Podcast naming and ip protection

In the early days of domain registration, it was possible to register the domain of a commercial company. Indeed, many did - for in the early days of the web, companies were slow off the mark to protect their intellectual property by registering there own company domain names. In those early days entrepreneurs made a great deal of money by selling the domain names to those companies who had been lethargic in their domain name registration.

Some will remember the legal cases that ensued where cyber squatters attempted - and in some cases where successful - in blackmailing companies for domain names they had registered. Of course, that was in the days prior to the legal framework and precedent which helps prevent this type of fraudulent activity. Today domain name registration is carefully monitored by leading institutions, so that if a domain name reflects an established company’s trademark there is legal recourse.

The same is not true for Podcast names, for as in the early days in the domain registration not registrative framework exists for naming. In order for companies to protect their ip they must ensure that a podcast reflecting their company name is represented in a leading podcast directory. This means that firstly a Podcast must be produced, and secondly the name must be claimed in the defacto largest podcast directory - right now that's iTunes. Having secured the podcast name on iTunes, that same name should be claimed on the plethora of other podcast directories such as:

Podcast Alley, Podnova, Podcast.net, Podblaze.com

Of course, producing one Podcast is not enough to maintain “ownership” of that Podcast's name. The very nature of the Podcast demands an continuous series of episodes to in much the same way as a radio show (or a newsletter those of you with a corporate background).

There is no doubt that as Podcasting matures - which given the anecdotal evidence within the market is now occurring - that a legislative framework will be introduced. It is those companies that have actively protected their brand by producing regular podcast content, that will undoubtedly have unjustifiable legal right to use that name.