Patent ID: 7315518

Claim:
A method for processing a request for a call comprising the steps of: receiving on a packet switched network a request for a call, the request including information sufficient to identify a device associated with a first party who wishes to receive the call and including information sufficient to identify a device associated with a second party from whom the first party wishes to receive the call, the request originating from a source computer; deciding whether to block the request based on at least one criterion selected from the group consisting of (a) a total number of requests received from the source computer during a period of time, (b) a total number of calls resulting from requests received from the source computer currently in progress, (c) a total number of requests received from the source computer for a call from the second party during a period of time, (d) a total number of requests received from the source computer for a call to the first party during a period of time, and (e) a total number of requests identifying the device of the first party during a period of time; and connecting the first party to the second party if the request is not blocked.