Apple Unleashes Cease and Desist

A cool little bar in Des Moines, Iowa called The Lift has been hosting iPod Monday for the past two years. Each Monday night, patrons bring in their iPods and everybody shares a few tunes for everybody else to hear. The creator of iPod Monday Clint Curtis just received a cease and desist from Apple. The problem is not the event itself, it's the name of the event and the related podcasts.

"I do this little thing called iPod Monday in a little bar in Des Moines, Iowa, that attracts 45 people at most," he said. "Why is this billion-dollar corporation worrying about iPod Monday?"

Well, they're worried about it because trademark dilution can be a serious problem and when mark holders don't protect their marks against any infringers, it becomes that much more difficult to protect them against the big ones. It's disappointing to say the least, but it is what it is. At least they're not trying to shut down the event entirely, yet that's exactly what's happened.

Man, that's a bummer all around.