Patent ID: 9712571
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: H04L,H04M,H04N

Claim:
1. A method for use in a communication system in which a communication server manages an ongoing communication session between a plurality of current participants, the method comprising: the communication server receiving a request for an additional participant to join the ongoing communication session; the communication server determining whether to admit the additional participant to the ongoing communication session as a full participant or a partial participant; if the communication server determines that the additional participant should be admitted as the full participant, then the communication server admitting the additional participant to the ongoing communication session with an ability to communicate with each of the current participants during the ongoing communication session; and if the communication server determines that the additional participant should be admitted as the partial participant, then the communication server admitting the additional participant to the ongoing communication session with an inability to communicate with one or more particular participants during the ongoing communication session, wherein the one or more particular participants constitute a proper subset of the plurality of current participants; and wherein the request for the additional participant to join the ongoing communication session includes an indication that the additional participant requested to join the ongoing communication session via a message having one or more addressable fields, the additional participant and at least one current participant being identified in one of the one or more addressable fields, the method further comprising: based on the request the communication server admitting the additional participant to the ongoing communication session with an inability to communicate with any current participant who was not identified in one of the one or more addressable fields of the message.