Patent ID: 7123707

Claim:
A method of controlling communications with at least two calling party devices by a user of a called party device, said method comprising the steps of: establishing a first call link between said called party device and a first calling party device; receiving a call request to said called party device from a second calling party device; placing said first call link on hold; accepting said call request from said second calling party device to establish a second call link between said called party device and said second calling party device; causing, through the selective activation by said user of said called party device, a message to be transmitted to said first calling party device, said step of causing a message to be transmitted to said first calling party device comprising the step of said user selecting one of a plurality of predefined messages using an input mechanism associated with said called party device while said called party device is in communication with said second calling party device, whereby said user of said called party device can communicate information to a user of said first calling party device without interrupting communications with a user of said second calling party device.