We have ways of making you watch the ads

The patent bears the name of Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. Photo / Bloomberg

Apple fans are calling it the cyber equivalent of a time-share sales pitch: attend a seminar for a few hours at our wonderful holiday village and we'll give you a weekend there, absolutely free.

The Apple brand has never liked indulging in cost-cutting, and fans have been willing to pay a premium for its products. But a new patent suggests that Apple may consider selling its iPods and iMacs at discounted prices - as long as consumers listen to compulsory advertising.

A patent application filed by Apple in the US has revealed it is in the middle of copyrighting software technology which would force consumers to watch or listen to adverts on its products.

Described in the application as "enforcement routine" software, consumers will be unable to skip the adverts, and may be asked questions to ensure they have understood them.

For example, people listening to adverts on their iPods may be asked to press button combinations to prove they have been paying attention. A wrong answer could result in the device being temporarily locked. On the plus side, the advertising revenues would enable Apple to sell their products more cheaply.

The revelation of the patent, which was released to the public by the US Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month and filtered online yesterday, has caused discomfort in the blogging community.

One commentator described the application as "the most invasive, demeaning, anti-utopian and downright horrible piece of cross-platform software technology that anybody's ever thought of".

Like any successful technology company, Apple regularly files experimental patent applications, many of which never make it off the drawing board.

But fans are concerned that this particular piece of software has backing.

Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs is the first of five people named on the patent application, something which has only happened four times in the past 30 applications on which he has been a co-inventor, since March 2008.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the patent. But with the internet becoming an increasingly lucrative place to advertise, it is little wonder that some of the world's technology giants are keen to cash in. According to the internet Advertising Bureau, spending on internet advertising grew 4.6 per cent in the first half of 2009, overtaking television advertising for the first time.

If Apple's patent is fully developed, it would mark a profound shift in its sales policy, which largely relies on making money through hardware sales and its online music store, iTunes.

But competition from upstarts such as Spotify may be forcing Apple's hand.

Spotify has directly challenged the iTunes' supremacy by offering thousands of music tracks free of charge, as long as subscribers agree to listen to periodic adverts, similar to the way commercial radio operates. Subscribers who pay a monthly rate can have the same access, without the adverts.

Microsoft is also offering cheaper products with compulsory advertising. It is planning to include a downgraded version of its Office software on all new PCs, which will be free to use but will include a permanent advert box. Users who want the full version, without adverts, will have to pay a premium.

Peter Fyfe, head of emerging platforms at online advertising agency Mediacom, said that if the patent went ahead Apple would have to be careful about how it advertises.

"Apple's brand very much revolves around creating a positive user experience, in that you take their products out of the box, plug them in and off you go. So I very much doubt Apple would take a sledgehammer approach to advertising and bombard users. More likely, they will carefully tailor-make the adverts to suit the customers who will, in turn, be able to buy their products at a cheaper rate," said Fyfe.

THE PATENT

*Apple has applied to the US Patent and Trademark Office for a patent for "enforcement routine" software which would force customers to watch or listen to adverts on Apple products.

*Consumers would be unable to skip the adverts and may be asked questions about them.

*Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs is the first of five people named on the patent application.


- Independent