patentlyapple.com

A new Apple patent intended for mobile devices could help the music and film industries stop people from illegally recording a concert or a movie playing in a theater.

The patent describes an invisible infrared sensor integrated into mobile iOS devices with a built-in camera — which includes iPhones, the iPod Touch and iPad 2. As the Apple patent explains, an infrared sensor in a mobile phone could be used to search for another signal that would say whether it is O.K. to activate and record footage with the phone’s camera.

The recording industry could easily use this technology to disable a camera during a music concert by blasting an infrared signal from the stage and in turn disabling an iPhone from recording the concert for purposes of sharing it online, violating copyright laws.

Infrared technology is not visible to the naked eye and has existed in standard appliance remote controls for years. It is usually used to turn televisions and DVD players on and off and to switch channels and adjust volume.

The patent also says that the technology could be used in museums and other venues to transmit information to a phone. For example, pointing a phone’s camera at a piece of artwork in a museum could return information about the work and display it on the screen.

The patent was uncovered by the blog Patently Apple and published by the United States Patent & Trademark Office on Thursday. It was filed in late 2009 by three Apple inventors, Victor Tiscareno, Kevin Johnson and Cindy Lawrence.