CeaseAndDesist
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Palm issues takedown for TealOS
If you're a fan of TealOS (you know, that fairly striking webOS-aping launcher for Palm devices), you're in for some bad news. According to a post on the company's TealTalk support forum, a rep tells users that Palm has issued a takedown of the lookalike. In their words:I'm sorry to say that at Palm's request, as of this upcoming Monday, March 30, we will no longer be selling or distributing TealOS.While we can certainly understand the motivations on Palm's part behind wanting to scuttle this copycat, we do find it a little odd. When we met with a Palm rep to retrieve the Pre earlier in the month, he actually had the software installed on his phone and seemed pretty excited about its existence. Our money here is actually on Palm's legal department being a bit hair-trigger, though we hardly think TealOS is posing a threat to the company's bottom line. Bottom line? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.[Via PalmInfocenter; Thanks, Herman M.]
Apple to Pivotal: Take the 'pod' out of Podium
Apple has issued a cease and desist letter to Pivotal, creators of Podium, a hands-free iPhone stand - namely over the use of the word "Pod" in Podium. An excerpt from the cease and desist letter provided to TUAW states that "The term POD has also been adopted and used extensively in the marketplace by consumers as an abbreviation to refer to Apple's IPOD player. The IPOD and POD marks indicate to consumers that a broad range of products, including portable electronic devices, computer software, and related goods and services bearing those marks and marks similar thereto originate from or are sponsored or endorsed by Apple." "If you look at our product and then look up the word Podium in the dictionary, I think it becomes pretty clear where our branding inspiration came from" said Scott Baumann, president of Pivotal. Podium (noun) Etmyology: Latin Date originally used: 1743 (a good 243 years before Apple was founded) 1: a low wall serving as a foundation or terrace wall: as a: one around the arena of an ancient amphitheater serving as a base for the tiers of seats b: the masonry under the stylobate of a temple 2: a dais especially for an orchestral conductor Source: Merriam-Webster The letter also alleges that Podium infringes on Apple's trademark because the stand mimics recent iMac models and that Pivotal's site for the product is also ripping off Apple's brand stylization. The cease and desist also covers Pivotal's currently in-development product, FlyPod. Pivotal states that the company will be seeking legal advice on the matter.
Psion Teklogix sending out cease & desist letters to netbook-centric websites
Wow, talk about spreading that holiday cheer. Psion Teklogix has apparently hired a legal team to write up cease & desist letters that are being sent out to select netbook enthusiast websites. One particular letter is pictured above, and we can only assume the URL is hidden for the safety of those involved. jkOnTheRun dug a little deeper into the matter and found that the outfit did indeed produce a Netbook and Netbook Pro back in the day, and while the surprisingly netbook-like devices (imagine that, right?) have since been discontinued, it is still making compatible accessories. Something tells us Psion waited a touch too late to pick this fight, but just in case Engadget is next in line for one of these letters, we'll be utilizing the term smallcheap(er)book for the foreseeable future. Hope that's okay.
Apple sends cease and desist to "iPod Monday"
The legal hammer strikes unpredictably: that's the lesson to be learnt from the case of "iPod Monday," a weekly event at The Lift in Des Moines, Iowa where patrons bring brought along their iPods to play 15 minute playlists based around different themes. Unfortunately, the event's host and creator, Clint Curtis, is bringing the event to a close on its second anniversary (tomorrow) after receiving a cease and desist email from Apple. As the dispute is limited to Clint's use of the trademarked word "iPod," Clint could presumably have kept the event running under a different name. However, a quick read of his email correspondance with Apple reveals the reasoning for closing the event. As Clint points out, he sent several emails to Apple before starting the website and specifically asked for permission to use the term "iPod Monday," he's had visits by Apple employees, a mention on Apple.com, and has praise heaped upon him everytime he visits the local Apple Store, and he is also a loyal Apple customer and claims to have generated a lot of publicity for the company despite receiving no compensation. Unfortunately, that means nothing to Apple, who are still requesting that he cease using the name despite his pleadings. This all begs the question: why now? Why, after two years, many emails, and much publicity, is Apple cranking it up a gear? As is often the case with these kind of David and Goliath legal scenarios, Clint has only two possible choices: resign to his fate and accept the demands, or start a lengthly legal battle against a company he likes, for an event that probably isn't worth the financial cost to defend.[Via Boing Boing]
With "pod" on lockdown, Apple goes after "podcast"
Now that Apple's lawyers have scared the pants off of small entrepreneurs selling products like the Profit Pod and TightPod -- items that have nothing to with portable audio in any way, mind you -- it seems that the next targets are companies that have the audacity to use the word "podcast" in their names. Wired's Listening Post blog is reporting that Steve's legal eagles have sent one of those scary cease and desist letters to a company called Podcast Ready, whose premier product, myPodder, gives users an automated way to download 'casts to their portable devices. CEO Russel Holliman claims that he'd consider changing the name of the program if necessary, but seems to be justifiably reticent about rebranding his entire business, considering the fact that "podcast" may not be "owned" by Apple nor even a derivative of "iPod" in the first place. Robert Scoble -- whose own company, PodTech, may be at risk in this witch hunt -- has weighed in on the issue by suggesting that the tech community as a whole adopt other terms like "audiocast" and "videocast" (or alternately, "audcast" and "vidcast") to describe this type of content, while other folks feel that fighting Apple and generating a ton of negative press for Cupertino is the best solution. Our take? Apple should be happy that its golden goose is getting so much free publicity, and if it isn't, we know of several companies that probably wouldn't mind if zencast, zunecast, or sansacast became the preferred terminology.Update: BBHub's own Russell Shaw delves into this issue a little further over at ZDnet, and finds that Apple is having trouble getting certain iPod-related phrases trademarked, including the word "iPodcasting."Read- Apple's nastygramRead- Scoble's take[Via calacanis.com]
