Patent ID: 7069301

Claim:
A method for sending a MMS message from a first subscriber device in a MMS-enabled communication system to a second, non-MMS enabled subscriber device, comprising: specifying, at the first subscriber device or at an interface of the MMS-enabled communication system, a message transfer format for the second subscriber device; specifying, at the first subscriber device or at an interface of the MMS-enabled communication system, a message transfer format that works in accordance with its recipient-side communication system for said MMS message which is to be sent to the second subscriber device, wherein the message transfer format for said MMS message which is to be sent to the second subscriber device is specified by at least one of one or more information elements in the header of the MMS message or by an extension to an address header field of said MMS message; converting the content and at least some of the information elements of this MMS message which is to be sent to the second subscriber device in accordance with said specified message transfer format by an interface device of the MMS-enabled system of the first subscriber device, if the second subscriber device is linked into a communication system that is not MMS-enabled or is not able to receive MMS messages, and forwarding said converted MMS message to the second subscriber device, if the second subscriber device is at least one of not linked into a MMS-enabled system or not able to receive MMS messages.