Patent ID: 8631075

Claim:
A computer implemented method for managing interrupts in an instant messaging application, comprising: receiving an interrupt request from an interrupting contact during an ongoing instant messaging conversation between at least two contacts each using a communications device, wherein the interrupt request is received by the communications device of at least one of the at least two contacts; determining at least one of whether the interrupting contact has an interrupt priority ranking associated with the interrupting contact in a contacts list of the communications device receiving the interrupt request that is higher than, or at least as high as, an interrupt priority ranking of each of the at least two contacts participating in the ongoing instant messaging conversation and whether an interrupting conversation has a higher priority compared to a priority of the ongoing instant messaging conversation set by at least one of the at least two contacts participating in the ongoing instant messaging conversation in their communications device; interrupting the ongoing instant messaging conversation in response to a predetermined one of the interrupt priority ranking of the interrupting contact being higher than, or at least as high as, the interrupt priority ranking of each of the at least two contacts participating in the ongoing instant messaging conversation and the interrupting conversation having a higher interrupt priority ranking compared to the interrupt priority ranking of the ongoing instant messaging conversation; and sending a contact busy message to the interrupting contact in response to one of the interrupting contact having an interrupt priority ranking no higher than each of the at least two contacts or the interrupting conversation having an interrupt priority ranking no higher than the interrupt priority ranking of the instant messaging conversation.