Patent ID: 7870097

Claim:
A method of synchronizing data that is related and that is stored in a plurality of stores, the method comprising: (a) storing in a computing device a first publisher record, which includes a first version of contact information that identifies a subject and that is synchronized with information stored in a first remote store, (b) upon synchronization of the first remote store with the computing device, updating the first publisher record to include additional contact information that includes an edit of the first version; (c) updating a composite record to include the additional contact information, wherein the composite record includes a compilation of contact information that identifies the subject and that is received from the plurality of stores; (d) determining that adding the additional contact information to a second publisher record is not allowed, wherein the second publisher record includes a second version of contact information that identifies the subject and that is synchronized with information stored in a second remote store of a remote device; and (e) causing the additional contact information to be displayed in a distinctive format on a display of the remote device, thereby indicating that the additional contact information is not editable using the remote device.