System and method for providing temporary and limited grants of calendar access

Abstract

A system and method for providing temporary and limited grants of calendar access is provided. An invitee or its proxy may provide an event planner or time broker with a particular grant of calendar access comprising a date range, particular days of the week, and a particular time interval. The grant of calendar access allows the event planner to more easily identify a block of time for scheduling the particular event, the invitee calendar being updated in real-time. In some embodiments, the event planner may schedule the event and place the event directly on the invitee's calendar.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having an executable program embodied thereon, wherein execution of the program by a processor performs a method for granting access to calendar data associated with an invitee, the method comprising:
 receiving a request for access to calendar data that identifies a possible range of times in which an event may be scheduled, the request initiated by a computing device coupled to a network;   aggregating a portion of calendar data, the portion of calendar data limited by a closed time interval defined by the owner of the calendar data, the closed time interval including:
 an ending date, 
 at least one day of the week within the closed time interval, and 
 a time of day interval; 
   delivering the portion of the calendar data within the closed time interval over the network to the computing device that requested access to the calendar data without the need for concurrent invitee confirmation, wherein the delivery is made in response to a request for an event to be scheduled, and wherein calendar data not within the closed time interval is not delivered to the computing device; and   updating the portion of the calendar data delivered over the network, wherein the updates to the portion of the calendar data occur in real-time.   
     
     
         3 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 2 , wherein the method further comprises sending a calendar access message to the computing device of the party submitting the request for an event to be scheduled, the calendar access message associated with the grant of access to the calendar data. 
     
     
         4 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 3 , wherein the calendar access message includes a keyed uniform resource locator associated with a secure user interface for accessing the calendar data. 
     
     
         5 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 2 , wherein the method further comprises receiving a proposed event time from the computing device, the proposed event time falling within the time intervals for the at least one day of the week within the closed time interval. 
     
     
         6 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 5 , wherein the method further comprises adding an event corresponding to the proposed event time to the calendar data. 
     
     
         7 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 6 , wherein the method further comprises sending a confirmation to the computing device proposing the event corresponding to proposed event time. 
     
     
         8 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 2 , wherein the closed time interval also includes a start date, and the calendar data prior to the start date is not accessible by the computing device. 
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 2 , wherein the method further comprises denying access to calendar data associated with events scheduled in the past. 
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 2 , wherein the portion of the invitee calendar data within the closed time interval does not include certain events as a part of the grant to the computing device. 
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein the certain events are selected from the group consisting of personal information on a business calendar, business information on a personal calendar, and information off limits to all persons but the owner of the calendar data. 
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 2 , wherein the grant to the at least a portion of the invitee calendar data occurs automatically and without the need to approve access to the at least a portion of the invitee calendar data. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 2 , wherein the grant to the at least a portion of the invitee calendar data requires prior approval by the invitee. 
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 2 , wherein the at least a portion of the invitee calendar data granted reflects unavailability of the invitee due to travel time associated with a selected event. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 2 , wherein the at least a portion of the invitee calendar data granted is presented concurrently with information reflecting the availability of equipment or a facility needed for an event being scheduled. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 2 , wherein the at least a portion of the invitee calendar data granted is presented concurrently with information reflecting the availability of other invitees to an event being scheduled. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the information reflecting the availability of other invitees to the meeting is presented based on the importance of attendance of each invitee to the event. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the availability of the other invitees is presented using shading on a calendar grid. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the intensity of shading takes into account the importance of each invitee with respect to their attendance at the event. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the travel time is computed based on travel time to or from pre-existing invitee events and the selected event. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the intensity of the shading takes into account the number of invitees not available at the corresponding time.