CUPERTINO, CA — Fearing that it will become lost to the public sector, Apple Computer is getting tough on anyone who uses the word “pod” to refer to anything other than the company’s iPod MP3 player. The computer maker, which has long been the favorite of creatives and eclectics, is so determined that its prohibition be honored, that it has begun issuing Cease and Desist letters to anyone it believes might be diluting the power of its trademark.This includes Terry Wilson and her “Tightpod” laptop protector.
Terryfic.com has specialized in decorative, Spandex laptop protectors, which it calls “Tightpods,” for about a year. Available in more than 70 patterns and colors, including animal prints, Wilson felt the name aptly summed up how they wrapped snugly and securely around computers, like a pod.
Whether the laptops fit into the protectors like expensive little peas or not, the Medford, PA woman’s request for a trademark on the term earned her a Cease and Desist order, instead.
Unfortunately for Wilson and untold numbers of other eager entrepreneurs, Apple got to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office first. The 2001 introduction of the Apple iPod digital music player sparked a social response that spawned a common linguistic phenomenon. Before long, “pod” became associated with any number of things hip and trendy. Lovely for marketing purposes but a tricky balance for trademark protection.
Instead of offering to purchase “Tightpods” and truly make them a pod product, the company did what Wilson considers to be unnecessarily rough. Her hopes rest in a partial compromise she has proposed, wherein she would either remove any reference to MP3 players in her application or having Apple pay for half of the cost of removing all references to “pod” from the website and actual products, themselves. She estimates the latter would run about $20,000.
Wilson’s attorney, Lisa K. Krizman, thinks the whole thing is a lot of trouble over nothing. “We don’t agree that there is a likelihood of dilution,” she states clearly. “We offered what we think is a fair resolution.”
A product even less likely to be confused with a tiny MP3 player is Carolee Ellison’s Mach 5 “Profit Pod,” an electronic change counter designed to work with vending and arcade game machines. Nonetheless, the wife/husband/son run business also received a Cease and Desist letter.
Ultimately, as has been the case with other industry giants, the solution may likely depend upon who has the most money and is willing to stay in the legal fight longest.
