Time Warner Cable is seeking a patent for technology to let cable subscribers watch DVR recordings on mobile devices including tablets, smartphones, and computers outside of the home.

The patent application, obtained by FierceCable, shows most of the cable company’s efforts are directed at preserving licensing agreements for content viewing and managing restrictions on copying television shows and movies to external devices.

Time Warner Cable has proposed a three level security system for customer recordings. Level 1 would prohibit the customer from accessing DVR recordings, Level 2 would permit limited viewing and perhaps no copying, and Level 3 would allow open access to recordings and allow them to be shared with other devices.

The company theoretically could also use its security system to secure customer use, charging extra depending on how a customer wants to view DVR recordings remotely.

“Because of the increasing popularity of home networking, there is a growing need for a strategy that enables a user to perform authorized transfer of protected content, e.g., transferring content from an STT [set-top terminal] to a second device in a home network, and at the same time prevents unauthorized distribution of the protected content,” Time Warner Cable wrote in the patent application.

Time Warner could be the first cable company to allow remote viewing of DVR recordings if its patent application is approved. The company already offers a “whole home” DVR system that permits customers to start recorded shows on one television and finish them on another, but this enhancement would extend viewing outside of the home.

The company offered no comment about the patent or an estimate of when the service might become available.