External User Account Controls for Secure Content Collaboration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional content collaboration platforms face challenges in managing access for external users, leading to administrative overhead and potential exposure of sensitive information, as well as difficulties in tracking and revoking access for third parties.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a system that manages external user accounts with restricted access by creating non-tenant user accounts, using different security protocols, and providing graphical interfaces for tenant users to monitor and control access through decentralized voting and graphical elements.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional user accounts are added and affiliated with existing tenants to provide access to system content, then access control is maintained, but administrative overhead and computing resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccess controlVSAvoidadministrative overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the access control functionality from the traditional tenant-affiliated account model by introducing a separate guest account system. Guest accounts can access system content without being affiliated with any tenant, thereby maintaining access control while eliminating the administrative overhead of managing traditional accounts for external users

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the user account system into two distinct types: traditional tenant-affiliated accounts and new guest accounts. This segmentation allows the system to handle internal and external users differently, providing restricted access to guest accounts without requiring full tenant affiliation, thus reducing administrative complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If traditional user accounts are added and affiliated with existing tenants to provide access to system content, then access control is maintained, but computing resources required increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccess controlVSAvoidcomputing resources

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different account management rules to different user types. Guest accounts receive localized, restricted access to specific pages or content without requiring full tenant affiliation, thereby reducing the computing resources needed for account management compared to traditional accounts

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Adaptability or versatility

If external users are granted access to the content collaboration platform, then collaboration capability is improved, but security risk increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollaboration capabilityVSAvoidsecurity risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies different access levels to different users within the same platform. Guest accounts are granted localized access to specific pages or content areas rather than universal access, enabling collaboration with external users while limiting their access to only the content they need, thereby reducing security risks

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamic access control where guest account permissions can be adjusted based on the specific content being accessed. The system can dynamically grant or revoke access to individual pages or content items, allowing collaboration capability to adapt to security requirements in real-time

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

4Adaptability or versatility

If external users are granted access to the content collaboration platform, then collaboration capability is improved, but administrative burden increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollaboration capabilityVSAvoidadministrative burden

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal guest account type that can be applied to multiple external users across different tenants. This single account type handles various collaboration scenarios without requiring custom account configurations, reducing the administrative burden of managing external user access

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS12513150B2Systems and methods of managing external user accounts for a content collaboration platform

Publication Date: 2025.12.30 ATLASSIAN PTY LTD

AI summary

A method of managing external user accounts and tenant user accounts in a content collaboration platform may include: In response to a user request to access a document space, authorization credentials for the user may be obtained and a user account associated with the user may be identified. In accordance with the user account being an internal user account associated with a tenant user, a first graphical user interface (GUI) for the document space of the content collaboration platform may be displayed which includes: a content panel and a navigational panel. In accordance with the user account being an external user account associated with a non-tenant user, a permissions profile for the external user account may be obtained and from the permissions profile. A second GUI may suppress display of restricted pages. A first GUI may update the user-selectable banner to notify users of non-tenant user access.