14 DAY TRIAL // Podcasting may not be the hot new thing it once was but it has established itself as a useful technology and many rely on it to provide them with episodic content with little hassle. The technology started picking up in 2004 but it had been around before that. Not too long before though, according to one company that has been recently awarded a very powerful patent for the technology.
VoloMedia, which specializes in podcast analytics, advertising and distribution, filed for the patent in 2003. The patent is actually broader in scope as it covers all episodic media deliveries not just the one based on the RSS system all podcasts use today. The company believes that the market for episodic downloads is in its early stages and that “there will come a day when all the content on Hulu is available as an episodic download.”
And when that day comes VoloMedia will be ready. “The impact of a strong growing IP portfolio is such that we would expect new entrants into the podcasting arena to have a collaborative relationship with VoloMedia, just as do many of the current players.”
This isn't the first time the US patent system has reached 'curious' conclusions and awarded patents based on rather vague claims. But this particular case looks especially full of holes. The biggest problem is that there is evidence of other individuals or companies creating similar systems as far back as 2001 and, while VoloMedia doesn't exactly specify when it first came up with the technology, it does imply it was around 2003, the year the patent was filed.
The second problem is a much wider-reaching one and comes from how the – flawed, many claim – patent system works in the US and how the patents are awarded and there are many who are wondering if a patent for a technology such widely used and with such a broad scope could really hold up. For now it will be interesting to see how exactly the company will act now that it has secured the patent.