There are few things more frustrating than having someone steal your idea, right? And yet, what if your idea is something so broad and obvious that it’s almost insane for you to have even claimed to be the sole originator of the idea?
These are, essentially, the two-sides of the coin in an ongoing patent battle between Personal Audio, Inc. and some of the larger names in podcasting (i.e. Adam Carolla and Marc Maron, among others). Essentially, Personal Audio is claiming to have “invented” podcasting and is suing these popular hosts in an attempt to make some money off their patent.
I don’t want to get into the case’s particulars because I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t want to really analyze the technical aspects of the patent except to say that this is a classic example of patent trolling. (I mean, come on! How do you patten such a vague and obvious idea? I could write more on this, and maybe I will, if there is a general call for it.) The real focus of this post is to bring attention to this issue and to highlight the need for pastors and Church techs to be aware.
