In a move that will be seen as gracious by some, extortionist by others, Apple has offered to pay a New Jersey woman an undisclosed sum to rebrand a laptop bag she sells so that it no longer includes the word "pod" -- but not before reminding her in a letter that she was in potential violation of the closely-guarded iPod trademark. Until recently, Medford Lakes resident Terry Wilson had been selling her protective case under the name "TightPod," which as we all learned from the ugly little
Profit Pod incident, is dangerously diluting the brand significance of Apple's cash cow. Unlike the electronic Profit Pod, however -- which Apple referred to as "a small, flat, round corned rectangular device with a display screen" -- we can't see all that many people confusing a furry computer case with the world's most recognizable audio player. Still, you gotta do what you gotta do to proactively protect your brand, we suppose, so we're just waiting by the mailbox to receive a big fat check that will allow us to begin the long, painful process of rebirthing the Engadget Podcast as the Engadget
Zencast.
posted September 4th 2006 5:30PM
I can't believe Engadget picked up this crappy story, when they missed this one http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=66343 What's the betting they'll pick this one up soon enough.
I can't believe Engadget picked up this crappy story, when they missed this one http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=66343 What's the betting they'll pick this one up soon enough..
Quick! Someone call the vegetable commision and tell them they are going to have to rename the pea pod! Apples lawyers are the way!
well I like to hear about ALL things apple thankyou very much!!!
What makes you think Microsoft wouldn't sue you, for violating their trademark?
They haven't done it before?
These companies have to protect their trademark or they'll lose it.
How their trademark expands from iPod to Pod is beyond me. Would it be just as acceptable to send C&D letters to people that use the letter "i"?
While I admie Apple as a company I am turned off by their corporate hostility and many attempts to hi-jack words, or slang, which have been in common use b4 Apple "poached" them.
Quite frankly I see their behavior as annoying and it has thus far turned me off buying many of their products. I wonder how mnay others feel the same way?
I hear Apple is getting ready to retroactively sue the producers of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
this is bullshit at it's finest.
As noted by a patent lawyer on another board, any company must pursue all potential trade mark infringements equally or be accused of not protecting their brand if a biggie comes along. Not great PR, but a corporate necessity these days.
Apple is too paranoid about trademarks.
Apple's acting like anything with "pod" in is de facto their trademark. They have iPods not Pods. They need to grow up.
Isn't pod a word in a language, thusly no one can have dictation over it?
can apple also ask companies to remove an "i" from the name of their products
i seem to recall seeing the iFan
it was so funny it was shaped like an ipod and even had the circle in the middle
but the circle wasnt a touchpad
Since when can you copyright a word that's part of a language? The word "pod" predates iPods by thousands of years.
I really don't think the "pod" thing would hold up in court. Just another instance of Apple strong-arming individuals. If they did take it to court and lost, all the Apple execs could just dump a ton of stock before the news is out like they normally do.
POD = Prince of Darkness The word pod has been around since about 1545, no earlier. The english language has only been around no more then 1000 years, 550 years in its present form. It is from the latin; podium. Take it from there, LOL.
Guess Apple will be suing groups of whales next...
I'd say the "i" in front of a product name is more actionable than the word "pod." People associate iAnthing with Apple because of their efforts to brand their products as such.
The "pod" thing would not hold up, though. I can almost guarantee it.
And I meant hundreds of years, not thousands. Not sure why I put the latter. Sorry.
I don't think Apple would have had a snowballs chance in hell at suing that women and winning. I hope she held out for a big check! To quote dictionary.com
"Pronunciation noun, verb, pod‧ded, pod‧ding.
–noun
1. a somewhat elongated, two-valved seed vessel, as that of the pea or bean.
2. a dehiscent fruit or pericarp having several seeds.
3. Entomology.
a. an insect egg case.
b. a compact mass of insect eggs.
4. a streamlined enclosure, housing, or detachable container of some kind: an engine pod under the wing of an aircraft.
5. a protective compartment, as for an automobile's instrument gauges.
6. Mining. an orebody that has an elongated or lenticular shape.
7. Radio and Television Slang. a cluster of brief commercials or spot announcements.
–verb (used without object)
8. to produce pods.
9. to swell out like a pod."
Get real Apple....
What about those moving containers... aren't they PODS?
I really suspect that this case probably would be in favour of the woman had she decided to use the word against Apple's opposition - but as Apple knows that they are incorrect, they settle these kinds of cases with the people in question before the case even has time to advance into court. That and Apple's overwhelming corporate image and strong legal team doesn't encourage the people to take action against Apple for using the word "pod". I hope someone actually takes this to court and makes Apple realise that they can't trademark a word that is already in public use and *has* been for countless years.
haha first, i live right next to medford lakes so this actually cracked me up and touched me close to home :) I may just pay this woman a visit tomorrow.
Second, microsoft may have sued people for trademark infringment - but until a story comes out where products with names like "window" are sued, this is a totally different ballgame.
"I'd say the "i" in front of a product name is more actionable than the word "pod." People associate iAnthing with Apple because of their efforts to brand their products as such."
Interesting point, but Apple wasn't the first one to use the "i" infront of their products. Infact Cowon already had an mp3 player by the name of iAudio. Why Cowon never took action against Apple is something I don't know, but is only more proof Apple is overprotective of a brand that they themselves copied.
Did iRiver use the 'i' before Apple too?
I love Apple but since when does trademark law give them rights to dictionary words that have been around for hundreds of years? This is just like Ebay going after any site with the word "bay" in it even though it has nothing to do with auctions.
I don't have a Zen either! But it has a much better ring to it. Blogcast is hard to say even though I feel it's the most correct term. It's too late for audio but perhaps we should avoid saying video podcast and just call them vidcast or something like that.
I'm predicting the next lawsuit will be against an apple farmer for calling their produce "Mcintosh Apples," or possibly a radio station for calling the songs they play "Tunes" (dangerously close to iTunes!)
I need to clarify that although Apple's lawyers called my lawyer and we made an agreement over the phone, no final settlement has happened yet, nor money changed hands. I've been instructed to say 'no comment' at this point. (Was that a comment?)
These guys are next!
http://www.aquapod.com/
I'm still waiting for some Taiwanese manufacturer (hey, Luxpro! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod_shuffle#.22Super_Shuffle.22">LuxPro ) to come out with an MP3 player called the PodPodPodPodPod.
I think I'd buy it on general principles.
Wow. I think I just set some kind of new record for how malformed a link can be. Yay me!
Hey, that's how the world works, if it was a big enough check, good for her. But pod is a dictionary word and means a couple different things. So Apple can offer, but this is clearly a everyday meaningful word.
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