Patent ID: 7835759
Filing Date: 2010-11-16
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method relating to instant messaging clients that are configured to transmit, to a server, presence information indicating that the respective client is in a communicative state in which the client is receptive to communicating with the other clients, the clients including first and second clients, the method comprising the following steps performed by the server: determining, for each client, that the respective client is in a communicative state if presence information is received from the client; determining, for each client, that the respective client is in an unknown state if a predetermined time period passes after the receipt of presence information from the client without receiving additional presence information from the client, the communicative state and the unknown state being possible presence states of the clients; transmitting a notification to the second client of the presence state of the first client when both the first client and the second client are in a communicative state; and refraining from transmitting the notification to the second client when the first client is in the unknown state.