Making videos and clicking photographs at live concerts may soon be a thing of the past, as Apple is working on a technology that could disable photo and video functionality at events.

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The company won approval from the US Patent and Trademark Office on a patent it applied for in 2009 relating to its cameras and their interaction with infrared signals.

The device could use the infrared data to disable the device’s recording functions. As an example, the patent includes an illustration of a band performing onstage as a camera screen shows the text “recording disabled”.

While the technology might be aimed at preventing copyright infringement, it could come with the added bonus of improving the concert-going experience.

According to reports, in some cases the device could also use the infrared data to show a user information related to a nearby object, such as an exhibit in a museum.