ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,224,876, issued on Feb. 11.
"Persistent subgroups in online meetings" was invented by Viktor Kaptelinin (Hornefors, Sweden).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present invention provides methods and software for facilitating coordination among participants in an online meeting. The invention enables participants to transition between a general discussion, involving all participants, and small-group discussions. In one embodiment, subgroup members are supported in acting as a unified group during the general discussion. In another embodiment, the division of participants into subgroups is maintained when transitioning between general discus...