Legal row over who can use 'pod'

Apple has made a success of its iPod line of portable music players

Apple has embarked on a legal battle over the right to use the word "pod".

The row has come about because of a projector called Video Pod currently being developed by start-up Sector Labs.

When the dispute first began, Apple said Sector Labs' use of the word might cause confusion among customers.

The legal claim to the name will be played out via documents the two companies will file in a US court over the next month.

Apple has filed an 873-page briefing paper to the court laying out its claim to exclusive use of the name. Sector Labs is due to file its paper arguments in early October. The documents will be sent to the US patents office which will judge their claims.

Ana Christian, Sector Labs' lawyer, told Wired.com that the fight was about more than just the right to use "pod".

"What I'm hoping to do with this case is to really reach a lot broader an audience and make it so entrepreneurs and small businesses can use the English language as they see fit in branding their products," she told the magazine.

The row between the two firms began in 2009 when news about Sector Labs' video projector emerged.

Sector Labs is one among many tech firms that Apple has taken on because they have used the word "pod" in product names.