US 8477762

US Patent 8477762, titled "Self-forming VoIP network," was issued on July 2, 2013, from an application filed on January 12, 2009, under application number US12/352,457. The original assignee was Mesh Dynamics Inc, and the current assignee is Dynamic Mesh Networks Inc. The patent names Francis daCosta and Sriram Dayanandan as the inventors.

Abstract:
The patent describes a self-forming Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network capability that can operate over wired, wireless, or hybrid networks. It focuses on scenarios where a local network cluster is isolated from a conventional Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server, either from its formation or due to a network break. The invention's core is that each network node, equipped with distributed SIP registry functionality, independently builds and maintains its own local SIP registry and acts as a SIP server. This design allows VoIP conversations among client devices connected to nodes within an isolated cluster to continue, and new connections to be initiated or sustained, even without a connection to an external SIP server.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1: This claim describes a VoIP-capable network configuration. It involves two or more VoIP "nodes" that form an isolated group (or "cluster") and communicate with each other. Each user's VoIP device connects to one of these nodes. A key feature is that every VoIP node has its own local "SIP registry," which it builds by sharing SIP information with the other nodes in the cluster. This arrangement allows a first user connected to a first node to establish a VoIP call with a second user connected to a second node, purely by using the local SIP registries on those nodes.
• Claim 10: This claim outlines a method for enabling and sustaining VoIP communication in a network. The method starts by creating a cluster of two or more network "nodes" that are initially isolated from a central SIP server but can communicate with each other. Each of these nodes independently supports VoIP using its local SIP registry. The method involves:
  1. Nodes exchanging SIP registry information with at least one other isolated node.
  2. Each node updating its local SIP registry as new information about clients and nodes becomes available.
  3. Nodes sending and receiving VoIP calls between client devices by using the local SIP registry functions within the nodes.
• Claim 15: This claim describes a VoIP-capable network centered around a single, initially isolated network "node." This node is connected to at least two VoIP client devices. The node contains a local "SIP registry" that stores the unique address information for all VoIP clients communicating with it. VoIP conversations between these clients are initiated using this local SIP registry. Additionally, this isolated node has the capability to broadcast its SIP registry information to any other isolated nodes it may come into communication with.

CAFC 2026 Dockets:
As of April 26, 2026, a search of CAFC 2026 dockets did not return any specific litigation or case information pertaining to US Patent 8477762.