sealed letter in accordance with the purpose of the contract.

[0198] In step S1521, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 refers to the envelope setting database 217 and identifies contract data for which the state in which the scope in which the contract data can be referenced is restricted is lifted on the condition that an event corresponding to the purpose of the contract occurs. In this way, the mask setting module 2047 identifies contract data for which an event corresponding to the purpose of the contract in the contract data has occurred as a specific condition.

[0199] More specifically, the mask setting module 2047 terminates the contract when an event occurs in accordance with the purpose of the contract. In the case where the contract related to the contract data is an M&A contract, the contract is terminated when information on the parties to the acquisition and the acquisition amount, which is the purpose of the M&A contract, is made public. The mask setting module 2047 refers to the business operator management database 214 to identify the contract data related to the parties whose information has been made public.

[0200] In addition, if the contract related to the contract data is a contract related to product development, the mask setting module 2047 will terminate the contract when the product that is the subject of the product development is released and the developer of the product is made public, and will refer to the business management database 214 to identify the contract data related to the party that has been made public.

[0201] In step S1523, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 refers to the information stored in the business management database 214, and if the contract data meets the conditions for cancellation, it removes the restriction on the range in which the contract data can be referenced and updates the envelope setting database 217.

[0202] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the flow of processing for canceling the setting to make a sealed letter in response to a user operation.

[0203] In step S1621, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 refers to the envelope setting database 217 and identifies the contract data that will be released from the state in which the scope in which the contract data can be referenced is restricted, provided that the user performs a release operation.

[0204] The mask setting module 2047 releases the mask when, as a specific condition, the parties involved in the contract data accept the release.

[0205] In step S1623, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 presents the contract data in which the user is a related party to the user when a certain period of time has passed since the contract was concluded, when a related party in the contract data has retired, etc. For example, the mask setting module 2047 communicates with the server 96 of the personnel management service to obtain user information related to the retired person and extracts the contract data in which the retired person is a related party.

[0206] In step S1611, the terminal 10 accepts an operation from the user to cancel the state in which the range in which the contract data can be referenced is restricted.

[0207] In step S1625, the mask setting module 2047 of the server 20 updates the envelope setting database 217 in response to the cancellation operation.

[0208] <4 Screen example> FIG. 17 shows an example of an operation screen for setting the range of letters to be sealed.

[0209] An operation screen 1700 is a screen for transmitting a contract conclusion request, and is an operation screen for receiving a setting from the user to mask the contract data (to make it into a sealed letter).

[0210] The operation screen 1700 corresponds to steps S1221 and S1211 in FIG.

[0211] The account display area 1702 is an area where information about the user's account is displayed.

[0212] The transmission setting display area 1704 is an area for displaying the settings for the sender to send the contract data to be concluded.

[0213] The envelope designation section 1706 is an operation member for accepting designation (envelope) that limits the scope of viewing of the contract data to be concluded.

[0214] In the illustrated example, the user designates the envelope designation field 1706 as an envelope by performing an operation to designate the envelope designation field 1706 .

[0215] The data acquisition section 1708 is an operation member that accepts an operation to acquire document data (contract data to be concluded) approved by the approver.

[0216] In the illustrated example, the data acquisition unit 1708 accepts upload of PDF data of the contract and displays a thumbnail and file name.

[0217] The data acquisition unit 1710 is an operation member that accepts an operation to acquire document data (contract data to be concluded) approved by the approver.

[0218] In the illustrated example, the data acquisition section 1710 indicates that in addition to the contract file specified in the data acquisition section 1708, uploading of another file to be approved is accepted.

[0219] The title designation section 1712 is an operation member for accepting the designation of the title related to the conclusion request.

[0220] In the illustrated example, the title designation section 1712 accepts input of a title in free text from the sender. The server 20 notifies the recipient of the request for conclusion (for example, by sending the request for conclusion by email and using the designated title as the subject of the email) using the title designated in the title designation section 1712. Furthermore, once the conclusion is complete, the designated title may be used for managing the contract, for example by displaying the contract in a list of contracts using the title designated in the title designation section 1712.

[0221] The name designation section 1714 is an operation member for accepting the designation of the other party to the contract requested.

[0222] In the illustrated example, the name specification unit 1714 accepts input of the other party from the sender, and may be used for managing the contract. The name specification unit 1714 may also accept specification of information (such as an email address) that identifies the user who will be the recipient, and send a request for conclusion to the user who will be the recipient.

[0223] The management information designation section 1716 is an operation member that accepts designation of information for managing the contract related to the conclusion request.

[0224] The management information designation section 1716 accepts input of management information such as the contract period from the user, and the server 20 updates the document management database 213 in accordance with the information designated by the management information designation section 1716 .

[0225] The sealed letter setting designation section 1718 is an operation member that accepts designation of the content of restrictions on reference to the sealed letter and whether or not the restrictions are to be applied.

[0226] In the illustrated example, the envelope setting specification section 1718 accepts whether or not restrictions are to be imposed on the following items. ·title - Information of the other party (the information of the party's own users is not subject to access restrictions) - Contents of the contract data (the scope of reference can be restricted to all clauses, some clauses, or some wording of each clause) Document information The sending operation unit 1720 is an operating member that accepts an operation to send a request for contract conclusion based on the document data specified by the sender (document data acquired by the data acquisition unit 1708) and information on the recipient (such as the recipient's email address specified by the name designation unit 1714).

[0227] The transmission operation unit 1720 accepts a user operation, and the server 20 updates the agreement management database 212 in response to the user operation and transmits an agreement request to the recipient.

[0228] FIG. 18 shows an example of an operation screen for viewing contract data that has been set to be enclosed.

[0229] The list display area 1722 is an area that displays a list of managed contracts and details of a specified contract.

[0230] The group designation section 1724 is an operation member for accepting designation of a group when document data is managed for each group such as a department that constitutes an organization.

[0231] The document search operation section 1726 is an operation member that accepts an operation to search for document data.

[0232] In the illustrated example, the document search operation unit 1726 accepts an operation to search for document data using free text.

[0233] The individual contract specification section 1728 is an operation member that displays a list of contracts while accepting specification of each contract so that the details can be confirmed.

[0234] In the illustrated example, the individual contract designation section 1728 displays a list of contracts associated with a specific group called "Second Business Division." As an overview of each contract, the contract title and information on the sender and receiver as the parties are displayed.

[0235] The sealed contract 1730 is a contract that has been set as a sealed contract among the list of contracts.

[0236] In the example shown in the figure, the title of the sealed contract 1730 is obscured, so that the existence of the contract itself can be recognized by those other than the parties to the contract, but access to the contents of the contract is restricted.

[0237] The viewing operation section 1734 is an operation member that accepts an operation to view the contract file.

[0238] In the illustrated example, the viewing operation section 1734 displays a message indicating that the user is not allowed to view the file because the user has set up an envelope for the contract specified by the user as shown in the envelope setting contract 1730 and is not a related party ("Viewing not permitted"). This disables the user's operation to view the file.

[0239] The envelope setting icon 1736 is an icon that indicates that an envelope setting that restricts the scope of viewing of the contract specified by the user has been set.

[0240] The details display area 1738 is an area that displays the details of an individual contract specified by the user.

[0241] As shown in the figure, the detailed display area 1738 displays information for managing the contract (document information), information entered in free text (such as notes), information about the signature (such as the expiration date of the electronic certificate related to the signature), and information about the user who signed (approved the document data) and the order of approval.

[0242] The masked approver 1740 is a state in which the scope of view of the approver is limited based on the settings of the envelope setting database 217, and the approver of the other party to the contract conclusion, the name of the other party's business, etc. are displayed concealed.

[0243] As shown in the figure, the masked approver 1740 conceals the approver's information, but the fact that the approver has given approval can be viewed.

[0244] FIG. 19 shows an example of an operation screen when canceling the setting to make the contract data into an envelope.

[0245] The cancellation notice 1742 is a notice that the setting to make the letter into an envelope has been cancelled when a specific condition for cancelling the setting to make the letter into an envelope is met.

[0246] In the example shown, the cancellation notification 1742 notifies the parties involved in the document data that the setting to make it an envelope has been cancelled, the scope of what can now be viewed (such as the title of the contract), and the reason for the cancellation (in the example shown, a certain amount of time has passed).

[0247] Also, since the setting to treat it as an envelope has been removed, the following has been done: The envelope setting icon 1732 and the envelope setting icon 1736 indicate that they have been cancelled. The viewing operation section 1734 displays that the contract file is viewable and accepts the operation to view the file. - The restrictions on the viewable range of the masked approver 1740 have been lifted, and the information of the other approver can now be viewed. <Modification> In addition to the aspects described in the above embodiment, the following may be adopted.

[0248] (1) System configuration: In the above embodiment, it has been described that each business provides a service using each device, such as the business support system service server 92, the document review service server 93, the large-scale language model service server 95, and the human resources management service server 96. However, a single business may provide multiple services. For example, a single business may provide a contract conclusion service, a document management service, and a business support (approval application) service.

[0249] (2) Document data type: In the above embodiment, contracts have been mainly used as examples of document data. However, the document data may also include, for example, the following documents: Documents that are made public after a certain period of time, such as government archives Restrictions on the scope of access due to legal procedures. For example, some court-related documents may not be made public. For example, there are judgments with the amount of money withheld, documents requesting access restrictions, and documents setting out the details of settlements. Labor-related and recruitment-related documents that are mainly handled by the human resources department of an organization. For example, employment contracts and notices of working conditions that employers present to employees upon hiring. These documents contain sensitive information such as salary amounts and grades, and the relevant sections may be sealed so that they can only be viewed by certain employees, such as human resources personnel, and the employer. In this case, there may be no need to set a specific time for unsealing the sealed envelope.

[0250] (3) Envelope settings: In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which contract data is handled as an envelope by checking the "Create document as an envelope" checkbox, as in the example screen of FIG.

[0251] In addition, the server 20 may manage the document data as an envelope after receiving an operation from one or more users to approve whether or not to treat it as an envelope (to restrict access), and if so, the scope of the restriction. For example, the parties approving a contract may first use a workflow to confirm that the document will be treated as an envelope, and once each party confirms that the document will be treated as an envelope, the document may be treated as an envelope at the stage of concluding the contract.

[0252] 17, an example has been described in which whether or not to restrict access is specified for each content (item) for which access is restricted in the setting for making it an envelope. Alternatively, the envelope setting specification area 1718 may not be displayed, and access may be restricted for predetermined items when specification is made in the checkboxes of the envelope specification area 1706.

[0253] In this case, items for which viewing is restricted may be determined depending on the type of contract. For example, if the type of contract is a loan contract, it may be determined in advance that viewing is restricted with respect to the amount.

[0254] (4) How to cancel the envelope setting: In the above description of the embodiment, examples of conditions for canceling the state of being set as an envelope were given, such as the passage of time, an event corresponding to the purpose of the contract becoming publicly known, or the user canceling the state.

[0255] In addition, one or more users may be required to perform an approval operation to cancel the envelope settings. For example, the parties to the contract may each specify whether or not to cancel the envelope settings (by performing an operation to approve the cancellation), thereby canceling the envelope settings and updating the envelope settings database 217.

[0256] (5) Persons involved in the document data: In the above description of the embodiment, as in the example of Figure 6, examples of parties involved in document data include the user (contract management database 212) who performed the operation to approve the document data when concluding an electronic contract (each user approves and signs the document data), and users designated by that user (users with whom the approval of the document data is shared).

[0257] In addition, the user who reviewed the document data (review history database 215) may also be considered as a related party of the document data. For example, the user who reviewed the document data or the user who requested the review performs an operation to set the document data as an envelope. The user can recognize the contents related to the contract conclusion during the review. As a result, the document data is treated as an envelope during the contract conclusion and document management after the conclusion.

[0258] In addition, the user who submitted the approval request to approve or receive the settlement for the document data (the item "Contract ID" in the approval request database 216, i.e., the document data for contract conclusion and the approval request ID are associated) may also be considered as a related party to the document data.

[0259] The server 20 may also be configured to allow accounting personnel and accounting experts (certified public accountants, etc.) to be set as parties involved in the document data. For example, to confirm transaction data related to deposits and withdrawals or settlement money related to a court settlement, it may be necessary to confirm the details of the contract (payment amount, payment method, etc.) even if they are kept confidential, because it is necessary for business purposes.

[0260] (6) In the above embodiment, an example of a contract was described as the subject of review. Alternatively, the review may be conducted in the form of a term sheet that specifies the terms of the contract, or a document that lists contact information for customers, or transaction documents such as application forms.

[0261] Although several embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, these embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the inventions and their equivalents as defined in the claims, as well as in the scope and spirit of the inventions.

[0262] The functions performed by the components described herein may be implemented in circuitry or processing circuitry, including general-purpose processors, application-specific processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), a CPU (a Central Processing Unit), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, programmed to perform the described functions. A processor includes transistors and other circuits and is considered to be circuitry or processing circuitry. A processor may also be a programmed processor that executes programs stored in memory.

[0263] In this specification, a circuitry, unit, or means is hardware that is programmed to realize or performs the described functions, which may be any hardware disclosed herein or any hardware known to be programmed to realize or perform the described functions.

[0264] If the hardware is a processor considered to be a type of circuitry, the circuitry, means, or unit is a combination of the hardware and software used to configure the hardware and / or processor.

[0265] <Additional Notes> The matters explained in the above embodiment will be supplemented below.

[0266] (Appendix 1) A program for operating a computer having a computer processor and a memory unit, wherein the memory unit is configured to store contract data indicating the contract contents agreed upon by the parties and information on the parties involved in the contract in the contract data, and the program causes the computer processor to execute the following steps: accepting a request from a user to refer to the contract data; specifying the extent to which the contract data can be referenced, depending on whether the user making the request is a party to the contract data; and presenting the contract data to the user making the request, depending on the specified extent to which the contract data can be referenced.

[0267] (Appendix 2) A program as described in Appendix 1, in which a memory unit stores information on the user who signed the contract data when concluding the contract as information on the parties involved, and in the identification step, the party involved in the contract data is identified depending on whether or not the user is the user who signed the contract data.

[0268] (Appendix 3) A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 2, in which, in the presentation step, if the user making the request is not a party involved in the contract data, information about the party involved in the contract data is presented while preventing the user from viewing areas of the contract data that cannot be referenced.

[0269] (Appendix 4) A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 3, in which in the identification step, the range of contract data that cannot be referenced by users who are not involved parties is identified as at least one of the following: the wording of the clauses in the contract data, the clauses in the contract data, or the entire contract content shown in the contract data.

[0270] (Appendix 5) A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 4, in which the memory unit stores document information used to manage contract data, such as information on the parties and the contract period, separate from information on the clauses of the contract content, and in the identification step, if the user making the request is not a party to the contract data, the range of information that can be referenced is such that viewing of the document information is restricted while viewing of the information on the clauses of the contract content.

[0271] (Appendix 6) A program described in any one of appendices 1 to 5, which, in the identifying step, identifies the range of access that can be made available to users who are not involved parties depending on the type of contract in the contract data.

[0272] (Appendix 7) The program described in Appendix 6, in which, in the identifying step, if the contract type of the contract data is an M&A contract, it identifies that users who are not involved parties are not allowed to view at least one of information about the parties to the M&A contract and information about the amount related to the M&A.

[0273] (Appendix 8) The contract data is managed as something agreed upon by the parties by recording the operations approved by the user, and the program further causes the computer processor to execute a step of receiving a setting from the user who will be the approver when approving the contract data, as to whether or not to limit the scope of the contract data that can be referenced, and in the identification step, identifies the scope of the contract data that can be referenced for contract data that has a setting that limits the scope of the contract data that can be referenced.

[0274] (Appendix 9) The program described in Appendix 8, in which, in the step of accepting settings, when one of the users of the contracting parties of the contract data acts as the sender and sends an approval request to the other parties as an operation for approving the contract data, or when a user who is the recipient of the data receives an approval request in response to the sending, accepts from the user who is the approver a setting as to whether or not to limit the scope of access.

[0275] (Appendix 10) A program as described in Appendix 9, in which, in the step of accepting settings, if a setting is accepted to limit the range of reference available to one of the parties to the contract data, while the other party does not make a setting to limit the range of reference available to the contract data, the memory unit stores in association with the contract data whether or not there is a limit to the range of reference available to each party.

[0276] (Appendix 11) A program as described in Appendix 10, in which, in the step of accepting settings, if a setting is made to limit the range of accessibility of one of the parties to the contract data, a user who has no restrictions on the range of accessibility of the contract data will be designated as the user who approves the contract data, regardless of whether a setting is made to limit the range of accessibility of other parties.

[0277] (Appendix 12) A program described in any of Appendices 1 to 11, which further causes the computer processor to execute a step of lifting the restriction on the scope of access to the contract data when certain conditions are met, when the person is not a party to the contract data.

[0278] (Appendix 13) A program as described in Appendix 12, wherein in the termination step, termination is performed when a certain period of time has passed since the contract data was agreed upon by the parties as a specific condition.

[0279] (Appendix 14) A program described in any of Appendices 12 to 13, wherein in the cancellation step, cancellation is performed in response to the occurrence of an event corresponding to the purpose of the contract in the contract data as a specific condition.

[0280] (Appendix 15) In the releasing step, The program described in Appendix 14, which includes at least one of the following, in which termination occurs in response to the occurrence of an event according to the purpose of the contract: in the case where the contract related to the contract data is an M&A contract, termination occurs when information on the parties to the acquisition that is the purpose of the M&A contract and the acquisition amount is made public; and in the case where the contract related to the contract data is a contract for product development, termination occurs when the product that is the purpose of said product development is released and the developer of that product is made public.

[0281] (Appendix 16) A program described in any of Appendices 12 to 15, wherein in the cancellation step, cancellation is performed by accepting an operation by a party involved in the contract data to approve the cancellation as a specific condition.

[0282] (Appendix 17) A method executed by a computer having a computer processor and a memory unit, wherein the memory unit is configured to store document data and information on parties involved in the document data, and the method includes the steps of: receiving a request from a user to access the document data; specifying a range of the document data that can be accessed depending on whether the user involved in the request is an interested party to the document data; and presenting the document data to the user involved in the request depending on the specified range of accessibility.

[0283] (Appendix 18) An information processing device comprising a control unit and a memory unit, wherein the memory unit is configured to store document data and information on parties involved in the document data, and the control unit executes the steps of: accepting a request from a user to refer to the document data; specifying a range of the document data that can be referred to depending on whether the user involved in the request is a party to the document data; and presenting the document data to the user involved in the request depending on the specified range of referencing.

Claims

1. A program for operating a computer having a computer processor and a storage unit, the storage unit is configured to store contract data indicating the content of the contract agreed upon by the parties and information on the parties involved in the contract in the contract data, The program causes the computer processor to: receiving a request from a user to refer to the contract data; specifying a range within which the contract data can be referenced depending on whether the user making the request is a related party to the contract data; and presenting the contract data to the user who requested it, in accordance with the specified range of accessibility.

2. the storage unit stores information of a user who signed the contract data when concluding the contract as the information of the related party, 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein in the step of specifying, the user is specified depending on whether or not the user is a user who signed the contract data as a party concerned with the contract data.

3. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein, in the presentation step, if the user making the request is not a party to the contract data, information about the party to the contract data is presented while preventing the user from viewing areas of the contract data that cannot be referenced.

4. In the step of specifying, the range of accessibility for users who are not related parties is as follows: the wording units of the clauses in the contract data; Each clause of the contract data, or 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the entire contract contents shown in the contract data is identified as a range of the contract data that cannot be referenced.

5. the storage unit stores document information used for managing the contract data, such as information on the parties and information on the contract period, in addition to information on the clauses of the contract content, for the contract data; 2. The program of claim 1, wherein, in the step of specifying, if the user making the request is not a party to the contract data, the range of access that can be made is such that the document information can be viewed while restricting viewing of information on the clauses of the contract content.

6. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the step of specifying specifies a range of the contract data that can be referenced by users who are not related parties, depending on the type of contract in the contract data.

7. 7. The program according to claim 6, wherein, in the step of specifying, if the contract type of the contract data is an M&A contract, the program specifies that users who are not related parties are not allowed to view at least one of information about the parties to the M&A contract and information about the amount related to the M&A.

8. The contract data is managed as an agreement between the parties by recording operations approved by the user, The program further causes the computer processor to: When approving the contract data, a step is executed in which a setting as to whether or not to limit the scope of access to the contract data is received from a user who will be the approver; 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the step of specifying specifies the range of reference for the contract data that has a setting that restricts the range of reference.

9. In the step of accepting the setting, As an operation for approving the contract data, When one of the users of the contracting parties of the contract data acts as a sender and sends an approval request to the other parties, or When the recipient user receives an approval request in response to the transmission, 9. The program according to claim 8, further comprising: receiving a setting as to whether or not to limit the range of accessibility from a user who is an approver.

10. In the step of accepting the setting, Accepting a setting to limit the scope of the reference of one of the parties to the contract data, 10. The program described in claim 9, wherein, when the other party to the contract data has not set a limit on the range of reference, the storage unit stores, in association with the contract data, whether or not there is a limit on the range of reference for each party.

11. In the step of accepting the setting, The program described in claim 10, wherein, when one of the parties to the contract data sets a limit on the range of accessibility, a user who has no limit on the range of accessibility to the contract data is designated as the user who approves the contract data, regardless of whether the other parties have set a limit on the range of accessibility.

12. The program further causes the computer processor to: The program of claim 1, which executes a step of lifting the restriction on the scope of access to the contract data when a specific condition is met, if the person is not a party to the contract data.

13. In the releasing step, The program according to claim 12 , wherein the specific condition is that the termination is performed when a certain period of time has passed since the parties agreed to the contract data.

14. In the releasing step, The program according to claim 12 , wherein the cancellation is performed in response to the occurrence of an event corresponding to the purpose of the contract in the contract data, as the specific condition.

15. In the releasing step, The termination will be made in response to the occurrence of an event in accordance with the purpose of the contract, If the contract related to the contract data is an M&A contract, the termination will be effected when information on the parties to the acquisition and the acquisition amount that is the object of the M&A contract is made public. If the contract related to the contract data is a contract for product development, the termination will be effected when the product that is the subject of the product development is released and the developer of the product is made public. The program according to claim 14, comprising at least one of the following:

16. In the releasing step, The program according to claim 12 , wherein the specific condition is that the contract is terminated when a person involved in the contract data accepts the termination.

17. 1. A computer-implemented method comprising a computer processor and a memory, the method comprising: the storage unit is configured to store document data and information on persons involved in the document data; The method further comprises the steps of: receiving a request from a user to refer to the document data; specifying a range within which the document data is accessible depending on whether the user making the request is a related party to the document data; and presenting the document data to the user upon request, in accordance with the specified range of accessibility.

18. An information processing device including a control unit and a storage unit, the storage unit is configured to store document data and information on persons involved in the document data; The control unit receiving a request from a user to refer to the document data; specifying a range within which the document data is accessible depending on whether the user making the request is a related party to the document data; and presenting the document data to the user who has requested it, in accordance with the specified range of accessibility.

Images