Perhaps you listen to Adam Carollas popular comedy podcast while youre working out at the gym.
Or maybe you download theNBC Nightly Newsvideo podcast each morning before you jump on the commuter train.
Some are a digital component of huge media companies, like NBC or ESPN.
Credit: Michael Hitoshi/Getty Images
Others are the brainchild and passion of a single person operating out of his garage.
We might have to go broke trying to protect ourselves from this [extortion racket].
Thats actually mild compared to patent troll, which is what critics are calling Personal Audio.
Personal Audio hasnt produced podcasts, they havent done anything to contribute to podcasts as we know them today.
Theyre really asking for a cut when they did nothing.
Its true that Personal Audio isnt technically in the podcast business.
Co-founder Jim Logan doesnt have a podcast and never really did.
He even had a prototype that worked on a notebook computer.
Cassette tapes were the major way of listening to audio back them, says Logan.
But a lot happened in the next decade, beginning with the iPod.
Its a matter of economics, says Personal Audios attorney Richard Baker.
Were putting our effort into the larger people because theres a larger return there.
We might be able to get our money back that weve spent.
This is where ugly terms like extortion racket originated.
The mailed notifications, like the one Maron described, didnt name a price or demand payment.
We think its really bad when the patent system reaches the point where individual podcasters are being shaken down.
These negotiations are done under the cloud of a threat of very expensive litigation.
Logan and Baker dont see it that way.
Is the industry worth $800 million all together?
Theres no reliable data like the Nielsen ratings that exist for radio and TV.
Anyone whos running a licensing business doesnt want to put their customers out of business obviously.
The company did invest over a million dollars in research and development, says Baker.
It wasnt fully everything they hoped for, but they did develop a product.
This is what the patent system is created for.
If only there was a Magazine on Tape to help us understand.
