iconnectdots.com— Lots of buzz about Apple sending a cease-n-desist letter to Podcast Ready since they're allegedly infringing upon the iPod trademark. Here's why that's a bonehead move by Apple...
Sep 23, 2006View in Crawl 4
my guess is they don't want to stop people from using it... they just want to establish who owns it before its too late. they haven't been possessive so far.
It would be bad PR if they were trying to get people to stop using the word "podcast," but I think Apple has the right to its intellectual property when it comes to using the word "pod" in software that isn't related or doesn't belong to Apple. Google, on the other hand, has tried to stop people using the word "google" as a verb – now that's bad PR.P.S. I disagree with kent1146, but don't digg him down – he knows what he's saying. It's true that some companies may consider it disadvantageous for their brand to enter the general lexicon and become so generic that it allows competitors to grab market share. But right now people associate podcasting so strongly with the iPod that I find it difficult to believe that this will ever the case with Apple. Apple does, however, have the right to defend against the use of its name in other software. That's a separate matter.
Did anyone RTFA?This guy sounds a bit pissed that his precious podcast is hard to find on itunes, furthermore he is jumping on the "hate apple for trademark defending" bandwagon that started a couple days ago. He even references other blogs of his!He starts the article well, even though I disagree, and he speaks intelligently about the ordeal. Then he goes on a paragraph rant about how hard it is to find his f**king podcast.At the end, he makes the claim that Apple is trying to cut out ipod accessories and have them marketed as "generic", which for one is completely off topic and two, Apple created the "Made for ipod" logo to make Apple approved accessories easy to find.A couple points about the trademark defense:1) As stated before, and ALWAYS dugg down. The trademark holder must defend their mark against delusion. This is how the law works, good PR move or not.2)We are all tech savvy people, we know ipod != podcast, but consider asking someone like your parents on this issue. Ask a friend that is not tech savvy. Ask them if ipod comes to mind when you mention a podcast. If they say yes SOME sort of delusion is occurring.
Morons want to bring that up all the time, and they are buried FOR A REASON. Apple must defend trademarks that THEY OWN. They don't not have to defend ones they don't. (Also, people make WAY too big a deal about that "must defend" thing. It is NOT as crucial as you make it out to be.)Apple knows they are not in the right here. They know they will LOSE this case if the bullied company fights it. They are counting on their huge resoruces making the other company back down simply becuase it would cost too much.
For the last year and a half, with so many "pod" references on other than Apple websites, I speculated that Apple may have created a generic name with "podcast" or "podanything". They are acting now to undo the damage, but I think they are too late. The word has become part of our common language and refers to something different than Apples original Ipod and related products. Despite the fact that the Ipod launched the podcast phenomenon, it is no longer an integral part of it. Somebody will probably loose their job over this.
wiseweaselSep 23, 2006
Not only is it poor strategy, but it's bad PR as well. Dumb move, Apple!
starmanjonesSep 24, 2006
my guess is they don't want to stop people from using it... they just want to establish who owns it before its too late. they haven't been possessive so far.
omaryakSep 24, 2006
It would be bad PR if they were trying to get people to stop using the word "podcast," but I think Apple has the right to its intellectual property when it comes to using the word "pod" in software that isn't related or doesn't belong to Apple. Google, on the other hand, has tried to stop people using the word "google" as a verb – now that's bad PR.P.S. I disagree with kent1146, but don't digg him down – he knows what he's saying. It's true that some companies may consider it disadvantageous for their brand to enter the general lexicon and become so generic that it allows competitors to grab market share. But right now people associate podcasting so strongly with the iPod that I find it difficult to believe that this will ever the case with Apple. Apple does, however, have the right to defend against the use of its name in other software. That's a separate matter.
rykachikSep 24, 2006
Did anyone RTFA?This guy sounds a bit pissed that his precious podcast is hard to find on itunes, furthermore he is jumping on the "hate apple for trademark defending" bandwagon that started a couple days ago. He even references other blogs of his!He starts the article well, even though I disagree, and he speaks intelligently about the ordeal. Then he goes on a paragraph rant about how hard it is to find his f**king podcast.At the end, he makes the claim that Apple is trying to cut out ipod accessories and have them marketed as "generic", which for one is completely off topic and two, Apple created the "Made for ipod" logo to make Apple approved accessories easy to find.A couple points about the trademark defense:1) As stated before, and ALWAYS dugg down. The trademark holder must defend their mark against delusion. This is how the law works, good PR move or not.2)We are all tech savvy people, we know ipod != podcast, but consider asking someone like your parents on this issue. Ask a friend that is not tech savvy. Ask them if ipod comes to mind when you mention a podcast. If they say yes SOME sort of delusion is occurring.
Closed AccountSep 24, 2006
Morons want to bring that up all the time, and they are buried FOR A REASON. Apple must defend trademarks that THEY OWN. They don't not have to defend ones they don't. (Also, people make WAY too big a deal about that "must defend" thing. It is NOT as crucial as you make it out to be.)Apple knows they are not in the right here. They know they will LOSE this case if the bullied company fights it. They are counting on their huge resoruces making the other company back down simply becuase it would cost too much.
hwoodSep 24, 2006
Apple does not want the phrase "podcast ready" on the packaging for the Zune.
clickmyfaceSep 24, 2006
Well Lakawak clearly I struck a vain with you...<a class="user" href="http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?cc=US&ts_mode=country〈=none">http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?cc=US&ts_mode=country〈=none</a>Hey wow guess what! Digg is ranked as the 23rd most popular site in the US. Guess what is ranked 24th? Why oh my goodness its APPLE.COM. It appears that I am in touch with reality, but perhaps one of us lives in the matrix and the other one lives in the other matrix? Go play your xbox you self-hating digger. :)
Closed AccountSep 24, 2006
Zunecast and Zune-tune sound much more up to date...even futuristic. Podcast reminds me of a pea pod.
yakoffSep 24, 2006
For the last year and a half, with so many "pod" references on other than Apple websites, I speculated that Apple may have created a generic name with "podcast" or "podanything". They are acting now to undo the damage, but I think they are too late. The word has become part of our common language and refers to something different than Apples original Ipod and related products. Despite the fact that the Ipod launched the podcast phenomenon, it is no longer an integral part of it. Somebody will probably loose their job over this.
mexterSep 25, 2006
So, how about a new word?AudCast?