Patent ID: 8306019

Claim:
A method of forming a multi-media communication path between a first communication device and a second communication device, the method comprising: receiving a first invite message at a call control element of a multi-media provider representing a first call request for a first multi-media service; redirecting the first invite message to a service broker associated with the multi-media provider for processing the first invite message for determining a first application server associated with the multi-media provider which includes first resources for processing the first invite message; receiving a first redirect message at the call control element from the service broker responsive to the first invite message; processing the first redirect message at the call control element to generate a second invite message and including a multi-media service identifier; receiving and processing the second invite message at the first application server for determining if the first application server includes resources for satisfying the first call request; and setting the multi-media service identifier to a first state if it is determined that the first application server includes resources for satisfying the first call request and setting the multi-media service identifier to a second state if it is determined that the first application server does not include resources for satisfying the first call request.