[berriac]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/01/r...rrycam-buster/
"RIM's own smartphones have been the target of many a "Mr. Blurrycam" snap, but a new feature could put an end to "inconspicuous" shooting, according to a patent issued today. The tool would be in line with the company's mission to protect corporations from security vulnerabilities, which include not only unauthorized access to data, but also leaks from employees. According to the patent, "the camera restriction prevents a user from taking a picture of a subject if the device has not been steadily focused on the subject in question for a predetermined period of time." Just how long you need to keep your BlackBerry still could be dictated by individual IT departments, which would also have the power to flip the switch and push restrictions to an employee's device. While such a delay would certainly be an inconvenience for frequent shooters, it is a step forward from RIM's traditional strategy of shipping models without cameras altogether. We haven't seen any indication that such a technology will be implemented with future models, but thanks to the minds at RIM, patent junkies can get their fix now at the source link below."

[TomJasper]

Might want to link this to the main page as some are thinking this is consumer side rather than corporate side restrictions.

[kill_9]

These patents are beyond the pale of ridiculousness. If anything the world needs fewer patents except for truly extraordinary breakthroughs in science and even then only for a limited period of time. Maybe the "intellectual property" lawyers should be locked in the Roman Colosseum for a battle to the death of every other lawyer. After which the "emperor" can give a thumbs down to the "winner" resulting in their death by crocodile. This exhibition to be followed by the filers of the patents including the various boards of directors. Sweet justice.

[berriac]

This patent thing is getting overboard now. Every company is suing each other over this.

[elmatatan184]

This is for the Corporate Side only and not the Consumer side.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Tapatalk

[Davey Rodgers]

If RIM didn't file the patent, then a rival would copy RIM, get a patent, and sue RIM. It's the nature of the beast.

[Superfly_FR]

This is for the Corporate Side only and not the Consumer side.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Tapatalk

Corporate side, this should be handled enabled/disable by BES ... IMHO. For average users, this could be interpreted as an "unacceptable delay to focus".

[RECOOL]

This for them corporate james bond espionage undercover agents.RIMs onto you.

[FSeverino]

although thats pretty cool there are two problems...

1) if i cant take a picture unless i focus for 5 - 10 seconds that will severely limit my 'action' shot potential... this may turn a lot of people off

2) if i have to focus on an item for 5 - 10 seconds before taking a picture... how many 'leaks' will this actually stop? It seems that most of the leaks are from people that HAVE the devices or documents, so they would have UNlimited time with them. also, if you have 2 seconds with something you most likely will have 5 - 10.

something that might work a bit better is to force the GPS sensor to be ON when in the work environment, and using that to disable the camera. that way the people cannot take a picture inside the work building. Sure some employees need to take pics as their job... there can be work arounds for that (like with anything) and they can also use an actual camera

[jakie55]

If it does not affect me on the consumer side, and it negates the need to develop camera free phones....go for it!

[SparkyBC]

It's a corporate feature. Security wise they had to make phones without a camera to serve customers security needs.

This patent would allow rim to put this technology in any phone they wish software wise and eliminate making a separate device.

[Superfly_FR]

It's a corporate feature. Security wise they had to make phones without a camera to serve customers security needs.

This patent would allow rim to put this technology in any phone they wish software wise and eliminate making a separate device.

Not sure how they will use this. After my previous comment, I had a reflexion and wondered how this could be implemented on selected locations. I'm on Fseverino track and believe this could be a mix between BES feature enabling and localization. By localization, I mean presence in a place that has been identified by the company as "sensible area" where no "spy/stolen" pics are allowed, using either GPS localization (but how accurately point a GPS localization inside a building ?), corporate wifi hook (but what if user disables it ?) or ... hey, I'm sure you got it ... c'mon ... just think about it ... security ... balance personal environment features limitation (uh, that souds weird, isn't it ?) ... can't be persistent ... oh ... ah ... how ... check in ... check out ... ID ... didn't get to NFC acces control already ?
I am

[Rootbrian]

The number of people thinking this is for the consumer side is just.... I don't know what to say... Senseless? I wonder if they even read it correctly or followed the link. Maybe crackberry adam should've edited to say FOR CORPORATE USE as to not get people thinking about their current or future blackberries.. As for that, I doubt the patent will be in use much, but rim secured it so they wouldn't be sued by some hostile patent trolls.

[kbz1960]

So what's to stop them from using another phone or camera to get the pic they want?

[AluminiumRims]

How is this going to prevent corporate espionage? If you're going to take a photo of a document or some type of product, what's stopping you from focusing 5-10 seconds. Is the document or product going to run away on its own?

This is probably one of those patents that will never enter any product.