iPodRip Renamed iRip

At the request of Apple’s attorneys, The Little App Factory has renamed their iPodRip app “iRip”. (Disclosure: The Little App Factory is a previous and future sponsor of the DF RSS feed.)

I’m sympathetic to both sides, especially with regard to The Little App Factory’s rights under Australian trademark law. (They’re not a U.S. company.) But I also understand Apple’s desire to protect and control its “iPod” trademark. I think a name change to “PodRip” would be the ideal middle ground. I asked TLAF’s John Devor about that, and he replied, “That was the original plan and we bought the domain and setup the new website. Apple’s lawyers noticed and made it clear they would go after that name as well.”

That’s crummy. “iPod” is Apple’s. “Pod” is just a word.

★ Tuesday, 24 November 2009