Jailbreaking is the process of unlocking the iPhone from its network provider which allows the handset to download software apps from sites other than Apple iTunes.
The most popular site in this regard is Cydia, the website and download app designed by Jay Freeman – and named after the codling moth, which gave rise to the "worm in the apple" term.
Apple's patent, entitled 'Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorised Users of an Electronic Device' was apparently filed back in February but only published late last week. It describes a method to identify the "hacking, jailbreaking, unlocking or removal of a SIM."
"In particular, systems and methods for detecting an unauthorised user, gathering information related to the electronic device, the unauthorised user, or both, and transmitting an alert notification to a responsible party for the electronic device are provided", says the patent.
Whilst the patent makes for interesting reading, the question on most iPhone users' lips will probably be 'Can Apple kill my iPhone if I jailbreak it?'
The answer, Infosecurity notes, is almost certainly yes, but it is very unlikely Apple would go down this route, as it would be deemed illegal, following a ruling last month from the US Copyright Office's Librarian of Congress that the act of jailbreaking is not illegal in itself.
Most experts agree, however, that jailbreaking is a breach of civil contract between the owner of the iPhone and the cellco, so it is logical to assume that if Apple developed the technology described in the patent to its eventual end, then it could limit jailbroken iPhones in their functionality, such as blocking access to the iTunes service.