Apple Patents Anti-Piracy Technology for Video Recording Via Infrared Signals

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Sure, Apple users might added music freedom with the recently-announced iCloud and iTunes Match. But Apple has also patented a technology that might help curb piracy at its source.

We’re talking about recordings here. Watch films at a theater and you get the “no camcording” warning. Concerts and other live performances usually ban recordings, too, and as phones with video cameras become more popular, the risk of a performance being recorded is ever increasing.

Apple’s latest patent involves detecting when the phone is in a situation where a recording might potentially infringe on intellectual property. The system works by detecting light in the invisible portion of the light spectrum, such as infrared. Movie theaters already transmit infrared signals to broadcast audio to hearing aids, and Apple plans to use this to their advantage. When the phone is in such a scenario, it might either disable video recording, add a watermark or prevent the video from being transferred or sent to another device.

This system can also be used by artists if they want to prevent their performances being recorded by viewers. This will require the transmission of a similar signal via infrared. Aside from IP concerns, though, Apple says the system can also be used as a triggering mechanism for showing interactive content. This might be useful in a retail or museum setting, in which a user can fetch more information about a product or tourist attraction when the phone’s camera captures the signal.