Patent ID: 8411304

Claim:
A method for automatic service sharing, said method comprising: automatically registering a custom service with respect to a plurality of multi-function devices in a peer-to-peer discovery subsystem of a network; associating an extensible interface platform client with said plurality of multi-function devices; querying, utilizing said extensible interface platform associated with said plurality of multi-function devices, of said peer-to-peer discovery subsystem based on a particular policy; detecting an optimal instance of said custom service based on a loading factor and an availability factor, wherein said peer-to-peer discovery subsystem returns a reference with respect to said custom service to enable automatic service sharing and auto populating a user interface display on said plurality of multi-function devices with at least one service option from said customer service in said plurality of multi-function devices; associating said peer-to-peer discovery subsystem with a grid infrastructure; and storing in said grid structure, information indicative of a registration of said customer service.