Patent ID: 8364122

Claim:
A method of handling an electronic message by an originating device that originates the electronic message, comprising the steps of: said originating device identifying a destination device for receipt of said; determining at said originating device whether said destination device is active, wherein said step of determining at said originating device whether said destination device is active comprises interrogating said destination device from said originating device in which said interrogation is performed by means of telephony application programming interface commands; said originating device determining, in a case where said destination device is determined to be active, whether or not transmission of said electronic message is still required, wherein said step of determining whether or not transmission of said electronic message is still required comprises reference to a message expiry time; said originating device transmitting, only in a case where it is determined that said destination device is active and said electronic message is still required, said electronic message to a distribution server, for retransmission thereby to said destination device; and said originating device repeating, in a case where said destination device is determined not to be active, said step of determining at predetermined intervals until it is determined that said destination device is active.