Pod … yeah Apple, I said pod! Whatcha gonna do about it?

It’s amazing how stupid a corporation can get with their trademarks. Now Apple thinks it has rights to dictionary words.

Apple wants to enforce trademark the word “pod” and sue any company using it as part of their name. This is mostly aimed at podcasting companies, who build products to work with the popular Apple iPod(tm).

Now “iPod” is a trademark of Apple, and they have a pretty good case on shutting down people who use that term. However the word “pod” is … a word …

pod¹

1. Botany.
   1. A dehiscent fruit of a leguminous plant such as the pea.
   2. A dry, several-seeded, dehiscent fruit. Also called seedpod.
2. Zoology. A protective covering that encases the eggs of some insects and fish.
3. A casing or housing forming part of a vehicle, as:
   1. A streamlined external housing that encloses engines, machine guns, or fuel.
   2. Aerospace. A detachable compartment on a spacecraft for carrying personnel or instrumentation.
4. Something resembling a pod, as in compactness.

v., pod·ded, pod·ding, pods. v.intr.

1. To bear or produce pods.
2. To expand or swell like a pod.

v.tr. To remove (seeds) from a pod.

So Apple, just stop. Seriously. I want to buy your products now that I am listening to more podcasts … er, “file-based Internet audi-visual programs in a downloadable format that provide easy update capabilities via RSS feed” …but this just turns me off.