Patent ID: 8078153

Claim:
A method for communicating according to contextual identity, the method comprising the acts of: at a network bridge, receiving a communication from an originator via a first network which communicates according to a first communication protocol, wherein the communication has a first identity for the originator based on the first communication protocol and a first identity for a recipient for which the communication is intended, wherein the first identity of the recipient is based on the first communication protocol, wherein each of the first identity of the originator and the first identity of the recipient comprises one of a routable address, an E.164 number, a phone number, an MSISDN, a SIP URI, an IP address, an e-mail address, or an IM identity; normalizing the communication into a network-independent format; identifying a plurality of devices associated with the recipient, wherein each of the plurality of devices communicates using one or more communication protocols; selecting one of the plurality of devices based on one or more criteria, including preferences or presence information associated with the recipient; selecting a channel of communication for the selected device based on a recipient preference, presence information associated with the recipient, a classification of the originator by the recipient, a service provider policy, or an attribute of the request, wherein the selected channel of communication is in a second network which communicates according to a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol; determining a second identity for the originator and a second identity of the recipient based on the selected channel of communication; and sending the communication to the recipient via the second network according to the second communication protocol, wherein the communication is associated with the second identity for the originator and the second identity of the recipient such that it appears that the originator is communicating with the recipient through the selected channel of communication from the second identity for the originator, wherein each of the second identity for the originator and the second identity for the recipient comprises one of a routable address, an E.164 number, a phone number, an MSISDN, a SIP URI, an IP address, an e-mail address, or an IM identity; and selecting a third identity for the originator or the recipient corresponding to a third network that communicates according to a third communication protocol that is different from the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol, wherein the selection of the third network is based on dynamic presence information associated with the originator or the recipient.