Software developer Dave Winer has accused Apple Computer of trying to claim the media RSS format, used in iTunes, as its own invention and the addition of Podcasting in iTunes 4.9 as an Apple exclusive.
In a recent posting to the Real Simple Syndication Web site, the creator of the original RSS standard wrote, "I think itis kind of a bad idea to use a trademark in the name of a namespace. I think Apple may regret doing this. Also their competitors, already objecting to the use of "pod" in the name of the category, may further object to supporting information with a trademark of a competitor as its name. Come on Apple, we can do better."
Apple is being criticized by a number of programmers for developing their own document type definitions (DTD) for RSS 2.0 without input from the RSS community.
Mr. Winer went on to say that it was apparent Apple had copied existing elements of RSS 2.0, but for the most part labeled it their own.
Apple has used the proprietary XML document type definition (DTD) for its RSS 2.0 in iTunes 4.9 which gives users access to podcasts. Mr. Winer said Apple decided to use it for their own product without involving the RSS community.