Culture is future » Innovation and digital

DEBATES 2011 – Intellectual property - Apple, a patent to prevent from filming concerts

Apple filed a patent in June regarding a new generation camera for mobile devices, a technology that would prevent users from  recording concerts illegally. The system could be used by music and film industries to enforce the protection during shows and in movie theaters.

The system consists in an invisible infrared sensor integrated in mobile devices with a built-in camera - phone, movie camera and camera. This device could  search for a signal that would activate or not recording images. Infrared technology, invisible, has been used for long, mainly in remote control.

This technology comes within the scope of the current debates about copyright and piracy. But the patent  also explains that this technology could be used to transmit information, for example in a museum about a work of art, or for a product, its price, if it is available.

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Credits: Apple