1. Field
The present invention generally relates to controlling connection among a plurality of transmission terminals.
2. Background
With the need for reducing costs or times associated with business trips, more companies are moving towards videoconference systems to have teleconference or videoconference among remotely located offices via a communication network such as the Internet. The videoconference systems allow transmission of contents data such as image data and/or sound data among a plurality of transmission terminals that are remotely located from one another through the communication network to facilitate communication among the plurality of transmission terminals.
To have a videoconference among the plurality of transmission terminals, a user is required to previously register information regarding participants, who will be participating in the videoconference before the videoconference starts. In case a user who is not previously registered decides to participate in that videoconference after the videoconference starts, the unregistered user is not allowed to participate unless the unregistered user is registered through the registration process. The registration process usually requires additional time such that it has been inconvenient for the unregistered user to participate in the videoconference after the videoconference starts.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H08-256145 describes a conference manager, which manages a permitted user list that registers identification of a user who is allowed to participate in a conference without the registration process, for each of conferences. When a request for participating in a specific conference is received from a user, the conference manager determines whether identification of the user is registered in the permitted user list prepared for the specific conference, and allows the user to participate in the specific conference if the user is registered in the permitted user list.