Patent ID: 6987841

Claim:
A method for making an authenticatable and retrievable recording of a voice communication for use by a service provider in a telecommunications system in which recording services are provided to communicating parties, comprising the steps of: receiving a request for the recording service from a first communicating party; verifying an identification number received from the first communicating party; receiving a number for a second communicating party from the first communicating party; establishing a connection for a communication over the public switched telecommunications system between first and second communicating parties; playing an announcement to the second communicating party indicating that the conversation is being recorded; before making the recording, receiving from the second communicating party an authorization to record the communication; making a recording of the communication; detecting the completion of the communication; converting the recording to a standard audio file format; digitally signing the audio file by the service provider; including in the digitally signed audio file authentication information generated by the service provider including; a response from the second communicating party to the request for authorization; the time and date of the recording, telephone numbers associated with the communication, and a unique identification code; storing the digitally signed audio file in a recording medium maintained by the service provider; providing a protected website to the first communicating party for accessing the stored audio file and for at least one of playing of the audio file, deleting of the audio file, downloading of the audio file and long-term storage of the audio file; and sending e-mail including a URL for accessing the audio file containing authentication information to a predetermined address established by the first communicating party.