WildCowboy said:
The question is, what trademark is Apple defending? Going after a podcasting company when all you have trademarked is the iPod may be trying to stretch your trademark a bit far.
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Podcast Trademark Controversy
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The question is, what trademark is Apple defending? Going after a podcasting company when all you have trademarked is the iPod may be trying to stretch your trademark a bit far.
apple specifically excluded general use of podcast
This is a beat up over podcast which apple admit is generic to downloaded audio , but I can see what Apple are concerned about. This company is attempting to register marks in areas that Apple already cover with POD and iPOD,
Claiming that mypodder sounds like iPOD is probably stretching it a little bit, but hey gotta keep those lawyers in Business, where is Denny Crane when you need him.
840quadra said:
This is a beat up over podcast which apple admit is generic to downloaded audio , but I can see what Apple are concerned about. This company is attempting to register marks in areas that Apple already cover with POD and iPOD,
Claiming that mypodder sounds like iPOD is probably stretching it a little bit, but hey gotta keep those lawyers in Business, where is Denny Crane when you need him.
WildCowboy said:
Apple let this go and next thing they'll find themselves defending is a term 'iPod', because it has become as generic as Walkman. Frankly, not many guys know that there is a computer company called Apple which is the only manufacturer of iPod. I showed my new iPod to couple of my friends and they asked whether it is from Sony or HP
gwangung said:
Well Steve Jobs has promoted the popularity of Podcasts, and how many are available right now from so many sources.
Steve Jobs basically named them Podcasts himself. Then he promoted their popularity and how easy they are to obtain from the iTMS for free.
And yes, people could have called them MP3Casts, but using a slight derivation of the name of a very popular cultural icon shouldn't be wrong. I wonder how much Microsoft would love it if the whole world renamed their Podcast as "ZuneCast" instead?
I'm a bot with more bots at my beck and call the grey goo is only a matter of time, meh meh meh.840quadra said:
For fun, here is a list of the parties who expect to file opposition to the Pod trademark application. They are Secure-It, Varsity Group, VNU Media Measurement (Nielsen/Soundscan), TastyBytes, Podfitness, and Line 6.
hell i think apple created the POD name in popular imagination.
they need to protect the product brand name POD from being brought down in value by companies like PODFITNESS and others, that use their name in it.
Apple needs to protect the brand name. but need to do it nicely.
hard thing to balance. lets hope it goes ok.
they need to protect the product brand name POD from being brought down in value by companies like PODFITNESS and others, that use their name in it.
Apple needs to protect the brand name. but need to do it nicely.
hard thing to balance. lets hope it goes ok.
You know what? There was an ex-MTV VJ that made his own show using a Powerbook and two mics and he called it "Podcasting." There was an issue of Wired Magazine with him on the cover damn near two years ago. People were using the term "podcast" before Apple did. Apple has no right to do thsi to teh people who've made their player the most successful MP3/Portable Media device EVER.
*kicks steve jobs in the nuts for allowing this*
*kicks steve jobs in the nuts for allowing this*
Apple is *not* sending cease and desist letters to everyone who ever made a podcast and called it a "podcast." This is an action against a company called Podcast Ready which distributes software called myPodder, which clearly capitalizes on the name of Apple's iPod. This seems to be more a case of Apple trying to reign in companies whose products are treading too closely to the iPod name, rather than Apple's attempt to forbid anyone to use the term "Podcast."
Apple understands the marketing value of a popular term like Podcast, but there's a delicate balance between encouraging people to use it, and giving away your rights to it. I personally don't think Apple was out of line in this case. Of course, I reserve the right to change my opinion when I get *my* cease and desist letter.
Apple understands the marketing value of a popular term like Podcast, but there's a delicate balance between encouraging people to use it, and giving away your rights to it. I personally don't think Apple was out of line in this case. Of course, I reserve the right to change my opinion when I get *my* cease and desist letter.
Im enjoying this chaos. Personally, unless it's music, podcasts are a bore and a waste of time. They're worse than blogs. Ok, maybe not that bad.
I say they sue Leonard Nimoy and the entire cast of the remake of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
I ate some french fries today...
they came in something called a frypod. This was at burger king.
they came in something called a frypod. This was at burger king.
I wish people would actually read the letter before jumping on Apple's back! It clearly states: "While Apple, of course, has no general objection to proper use of the descriptive term podcast as part of a trademark for goods and services in the podcast field...."
I guess Apple has a problem with the free advertising, for some reason. Being associated with new technology like podcasting seems like something Apple would like to foster.
Would they prefer them to be called 'Zune-casts' ???
I'm with ya, Onizuka!
Would they prefer them to be called 'Zune-casts' ???
I'm with ya, Onizuka!
Onizuka said:
Flowbee said:
But here you're implying that Apple has any rights at all to the word podcast, when it was clearly invented by someone else (Adam Curry, perhaps, though there is some debate; it was certainly not Apple Computer). How in the heck can they make a claim? It's not like they are called iPodcasts. That I could see being an infringement. Just how far are they intending to go with the word 'pod'?
Watch out Flowbee, if you really are a 'podophile', you might be in someone's sights
.
I've no real issue with them trying to protect 'iPod', the issue of 'pod' as a brand though is very different.
the "carrying cases, sacks, and bags" bit could cause problems, as Pod rucksacks (POD sacs are popular in outdoor activities circles) have been around a hell of alot longer than iPods (I'm told Pod Shoes found that out the hard way, when they tried get into the backpack business.)
the "carrying cases, sacks, and bags" bit could cause problems, as Pod rucksacks (POD sacs are popular in outdoor activities circles) have been around a hell of alot longer than iPods (I'm told Pod Shoes found that out the hard way, when they tried get into the backpack business.)
Abstract said:
Good point there! I think Apple may in fact be more likely to not want anyone else to get control and 'bastardize' the use. I think it would be good for Apple to gain 'ownership' but not to exert the right that this might entail.
generik said:
Unfortunately, I don't think that this type of extension is really defensible. There must be limits on what Apple can trademark and control with reference to the word 'pod'. What about the website 'podshow'? Should they be allowed to register? Extending the reach of the iPod brand into regions that are phonetically the same i.e. myPodder, is troubling to me, but less so than iPodder, for example. Defending the "brand name" iPod is a completely different issue from preventing other uses of the word "pod" in the digital media sphere.
gauchogolfer said:
I agree wholeheartedly - how can they trademark a term someone else created?
For a company that was so rebellious and different in its infancy, Apple sure is getting cranky in its middle age.
money hungry wolves. makes me wonder if it's just some bigshot lawyers who are reallying trying to win the battles and Apple is giving them the OK. nonetheless, i think it is wrong and it's pretty sad that Apple is doing it to begin with. just another corporate slaughterhouse.
