The patent trolls at Personal Audio have been trying to ruin podcasting for a few years now, attempting to bury individuals in litigation costs or scare them into paying licensing fees that should be illegal. This American Life investigated the origin of the podcast patent lawsuits two years ago, and followed up in another infuriating and exhausting episode a few months ago. When Marc Maron got a shakedown letter from Personal Audio, he immediately became a vocal dissenter against the practice.
Maron is at the forefront of advocating for the government to help the individuals using technology that has no business falling under the kind of broad patent Personal Audio is intent on exploiting. He has written about the issue many times, and regularly provided updates during the introductory segment of his podcast. And progress is slowly being made, as Maron tells legal website Corporate Counsel. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has made moves to argue for a reexamination of the patent. It's not something that will be sorted out quickly, but the trend seems to bend toward the logical conclusion of eliminating punitive litigation and squeezing money out of the little guy.