Patent ID: 7480664

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of processing possible duplicate data records, the method comprising: (a) comparing identity claims of at least two data records, wherein the at least two data records are part of a computer operating system; (b) identifying possible duplicate data records including a first possible duplicate data record and a second possible duplicate data record, the first possible duplicate data record being linked with a first publisher record, the first publisher record including first data from the first possible duplicate data record, wherein the first data is synchronized, through the first publisher record, between the first possible duplicate data record and an application, the second possible duplicate data record being linked with a second publisher record, the second publisher record including second data from the second possible duplicate data record, wherein the second data is synchronized, through the second publisher record, between the second possible duplicate data record and the application; (c) creating a merged data record consisting of reconciled identity claims of the at least two data records; (d) linking the first publisher record with the merged data record; and (e) linking the second publisher record with the merged data record.