Patent ID: 7881235

Claim:
A computer implemented method for holding a teleconference between a plurality of users, the method comprising: inviting a plurality of users to join a conference, each user having a conferencing system with associated hardware capabilities and associated bandwidth capabilities, and each conferencing system having a maximal communication capability supported by the associated bandwidth and hardware capabilities associated with the conferencing system; receiving from each invited user a user address; establishing a connection with each invited user using the received user address; selecting a conferencing method from a plurality of conferencing methods, wherein the conferencing method is selected based on the maximal communication capabilities of the conferencing systems of the invited users; and establishing a conference between the invited users according to the selected conferencing method, wherein the selected conferencing method allows each invited user to participate in the conference at a level supported by each user's hardware capabilities and associated bandwidth capabilities and conferencing streams are transmitted using the selected conferencing method.