US Patent 8245141 Hierarchical collaboration policies in a shared workspace environment

In one embodiment, a first administrative entity having first members may initiate an operated shared workspace having a policy control engine. The first administrative entity may configure a first set of policies regarding workspace access, while a second administrative entity, having second members, may configure a second set of policies regarding workspace access. The policy control engine may then apply the first policies to the first and second members, and also may apply one or more policies of the second set of policies to the second members in response to the respective policies being stricter than corresponding policies of the first set of policies.