Apple has been granted a trademark for the shape of the iPod, essentially giving it exclusive rights to make a box with a screen and a wheel:
[T]he design of a portable and handheld digital electronic media device comprised of a rectangular casing displaying circular and rectangular shapes therein arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner. [emphasis added]
Who decides that last point, we have no idea, but this will mean that Apple is likely to become much more aggressive in going after the knock-off iPod designs out there. One advantage of a trademark over a patent is that it doesn’t expire. However, to keep a trademark, you need to defend it, which means lots of nasty letters to manufacturers. Otherwise, the shape of the iPod could end up like the name “Hoover” (now the English for vacuum cleaner).
Ridiculous? Perhaps. But if McDonald’s can register “I’m going to McDonald’s” and T-Mobile can lay claim to the color pink, then a pretty arrangement of shapes seems almost sensible.
Shape of Things to Come [Wall Street Journal]