System and method for conflict resolution during the consolidation of information relating to a data service

1. A computing device comprising:

a network connectivity device configured to receive presence information from a presence server, the presence information relating to at least one of a presentity and a watcher; and

a processor configured for:

processing of the presence information to determine a value of a presence aspect, the presence aspect representing a combination or consolidation of data elements of the presence information received from the presence server;

identifying a conflict in the presence information, based on the value of the presence aspect being inconclusive or indeterminate, during processing of the presence information wherein the conflict occurs either between first and second presence information received from the presence server or between first and second rules;

resolving the conflict according to a criteria comprising at least one of a rule, a policy, a trigger, a priority, an order of resolution, and a guideline; and

according to the resolving, transmitting a first value of the presence aspect to a first watcher and transmitting a second value of the presence aspect to a second watcher, the first and second values being different,

wherein the presentity comprises a first entity that has first presence information associated with it, and wherein the watcher comprises a second entity that wishes to receive the first presence information associated with the presentity.

2. The computing device of claim 1 wherein the conflict occurs between two or more of rules, and wherein the criteria specifies which one rule is used.

3. The computing device of claim 2 wherein the criteria is specified by a modification to one or more of the rules, policies, and triggers.

4. The computing device of claim 3 wherein the one or more of the rules, policies, and triggers comprise a first rule and a second rule, and wherein the criteria specifies that one of the first rule and the second rule is to be applied only after the other one of the first rule and the second rule is applied.

5. The computing device of claim 1 wherein the criteria specifies which of the first presence information and the second presence information are used.

6. The computing device of claim 5 wherein the first presence information is associated with a first criteria, wherein the second presence information is associated with a second criteria, and wherein resolving comprises comparing the first criteria and the second criteria.

7. The computing device of claim 6 wherein the first criteria and the second criteria are selected from the group consisting of user identifiers, group identifiers, service types, location identifiers, time identifiers, types of data inputs, and combinations thereof.

8. The computing device of claim 7 wherein the first criteria comprises a first user identifier of the first watcher and the second criteria comprises a second user identifier of the second watcher, wherein the

transmitting is performed based on a rule or a policy associated with one or more of the first user identity and the second user identity.

9. The computing device of claim 5 wherein the criteria comprises metadata associated with at least one of the first presence information and the second presence information.

10. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the criteria specifies one or more of a priority, a rank, or an order used to resolve the conflict.

11. The computing device of claim 10 , wherein when the conflict relates to a data conflict, the criteria specifies the priority, order, or rank associated with the conflicting data which is used to resolve the conflict.

12. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving presence information from a presence server, the presence information relating to at least one of a presentity and a watcher;

processing the presence information to determine a value of a presence aspect, the presence aspect representing a combination or consolidation of data elements of the presence information received from the presence server;

identifying a conflict in the presence information, based on the value of the presence aspect being inconclusive or indeterminate, during processing of the presence information, wherein the conflict occurs either between first and second presence information received from the presence server or between first and second rules;

resolving the conflict according to a criteria comprising at least one of a rule, a policy, a trigger, a priority, an order of resolution, and a guideline; and

according to the resolving, transmitting a first value of the presence aspect to a first watcher and transmitting a second value of the presence aspect to a second watcher, the first and second values being different,

wherein the presentity comprises a first entity that has first presence information associated with it, and wherein the watcher comprises a second entity that wishes to receive the first presence information associated with the presentity.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 wherein the conflict occurs between two or more of rules, and wherein the criteria specifies which one rule is used.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 wherein the criteria is specified by a modification to one or more of the rules, policies, and triggers.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14 wherein the one or more of the rules, policies, and triggers comprises a first rule and a second rule, and wherein the criteria specifies that one of the first rule and the second rule is to be applied only after the other one of the first rule and the second rule is applied.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 wherein the criteria specifies which of the first presence information and the second presence information are used.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16 wherein the first presence information is associated with a first criteria, wherein the second presence information is associated with a second criteria, and wherein resolving comprises comparing the first criteria and the second criteria.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17 wherein the first criteria and the second criteria are selected from the group consisting of user identifiers, group identifiers, service types, location identifiers, time identifiers, types of data inputs, and combinations thereof.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18 wherein the first criteria comprises a first user identifier of the first watcher and the second criteria comprises a second user identifier of the second watcher, and wherein

the transmitting is performed based on a rule or a policy associated with one or more of the first user identity and the second user identity.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 wherein the criteria specifies one or more of a priority, a rank, or an order used to resolve the conflict.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 20 , wherein when the conflict relates to a data conflict, the criteria specifics the priority, order, or rank associated with the conflicting data which is used to resolve the conflict.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 wherein the criteria comprises metadata associated with at least one of the first presence information and the second presence information.

23. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions that cause a computing device to perform the operations of:

receiving presence information from a presence server, the presence information relating to at least one of a presentity and a watcher;

processing the presence information to determine a value of a presence aspect, the presence aspect representing a combination or consolidation of data elements of the presence information received from the presence server;

identifying a conflict in the presence information, based on the value of the presence aspect being inconclusive or indeterminate, during processing of the presence information, wherein the conflict occurs either between first and second presence information received from the presence server or between first and second rules;

resolving the conflict according to a criteria comprising at least one of a rule, a policy, a trigger, a priority, an order of resolution, and a guideline; and

according to the resolving, transmitting a first value of the presence aspect to a first watcher and transmitting a second value of the presence aspect to a second watcher, the first and second values being different,

wherein the presentity comprises a first entity that has first presence information associated with it, and wherein the watcher comprises a second entity that wishes to receive the first presence information associated with the presentity.