Abstract:
A method and various apparatus are disclosed relating to employing audio/visual recording equipment to make a record of the act of serving official papers on an individual. The act of recording may be concealed and the recorded content may be used commercially or for official purposes.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This utility patent application claims priority to a provision application entitled “Photographing And Audio/Video Recording Of A Party While Being Served With Legal Papers,” filed on Feb. 4, 2011 and having Application No. 61/439,575. The aforementioned application is also incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE  
       [0002]    The subject matter of the present disclosure relates to a method for recording a person while he or she is served with official documents such as legal papers, and the subsequent use of that recording. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE  
       [0003]    A method is disclosed for capturing audio and/or video of a party being served legal papers. The system is capable of capturing audio, video, or a combination of both. In some embodiments, the system includes a microphone, camera, processor, and a storage unit. In some embodiments, the system can be discreetly housed in a number of accessories that would prevent the recording equipment from being visually detected by the subject of the recording. The video/audio recordings produced can be transmitted (simultaneously or otherwise) and/or uploaded to a website accessible to users via the internet where the recordings can be viewed and/or listened to. The website may profit from this content in any manner known, for example by using advertising, pay-to-access or pay per usage basis. Furthermore, the recording may be desired by parties involved in legal proceeding related to the service or other legal proceedings. Making the recording and providing associated access may be tailored geographically or otherwise in accordance with applicable state and Federal laws. 
         [0004]    The recordings can also be burned to a CD/DVD/USB or other digital device for a fee which can then be used for identity verification purposes through the court system and be posted on a website for viewing and generating associated profit. 
         [0005]    The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize every aspect of the present disclosure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0006]    The foregoing summary and other aspects of subject matter of the present disclosure will be best understood with reference to a detailed description of the process, which follows, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates the method of recording a party while serving him/her with legal papers. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates the recording system according to certain teachings of the present disclosure 
       
    
    
       [0009]    While the subject matter of the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific examples are herein described in detail. The figures and written description are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts in any manner. Rather, the figures and written description are provided to illustrate the inventive concepts to a person skilled in the art by reference to particular embodiments, as required by 35 U.S.C. §112. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0010]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a method  100  for recording a party while serving that party with legal papers. First, a legal (or other formal) matter may be initiated  110  that requires serving a party with legal or official documents. The party initiating service then decides whether or not they want to request  120  that the opposing party be recorded while being served with papers. If the initiating party does not choose  125  to record the opposing party while being served, the opposing party is served  130  the legal papers in the typical manner. If, however, the initiating party selects  145  to have the opposing party recorded while being served, the person who will serve the papers employs the recording equipment  140 , which may or may not be hidden. The recording equipment can be hidden or disguised in any number of accessories to best coordinate with the clothing the person serving the papers is wearing. Examples of accessories that can be used to house the recording equipment include, but are not limited to a pair of sunglasses, a pen, A HAT, a brooch, or even a standard video/audio recording device in plain view. Prior to confronting the opposing party, the person wearing the recording equipment enables the recording equipment  150  to begin recording  155 . The person wearing the recording equipment then serves opposing party  130  the legal papers as usual. The recording equipment is then disabled  160  after the papers have been served. The recording is retrieved  170  from a storage location and then delivered  180  to the initiating party that requested the recording and/or anyone provided such access is allowable under local or state law. 
         [0011]    The method  100 , illustrated in  FIG. 1 , includes other orders in which the steps are carried out. For example, the person serving the legal papers may enable the recording equipment before donning the device. 
         [0012]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the recording system  500  may be capable of recording audio, video, or both. The capture de/activation module  550  sends a command signal  555  to the processing module  560  to either start or stop recording. The processing module  560 , in turn, sends independent command signals  535  and  545  to either or both the audio and video capture modules  530  and  540  to either start or stop recording. During operation, and upon a start recording command  535  and  545  from the processing module  560 , the microphone  510  captures audio and provides an audio feed  515  to the audio capture module  530 ; and the camera  520  captures video and provides a video feed  525  to the video capture module  540 . Both the captured audio  530  and  540  video are sent to the processing module  560 . The processing module  560  then sends a command signal  565  to the storage module  570  to store the captured audio and video. Lastly, the stored audio and video data can be transmitted via the transmission module  580  upon a command signal  568  from the processing module  560 . 
         [0013]    The capture de/activation module  550  can send a command signal  555  to the processing module  560  through various methods. For example, the signal  555  can be sent wirelessly or by physical actuation of a button on the recording equipment. 
         [0014]    Upon a command signal  565  from the processing module  560 , the storage module  570  can store the data locally or remotely. Local storage would be contained with the recording equipment and hidden in the chosen accessory, e.g., chosen by the person serving the papers. Further, the data can be wirelessly transmitted to a remote storage location. 
         [0015]    The recording can then be adapted to a website, DVD/CD/USB, and or other digital device and made available to the parties involved, the court system, and/or anyone legally allowed to gain access per local and/or state law. 
         [0016]    Viewing/listening of the recordings may be commercialized in any known way, for example: pay per view on a website; pay for unlimited views on a single or group of videos, where the grouping may or may not be logical, such as all videos for one plaintiff, one defendant, one case, one district, etc.; use of advertising; sale or rental of CD, DVD or other digital form; assembly into a comedic or instructive audio/video show; or any other known commercialization of content.