Method and apparatus for determining availability of a user of an instant messaging application
US7337210B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 24, 2003 |
| Grant date | Feb 26, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 5, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q10/10
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An instant messaging application intelligently infers a user's unavailability from one or more indicia which include the user's electronic calendar. Preferably, the instant messaging application may report not only that a user is unavailable, but also give a reason for inferring unavailability, in order to provide other users with additional potentially useful information. Preferably, the user may specify which indicia and which parameters may be used to infer his unavailability in an editable profile. When another user requests status, this value is returned by the server. An intelligent instant messaging application as described herein provides other users with more accurate and complete availability information.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.