It doesn’t matter how much evidence you throw at Hollywood or their associated copyright enforcement agencies, piracy and the viewing of illegally acquired content will always be something they want to wipe out. A new patent application from Microsoft could well aid them in that quest.
The patent has the ominous title of “Content Distribution Regulation by Viewing User.” It details a system whereby the people sitting in view of a TV can be detected using cameras and sensors like those found in the Kinect motion controller. Once logged, the content provider can assess the audience and either choose to charge more for viewing the content or block access based on there being too many people.
Those are just two of the extremes such a system could be used for. A cable provider could just as easily log the ages and gender of the people watching the TV and adapt advertising or limit (mature) content accordingly. But even so, this isn’t a system that would go down well with consumers, and how are they going to enforce its use? “This content can only be viewed with the Microsoft Kinect turned on.” is not a message I can see working as part of a content distribution system.
This patent has come about because the Kinect exists. The inventors include lead Kinect developer Alex Kipman, director of Xbox Incubation Andrew Fuller, and executive director of Xbox Incubation Kathryn Stone Perez. Xbox Incubation is Microsoft’s team working on new hardware and where the final Kinect controller was originally developed. It’s no surprise the team is continuing to figure out new ways to use the device, I just wish they were coming up with ideas that are a little less draconian.
More at GeekWire and the US Patent & Trademark Office
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