The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Judge Holderman) recently ruled that the interception of unencrypted, publicly available WiFi networks does not violate provisions of the federal Wiretap Act. In a decision involving admissibility of evidence, the court found that a party’s “intercept” fell within an exception to the Wiretap Act – allowing a person “to intercept or access an electronic communication made through an electronic communication system that is configured so that electronic communication is readily accessible to the general public.”

The issue arose in a a patent infringement case. Innovatio IP Ventures sued commercial users of wireless internet technology, such as hotels and coffee shops, for infringing its patents by making the technology available to their customers, as well as using the technology for managing internal processes. As discovery proceeded…