IP Democracy: For Apple, Threat of "Pod" Litigation May Be Enough

Wired News’ Steve Friess has this report from the Podcast and Portable Media Expo conference on podcast companies’ reaction to Apple’s aggressive legal threats surrounding the term “pod” and “podcasting.”

While many of the show’s attendees laugh off the Cupertino giant’s threats to bring trademark litigation against those who use what Apple contends are its trademarked words, one company, Podcast Ready, isn’t grinning over the cease-and-desist letter it received from Apple.

It’s no laughing matter, though, to Podcast Ready founder and CEO Russell S. Holliman, who has lots of money invested in his Houston-based start-up company’s name and says others are playing down the problem. Apple has also sent similar letters to others, including PodGolfFitness.Com, a content provider, and Mach 5 Products, a Florida-based mom-and-pop business that sells a gizmo they call the Profit Pod that keeps track of profits in arcade and vending machines.

Apple has given Holliman until October 5 to change the name of his company. It really doesn’t matter if Apple has a legal leg to stand on — merely the cost of litigating and winning could put this young company out of business. And that’s the not-so-funny side of Apple’s claim to owning what have become generic terms.

That’s the not-so-nice part of the American legal system too. Any company with deep enough pockets can crush little competitors by merely litigating against them, even if the litigation is baseless and the smaller rival wins. For Apple, the legal expenses in putting Podcast Ready out of business are chump change, not even a blip on the income statement. For Podcast Ready, however, the several hundred thousand dollars it might take to defend against an Apple lawsuit is a matter of continued existence.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on September 30, 2006 5:52 PM to IP Democracy