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.
Personal Audio and Lodsys—These Are Your Trolls
“Patent trolls” are companies like Lodsys and Personal Audio that exist only to bring lawsuits against companies and individuals that they believe are infringing upon their patented intellectual property. Some might remember Lodsys as the troll that strategically sued several app developers for allegedly infringing upon its patent on in-app purchases. I say that they “strategically” sued the developers because they actually should have sued Apple, but that would obviously been a much harder case to win.
And it’s the same thing this time with Personal Audio. Rather than sue Apple, Samsung, Microsoft or any of the other mp3 player/cell phone manufacturers, Personal Audio is trying to essentially extort money out of podcasters. It’s a fairly simple plan: sue a podcaster for infringing on the alleged “podcasting patent” and hope that they would rather settle out of court, giving Patent Audio an easy payday.
Make no mistake about it: these companies exist solely to make money off of patents that they probably ought not to have received in the first place.
Pastors as Felons
So what does all of this have to do with pastors or even churches? Nothing, yet, but if Personal Audio is validated in their patent trolling either by a settlement or by a courtroom victory, what could stop them from filing suit with you or your church over your podcast?
The issue here isn’t necessarily Personal Audio but the ridiculous nature of US patent law that allows for vague, obvious ideas—or rather “inevitable iterations”—to be patented. We need some serious reform in this area so that technological development doesn’t become needlessly inert due to over-active patenting. Again, I’m not against protecting ones work, but I do get nervous as I see Samsung, Apple, and a host of other companies scrapping in court over patent infringement or scrambling to buy the patents of moribund tech companies like Novell. This will not end well unless the laws surrounding tech patents are changed.
Having said all of that, it’s important the we in the Church start paying better attention to these types of situations. We need to make sure that we are fighting for the technological freedoms that we are (and could potentially) use to spread the Gospel. If we lose these freedoms, we are not likely to get them back. So, basically, pay attention and be prepared to speak up when the time comes. For our part, we’ll try to make sure you’re aware of these types of situations that could potentially limit ministry in the future.
Should we really be concerned about Personal Audio?
[via Backstage.com and The Daily Dot | Image via Ayton via Compfight cc & Dunechaser via Compfight cc]
Ben Miller says
If you haven’t heard this yet, there was an episode of This American Life a couple of years ago that dealt with the problems around patent trolls. Very informative and entertaining, and worth a spare hour of your time.
Phil Schneider says
Thanks, Ben. I’d heard from a friend that it would be a good listen, but if I can confess this openly, Ira Glass’ voice irritates me slightly.
Even still, I will check it out. Thanks for the comment!
Paul Clifford (@PaulAlanClif) says
As the guy who literally wrote the book on church podcasting (entitled Podcasting Church), I can say that this is a scourge on the legal system. Podcasting should have been obvious enough that no one got the patent. If someone did, it should have been shared by Dave Winer and Adam Curry.
This is just symptomatic of a larger problem, though. It should be illegal to sue someone for a patent that you’re not actually using to make money (not by suing people).
The only way that an in-app purchasing patent should be enforceable is if you have an app that uses in-app purchasing. Some of these patents are admittedly easier to fake than others, but the people who’ve never built a single phone and are suing Apple, Google, and others for phone technology ought to be forced to pay all legal and business expenses for the trouble they cause.
Paul
Phil Schneider says
Well said. I completely agree.