Patent ID: 7701959

Claim:
A digital network for communication between a plurality of devices, comprising: at least one device having a source for transmitting data into the network; at least one device having a sink for receiving data from the network; at least one device having an application for at least one of communicating with and controlling any other device or application; wherein data is transferred from sources to sinks only by means of connections between sources and sinks; wherein at least one application has a manager for management of devices, the manager being configured for: selecting at least one source and at least one sink to be connected; and connecting at least one selected source to at least one selected sink; wherein each of all managers have a unique assigned priority; and wherein at least one manager is configured for negotiating with other managers having a higher priority and requesting a right to specifically connect selected sources and sinks, and for limiting a selection of sources and sinks specifically to sources and sinks for which a connection has been granted by the other managers having a higher priority, before connecting at least one selected source to at least one selected sink, or controlling at least one selected source or at least one selected sink.