Patent ID: 7853471

Claim:
A computer implemented method of scheduling a meeting, using information obtained from an instant message session, the method comprising the steps of: a server computer system coupled to a database and in communication with a client system having a plurality of users, receiving a request from a participant in an instant message session to schedule a meeting, wherein an instant messaging application is used to run the instant message session; the server computer system running a natural language processing tool during the instant message session to determine meeting participants and available times, from a record of unformatted chat during said instant message session; running a calendaring and scheduling application during the instant message session to accept said meeting participants and available times, consult calendars of said meeting participants, and schedule said meeting; sending a notification during the instant message session to the participants in said instant message session of the meeting schedule; adding said meeting schedule to the calendars of said meeting participants; said instant messaging application processing data from the instant message session to fill in a meeting invitation in the calendaring and scheduling application, including the steps of initializing the meeting invitees to current participants in the instant message session, adding as additional invitees to the meeting any other participants in any part of the instant message session, and further adding as invitees to the meeting anyone else mentioned in the instant message session; and wherein the step of running the calendaring and scheduling application includes the step of using the calendaring and scheduling application to map a range of dates and times mentioned positively and negatively in the instant message session to participant free time to propose automatically one or more times for the meeting, and to resolve phrases including a reference to a time and a negative word near said reference.