Patent ID: 7017105

Claim:
In a system including a device that synchronizes with one or more synchronization partners, a method for deleting an object from a store of the device without causing an inadvertent deletion of the one or more corresponding objects from one or more stores of the one or more synchronization partners when synchronizing the device with the one or more synchronization partners, the method comprising: as a first act, while synchronizing the device with a first synchronization partner, using a filter that excludes an object so that it is not synchronized at the device, and thereby targeting that object for deletion at the device; as a next act, requesting that the targeted object be deleted from the device; thereafter, in response to the requested deletion of the targeted object, an act of determining whether other synchronization partners are synchronizing the targeted object; and as further acts, if it is determined that either the targeted object is not being synchronized with the any of the other synchronization partners, or that none of the other synchronization partners object to the requested deletion, then proceeding with deletion of the targeted object from the device, but otherwise, not deleting the targeted object from the device even though it is no longer synchronized with the first synchronization partner, thereby preventing any inadvertent deletion from other synchronization partners.