{"schema_version":"1.0","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9674244","patent":{"patent_number":"US-9674244","title":"System and method for discussion initiation and management in a virtual conference","assignee":null,"inventors":[],"filing_date":"2015-08-31T00:00:00.000Z","publication_date":"2017-06-06T00:00:00.000Z","cpc_codes":["H04L","G06F","G06F","G06F","G06Q","H04L","H04L","H04L","H04L","H04L","H04L","H04L","H04N","H04N","H04N"],"num_claims":20,"abstract":"A virtual conferencing system is described which provides discussion support services such as during a debate between virtual conference participants. For example, one embodiment of virtual conferencing system comprises: a plurality of clients operated by participants and at least one moderator of a virtual conference, each of the clients comprising state management logic to maintain a current state of the virtual conference; a virtual conferencing service to establish audio and/or video connections between the plurality of clients during the virtual conference, the virtual conferencing service further including a state synchronization service communicatively coupled to the state management logic on each client to ensure that the current state of the virtual conference is consistent on each client; a virtual conferencing graphical user interface (GUI) to be rendered on the plurality of clients, the virtual conferencing GUI configured, via signals sent from the state synchronization service, to display a video stream of one or more current speakers during the virtual conference utilizing the established video connections; and a discussion support module to implement a discussion between two or more selected participants in the virtual conference by generating a discussion configuration including data structures and GUI features required to implement the discussion in response to a set of discussion parameters specified by the virtual conferencing moderator, wherein the discussion configuration implemented by the discussion support module are synchronized to clients through the state synchronization service."},"analysis":{"summary":null,"layman_explanation":null,"technical_analysis":null,"business_analysis":null,"faqs":null,"topics":[],"tech_cluster":null},"seo":{"title":"System and method for discussion initiation and management in a virtual conference","description":"A virtual conferencing system is described which provides discussion support services such as during a debate between virtual conference participants. For example, one embodiment of virtual conferenci","keywords":[]},"attribution":{"source":"Patentable","source_url":"https://patentable.app","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9674244","license":"CC-BY-4.0-like","license_terms":"AI-generated analysis on this page (summary, layman_explanation, technical_analysis, business_analysis, faqs) may be reused with attribution and a visible link back to the canonical URL above. Patent abstracts, claims, and bibliographic data are USPTO public domain.","required_link":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9674244","citation_suggestion":"Patentable. \"System and method for discussion initiation and management in a virtual conference\" (US-9674244). https://patentable.app/patents/US-9674244","copyright_holder":"Nomic Interactive Technology LLC"},"links":{"html":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9674244","json":"https://patentable.app/api/llm-context/US-9674244","site":"https://patentable.app","llms_txt":"https://patentable.app/llms.txt"},"generated_at":"2026-06-06T08:18:48.561Z"}