Patent ID: 7013313

Claim:
A method of inheriting data from a second dataset into a first dataset, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a first user input, the first user input selecting a first data item from the second dataset for inheritance into the first dataset; placing a first pointer in the first dataset, pointing to a first record in the second dataset that contains the inherited first data item; and when processing data in the first dataset, using the first pointer to locate the inherited first record in the second dataset, and including the inherited first data item from the second dataset in the processing of data in the first dataset; wherein the user cannot modify the second dataset and the first dataset is a personal dataset in which the user can annotate the inherited first data item; synchronizing the first dataset with the alter-ego dataset and propagating the first data item from the second dataset, so that after the synchronization the alter-ego dataset has a copy of the first data item from the second dataset, wherein a local copy of the first data item is stored in the first dataset prior to the synchronization with the alter-ego dataset; receiving an update to the first data item from the alter-ego dataset during a further synchronization; and entering the update from the alter-ego dataset into the local copy of the first data item.