Podcast

An RSS feed icon, commonly used to indicate the Web feed for a podcast.

A podcast is a series of digital media files, usually digital audio or video, that is made available for download via Web syndication. The syndication aspect of the delivery is what differentiates podcasts from other files accessible by direct download or streaming: it means that special software applications, generically known as podcatchers (such as Apple's iTunes or Nullsoft's Winamp), can automatically identify and retrieve new files associated with the podcast when they are made available, and that these files can be stored locally on the user's computer or other device for offline use. This is done by the podcatcher accessing a centrally-maintained Web feed, which lists files associated with a certain podcast.

Like the term broadcast, podcast can refer either to the content itself or to the method by which the content is syndicated; the latter is also called podcasting. A podcaster is the person who creates the content.

The term is a portmanteau of the words "iPod" and "broadcast", the Apple iPod being the brand of portable media player for which early podcasting scripts were developed (see history of podcasting), allowing podcasts to be automatically transferred from a personal computer to a mobile device after they are downloaded. Despite the source of the name, it has never been necessary to use an iPod, or any other form of portable media player, to use podcasts; the content can be accessed using any computer capable of playing media files. As more mobile devices other than iPods became able to synchronize with podcast feeds, a backronym developed where podcast stood for "Personal On Demand broadCAST."

History

Main article: History of podcasting

Trademarks

File:Podcasting icon.jpg

The logo used by Apple to represent Podcasting.

On February 5, 2005, Shae Spencer Management LLC of Fairport, New York filed a trademark application to register PODCAST for an 'online prerecorded radio program over the internet'. On September 9, 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected the application, citing Wikipedia's podcast entry as describing the history of the term.

As of September 20, 2005, known trademarks that attempted to capitalize on podcast include: Podcast Realty, GuidePod, PodGizmo, Pod-Casting, MyPod, Podvertiser, Podango, ePodcast, PodCabin, Podcaster, PodShop, PodKitchen, Podgram, GodPod and Podcast.

As of February 2007, there were 24 attempts to register trademarks containing the word "PODCAST" in United States, but only "PODCAST READY" from Podcast Ready, Inc. was approved.

On September 26, 2006, it was reported that Apple Computer started to crack down on businesses using the acronym 'POD,' in product and company names. Apple sent a cease-and-desist order that week to Podcast Ready, Inc., which markets an application known as 'myPodder'. Lawyers for Apple contended allegedly that the term "pod" has been used by the public to refer to Apple's music player so extensively that it falls under Apple's trademark cover. It was speculated that such activity was part of a bigger campaign for Apple to expand the scope of its existing iPod trademark, which included trademarking "IPODCAST," "IPOD," and "POD." On November 16, 2006, Apple Trademark Department returned a letter claiming Apple does not object to third party usage of "podcast" to refer to podcasting services and that Apple does not license the term(s).

See also

• Audio+
• Screencast
• Video podcast
• Social media
• Streaming media
• User-generated content
• iTunes
• Portable media player
• Web television

Syndication protocols

• Atom
• OPML
• RSS

External links

• Creative Commons Podcasting Legal Guide
• iTunes Podcast Tech Spec
• Free Podcast Course - Learn about podcasts and how to podcast
• PhoneCasting Podcast Directory
• Dr. Jonathan Sterne defining Narrowcasting