Patent ID: 7650384

Claim:
A method in a computing device for maintaining a real-time conversation over an unreliable connection, the method comprising: creating a first connection from an endpoint associated with a sending participant to an endpoint associated with a receiving participant, the first connection being created using a Session Initiation Protocol (“SIP”) by sending a SIP invitation from the endpoint associated with the sending participant to a plurality of endpoints associated with the receiving participant; and receiving a SIP response sent from an endpoint associated with the receiving participant to the endpoint associated with the sending participant, the SIP response identifying the endpoint of the receiving participant that sent the response; associating the real-time conversation with the first connection; conducting the real-time conversation by sending messages of the real-time conversation from the endpoint associated with the sending participant to the endpoint identified in the received SIP response; and receiving messages of the real-time conversation sent from the endpoint identified in the received SIP response to the endpoint associated with the sending participant; detecting that the first connection has been lost; upon detecting that the first connection has been lost, creating a second connection from an endpoint associated with the sending participant to an endpoint associated with the receiving participant without notifying the sending participant; when the second connection is created through an endpoint other than the endpoint identified in the received SIP response, notifying the sending participant that the real-time conversation is continuing through a different endpoint associated with the receiving participant; and associating the real-time conversation with the second connection.