Apple puts dibs on ‘pod’
2pnet.net News:- With typical overweening arrogance, Apple ceo Steve Jobs is trying to shanghai the term ‘pod’.
Apple has been, “pursuing manufacturers of products that use the word ‘pod’ in their name, even when those goods have no connection with digital audio,” says Macworld UK.
“Most recently it slammed Profit Pod and TightPod with demands that the product names be changed.”
Now, Person of the Year in Podcasting recipient Leo Laporte is proposing that the term ‘netcast’ be used instead, says Listening Post.
According to Apple, “the term POD has been adopted and used extensively in the marketplace by consumers as an abbreviation to refer to Apple’s player,” says the story, quoting Apple’s legal missile to Podcast Ready, and going on:
“Really? I’ve never heard anyone call an ‘iPod’ a ‘pod’ (please add a comment below if you’ve heard this term used).”
Then, “Apple, of course, has no general objection to proper use of the descriptive term ‘podcast’ as part of a trademark for goods and services offered in the podcasting field, it cannot allow marks that go beyond this legitimate use and infringe on Apple’s rights in POD and IPOD,” states the Apple Cease & Desist letter, says Listening Post, adding:
“It sounds to me like companies can use the word ‘pod’ in their name until they do something Apple doesn’t like.”
Stay tuned.
Also See:
Macworld UK – Apple legal ‘pod’ protection continues, September 25, 2004
Listening Post – Apple’s Letter to Podcast Ready, September 25, 2006
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September 27th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
They will NEVER be able to do this! That is like putting dibbs on the word PLANE….it is just too common.
By the way, I am a musician and I have used a line 6 product in the past for guitar called the POD.
Here is a link to it…and it came out WAY before they ever invented. Here is a link:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=150448
So there is no way they are ever going to be able to do this! If they think they can, they are just dreaming.
September 27th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
and here “I” thought that the lower case “i” would have been marked for ownership. “iPod” and “iTunes” yeah, silly.
September 28th, 2006 at 11:58 pm
I agree. If you do an image search at Google for ‘pod’, the iPod only show’s up on the third page. And check out the T-Pod neo:
http://www.digitalworldtokyo.com/2006/01/thanko_triplethreat_tpod_neo.php . They don’t seem to worried about being sued…