Redirecting and mirroring of telephonic communications

• US 20070025536A1
• Filed: 06/30/2005
• Published: 02/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Andruss, William, Claudatos, Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 8,605,878 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/202.10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42314 in private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/54 Arrangements for diverting calls for one subscriber to another predetermined subscriber based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; to voice mail H04M3/53308
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15

Abstract

Initiating a communication is disclosed. An identifier associated with an intended destination with which the calling party desires to establish communication is received from a calling party. Communication with a compliance node is established. An identifier is provided to the compliance node. The compliance node is configured to establish with the intended destination a communication session in which the compliance node, the intended destination, and the calling party are participants.

Claims

1. A method of initiating a communication, comprising:

receiving from a calling party an identifier associated with an intended destination with which the calling party desires to establish communication;

establishing communication with a compliance node; and

providing the identifier to the compliance node;

wherein the compliance node is configured to establish with the intended destination a communication session in which the compliance node, the intended destination, and the calling party are participants.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the calling party includes a user, a hardware component, or a software component associated with a monitored call participant.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the identifier is received from a user via a user interface.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein communication with the compliance node is established automatically and the participation of the compliance node in the communication session is transparent to the calling party.

5. A method of receiving a communication, comprising:

receiving at an equipment associated with a first communication participant a request from a second communication participant to establish communication;

establishing a connection with a compliance node;

allowing communication with the second communication participant to be established; and

providing to the compliance node at least a portion of the communication between the first and second communication participants;

wherein the compliance node is configured to perform compliance processing with respect to said at least a portion of the communication between the first and second communication participants and communication with the compliance node is established before the first and second communication participants are permitted to communicate with one another.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein providing to the compliance node at least a portion of the communication between the first and second communication participants includes establishing a communication session in which the compliance node, the first communication participant, and the second communication participant are participants.

7. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein providing to the compliance node at least a portion of the communication between the first and second communication participants includes mirroring to the compliance node said at least a portion of the communication between the first and second communication participants.

8. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the compliance node is a compliance module implemented on the equipment.

9. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein establishing a connection with the compliance node includes establishing a new to call an external compliance system.

10. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein compliance processing includes one or more of:

monitoring, recording, archiving, indexing, retrieving, analyzing, controlling, blocking, and modifying communication information.

11. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the communication comprises one or more of the following:

voice data including conversation content and tone/character/accent/gender of voice, background call noise, data associated with devices of with call participants, data associated with communication service providers, data associated with routing devices, data associated with other devices associated with a compliance system, and any audible or binary data associated with the call.

12. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein compliance processing includes blocking or modifying the communication according to a call blocking policy based at least in part on one or more of the following:

a list of allowed call participants, a list of non-allowed call participants, a list of allowed call participant groupings, and a list of non-allowed call participant groups.

13. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein compliance processing includes storing data associated with the communication according to an archive policy on a storage medium.

14. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein the storage medium includes one or more of the following:

a hard drive, optical storage, a data tape, an audio tape, a backup server, a networked storage, a Storage Area Network, and a Network Attached Storage.

15. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein storing data further includes one or more of the following:

information conversion, audio digitalization, voice to text translation, encoding format conversion, data filtering, data compression, and data encryption.

16. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the equipment includes one or more of the following:

a mobile phone, a telephone, a computer, and any device able to send and receive data at least in part via a telephone service provider network.

17. A method of initiating a communication, comprising:

receiving from a calling party at an equipment associated with the calling party an identifier associated with an intended destination with which the calling party wants to establish communication;

establishing a connection with a compliance node;

establishing communication with the intended destination; and

providing to the compliance node at least a portion of the communication between the calling party and the intended destination;

wherein the compliance node is configured to perform compliance processing with respect to said at least a portion of the communication between the calling party and the intended destination and communication with the compliance node is established before the calling party and the intended destination are permitted to communicate with one another.

18. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein providing to the compliance node at least a portion of the communication between the calling party and the intended destination includes establishing a communication session in which the compliance node, the calling party, and the intended destination are participants.

19. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein providing to the compliance node at least a portion of the communication between the calling party and the intended destination includes mirroring to the compliance node said at least a portion of the communication between the calling party and the intended destination.

20. A communication equipment, comprising:

a user interface configured to receive an identifier associated with an intended destination with which a calling party desires to establish communication; and

a communication interface configured to communicate with a compliance node and transmit the identifier to the compliance node;

wherein the compliance node is configured to establish with the intended destination a communication session in which the compliance node, the intended destination, and the calling party are participants and the communication equipment is configured to establish communication with other communication participants only indirectly through the compliance node.

21. A communication equipment, comprising:

a communication interface configured to initiate telephonic calls placed by and receive telephonic calls placed to a communication participant associated with the communication equipment; and

a compliance module configured to perform compliance processing with respect to telephonic calls placed by or to the communication participant;

wherein compliance processing includes or more of;

monitoring, recording, archiving, indexing, retrieving, analyzing, controlling, blocking, and modifying communication information.

22. An equipment as recited in claim 21, further comprising a data storage configured to store data associated with the compliance processing.

23. An equipment as recited in claim 21, wherein the equipment comprises a telephone, mobile phone, VoIP device, or other telephonic equipment.

24. A computer program product for receiving a communication, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving at an equipment associated with a first communication participant a request from a second communication participant to establish communication;

accepting communication from the second communication participant; and

performing at the equipment compliance processing with respect to at least a portion of the communication between the first and second communication participants.

25. A computer program product as recited in claim 24, wherein compliance processing includes-one or more of:

monitoring, recording, archiving, indexing, retrieving, analyzing, controlling, blocking, and modifying communication information.

26. A computer program product as recited in claim 24, wherein compliance processing includes blocking or modifying the communication according to a call blocking policy based at least in part on one or more of the following:

a list of allowed call participants, a list of non-allowed call participants, a list of allowed call participant groupings, and a list of non-allowed call participant groups.

27. A computer program product as recited in claim 24, wherein compliance processing includes storing data associated with the communication according to an archive policy on a storage medium.