8x8, Inc., provider of Packet8 broadband Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and videophone communications services, announced it has been awarded a new U.S. Patent for VoIP technology related to the display and sharing of images over the Internet.

The new patent, U.S. Patent No. 7,124,165, issued October 17, 2006, is titled "Arrangement and Method for Displaying and Sharing Images." Amongst the 27 allowed claims is claim #12 which reads:

12. A method for displaying and sharing digital images using an internet access appliance with telephony and image capture capability, comprising the steps of: posting at least one digital image via a server to a web page where the at least one image is made available for viewing, the at least one digital image being a digital image of an item captured by a sender; selecting at least one individual for whom the at least one image is to be made accessible for viewing; notifying the at least one individual of the at least one image being posted to the web page; and while viewing at least one image, using the internet access appliance to establish a telephony connection between said at least one individual and a second individual, where the at least one individual and the second individual concurrently review the at least one image at the web page.

Essentially, the invention enables an individual to click on a posted image and correspond with the sender in the form of an IP phone call, fax or other electronic communication. According to an example embodiment described in the patent, digital images are captured, downloaded to an Internet access appliance with Internet telephony and image capture capability, or downloaded directly to network storage through the network appliance (that may be transmitted with or without compression), attached to an electronic communication, and sent to a server where the images are parsed and posted onto a web page where they are stored, and subsequent communication is automatically sent to selected individuals.

This is 8x8's 65th issued United States patent and the fifth Internet telephony-related patent awarded to the company in 2006.