Patent ID: 8843587
Filing Date: 2014-09-23
Classification: G06F,G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method executed on a computing device for retrieving availability information from published calendars, the method comprising: determining a source for a published calendar; retrieving the published calendar from the source; formatting the published calendar to match a format of a calendar maintained by an application retrieving the published calendar; extracting user status information and private user information from the published calendar; formatting the published calendar to match a format of a calendar maintained by an application retrieving the published calendar; evaluating a status description employed by the published calendar at a mapping engine, and mapping the status description to a corresponding status in the calendar maintained by the application at the mapping engine; linking the formatted calendar to a contact maintained by the application by: determining identifier information of an owner of the published calendar matching the identifier information to the contact; presenting the linked calendar for scheduling; and updating a status of the contact with status information from the published calendar based upon a determination of up-to-date information from the published calendar.