Just as a film containing unlicensed copyrighted material (e.g., a soundtrack mixed from your favorite tunes) can lead to legal problems, the same is true in the world of podcasting. A discussion sparked by Doc Searls is exploring the differences between downloading audio to play at your leisure (probably on a portable device) and Internet radio (the latter of which is subject to a labyrinthine royalty process and other regulation).

Meanwhile, Adam Curry, John Palfrey, and Derek Slater are wisely paying attention to the copyright ramifications of using recorded music in a podcast. If you're not a Mac/iMovie user you might not be familiar with Freeplay Music, a serviceable resource if you're looking for free background music for "private non-commercial use" — which the site's FAQs define as generally including "using music on a personal Web site" or "content that you produce for friends and family." It's not entirely clear that would include music put in a podcast (probably not if there is any commercial aspect to it), but it's a good start. So is Creative Commons's Search. Soon, you'll be able to add Ourmedia to the list, which at the moment is a worthy cause in search of some forward looking pro bono legal assistance.

Personally, I'm wondering how long before the trademark shoe drops.

ByePod

Bonus link: don't miss Larry Lessig's comments on Creative Commons recently emailed to Dave Winer:

No author gives up his copyright when putting content under a CC license. A CC license is just permissions given up front. It rests upon a copyright (without the copyright, you couldn't impose the permissions). But the copyright owner holds the copyright, and just says, "here's how you're free to use my work."