Patent ID: 7366163

Claim:
A method of forming a multi-media communication path between at least a first communication device and at least a second communication device, the method comprising: receiving a first Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) INVITE message at a call control element of a multi-media provider representing a first call request for a first predetermined multi-media service; redirecting the first SIP INVITE message to a service broker associated with the multi-media provider for processing the first SIP INVITE message for determining at least a first predetermined application server of a plurality of application servers associated with the multi-media provider which includes first predetermined resources for processing the first SIP INVITE message; receiving a first SIP Redirect message at the call control element from the service broker responsive to the first SIP INVITE message; processing the first SIP Redirect message at the call control element to generate a second SIP INVITE message and including a multi-media service identifier; receiving and processing the second SIP INVITE message at the first predetermined application server for determining if the first predetermined application server includes resources for satisfying the first call request; and setting the multi-media service identifier to a first predetermined state if it is determined that the first predetermined application server includes resources for satisfying the first call request and setting the multi-media service identifier to a second predetermined state if it is determined that the first predetermined application server does not include resources for satisfying the first call request.