Nothing is worse at concerts than having some dude block your view of the band for 45 minutes to take crappy iPhone pics. But those days may be coming to an end soon thanks to Apple.
The company was recently granted a patent that would allow concerts and other private events to block iPhone users from taking photos and videos of the event by using infrared signals.
Photo: USPTO
Blocking video photography could also be a draw for comedy clubs, sports stadiums and other exclusive events. Instead of completely blocking all photography, Apple’s patent filed in 2011 could also allow companies to do something more useful, like adding an automatic watermark to photos and videos as a way to promote the event.
“In some embodiments, a device may apply a watermark to detected images as an alternative to completely disabling a recording function. For example, a device may receive infrared signals with encoded data that includes a command to apply a watermark to detected images. In such an example, the device may then apply the watermark to all detected images that are displayed or stored (e.g., single pictures or frames of a video).
The patent for beaming data to iPhones en masse with infrared beams could also be used at museums to provide useful information on individual items like audio commentary, historical information and videos.
The major drawback of the patent though is that it would require every smartphone to come equipped with an infrared sensor for it to work on the entire crowd. And once concert venues start blocking video, people will just switch to a device that can’t be blocked.
