Apple was granted approval yesterday for a patent that could enable bands to block concertgoers from filming or taking photos during concerts.

According to 9to5Mac, the technology would work by having your iPhone read and interpret encoded data sent via infared signals from a transmitter placed at the venue. A command sent from these signals could be used to tell your phone to temporarily disable its photo and video recording capabilities.

This same technology could also theoretically be used to keep people from recording at movie theaters, or at sensitive locations such as the film sets of upcoming Hollywood blockbusters. It could also be used to display customized information at museums or historic sites, as an updated version of the walkman-style headset rental tours of our youth.

As Pitchfork points out, companies such as Apple frequently patent ideas that never make it to market. 9to5Mac also points out that infared is a "rather elderly method of data-transmission" nowadays, so the technology giant could also be working on a different method of helping bands combat unauthorized filming and photography at their shows.

In other words, the view of your favorite band performing live may still be obstructed by the amateur photographer with the unbelievably long arms for quite some time. Until this technology is available, we will continue to strongly endorse the passive-aggressive "Oh, did I spill my beer on you? Sorry, I was just trying to see over your camera" interference method.

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