Patent ID: 7849206

Claim:
A method for implementing policy rules across a plurality of communication modes, the method comprising: at a first server: determining a first set of policy rules applicable to a first communication mode, the first communication mode including at least one from a set of: receiving a set of default rules, receiving customized rules from an administrator, receiving customized rules from a user, and determining rules dynamically based on predefined conditions, wherein the first set of policy rules includes at least one of: organization level rules and personal rules associated with individual users; determining a second communication mode related to the first communication mode; determining a second set of the policy rules based on the first set of policy rules applicable to the second communication mode, wherein: a portion of the first set of policy rules are identical to a corresponding portion of the second set of policy rules; another portion of the first set of policy rules are modified to derive a corresponding other portion of the second set of policy rules; and a further portion of first set of policy rules do not have a corresponding further portion of the second set of policy rules; enforcing the first set of policy rules on the first communication mode; and rendering the second set of policy rules available for enforcement on the second communication mode; and at a second server: receiving the second set of policy rules rendered by the first server; and enforcing the second set of policy rules on the second communication mode.