Patent ID: 8321508

Claim:
A computer system for controlling communication between endpoint collaboration devices, the computer system comprising: a central processing unit, a computer readable memory, and a computer-readable tangible storage device; first program instructions to determine one or more service providers through which the endpoint collaboration devices can potentially communicate to enable a collaboration between the endpoint collaboration devices; second program instructions to authorize the collaboration between the endpoint collaboration devices via the one or more service providers if a comparison between the one or more service providers through which the communications can potentially occur for the endpoint collaboration devices and a predetermined list of service providers through which the collaboration between the endpoint collaboration devices is prohibited indicates that the collaboration is allowed through the one or more service providers between the endpoint collaboration devices; third program instructions to subsequently identify service providers that currently provide collaborative communication between the endpoint collaboration devices; and fourth program instructions to discontinue the current collaborative communication between the endpoint collaboration devices if a comparison between the service providers through which the current collaborative communication occurs for the endpoint collaboration devices and a list indicates that the current collaborative communication by the endpoint collaboration devices occurs through a prohibited service provider in the list, wherein the first program instructions, the second program instructions, the third program instructions, and the fourth program instructions are stored in the computer-readable tangible storage device for execution by the central processing unit via the computer-readable memory.