The future of podcasting hangs in the balance with Apple’s new patent. A few years ago, we witnessed the maturing of podcasting. When Apple added fuel to the podcasting fire with its iTunes store in 2005, the process accelerated. There is now a new patent in line that may change the face of the podcast world.

The patent is titled “Creation, Management and Delivery of Personalized Media Items.” It was filed on Jan 9, 2007. The abstract is a little vague. If this patent goes through, users will be able to choose episodes from podcasts, manually or automatically combining them into content.

This system could likely lead to a new iTunes store tool. The functionality would be a cross of TiVo and iTunes Smart Playlist feature. With this tool users could specify date ranges, individuals, topics, keywords and podcast producers. Automatic downloading of the customized feed regularly could then be possible.

This patent seems to be with an eye on the next-gen customizable content. With an ingenious use of established technologies, this patent my help Apple stop competing products in their tracks. There is also the likelihood of backlash to Apple’s patent.