With the rash of Big Brother-style reveals made by Edward Snowden about the NSA’s extensive snooping worldwide, the idea of someone having unlimited access to our phone calls and text messages still seems a bit unsavory. But there are still practical reasons for accessing such information by law enforcement officials—when warranted—and such information can in some instances make or break an investigation, or be the tipping point that brings a perpetrator to justice.
The ability to legally access VoIP systems for call records and messages can be a tricky but beneficial power, and as such many companies have made plays to ensure this ability for themselves. This process, known officially as “Lawful Intercept,” provides a means to not only stealthily intercept phone calls, but also SMS text messages, multimedia or picture messages (MMS), and video chat in real time.
Voip-Pal.com Inc. has been adding onto its Lawful Intercept portfolio of patents for several years now. Its original Lawful Intercept patent was applied for in 2007, and now the company is announcing the approval of its seventh patent application, “Intercepting Voice Over IP Communications and Other Data Communications (News - Alert),” Application No. 13/863,306. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted allowance of the patent, which was applied for in April of 2013, meaning that prosecution is closed for the patent application and it is allowed for issuance as a patent.
With this newest patent, Voip-Pal will be able to offer solutions to common law enforcement problems by providing the capability to immediately intercept VoIP calls and texts in real time, thereby potentially stopping crimes and acts of terror in their tracks. In addition, Voip-Pal’s Lawful Intercept solutions will be able to intercept video chat applications like Microsoft’s (News - Alert) SKYPE and Google Hangout.
But Voip-Pal isn’t the only company vying for Lawful Intercept patents. In an interesting twist, Microsoft Corporation filed for its own version of Legal Intercept in 2009, (U.S. Patent Application 20110153809). Microsoft and Voip-Pal’s patent applications had significant similarities, but because Voip-Pal’s version was filed two years before Microsoft’s, it had priority. Consequently, Microsoft’s Legal Intercept was rejected by the USPTO in 2011 and has since been abandoned. Perhaps it’s not worth wondering how things would have changed for Microsoft if its patent had gone through, considering that it was later revealed the corporation was handing over private user data to the NSA regardless.
“The current Board and management are very grateful that the technological vision of our engineering staff several years ago was so perceptive as to yield patented technologies that are now the basis of the emerging VoIP network functionality,” said Dr. Thomas E. Sawyer, chairman and CEO of Voip-Pal. “This latest patent further reinforces Voip-Pal’s disruptive technology position in the rapidly growing VoIP arena. Testing by Legacy telephone companies of VoIP networks gives evidence of its credibility.”
Given that VoIP is becoming a primary form of communication around the world, Voip-Pal feels that the ability for real-time interception of VoIP communications Lawful Intercept provides will become an increasingly fundamental tool for governments and law enforcement agencies worldwide.
Edited by Maurice Nagle