Apple has won its lawsuit against Psystar, which has been selling Mac OS X in Mac clone computers. The decision in Apple’s favor is expected to pave the way for Apple to argue its copyright-infringement case against future violators.
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The Cupertino, Calif.-based software maker’s claim against Psystar was granted, according to U.S. District Judge William Aslup’s decision, and Psystar’s anticompetitive claim against Apple was denied.
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I cannot say I’m surprised, said Ilan Barzilay, an associate with Wolf Greenfield, a Boston IP law firm. Psystar was relying on interpretation of copyright laws that were stretched to begin with. When they were down to their defense, I believed they were close to being cooked.
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It is likely Apple will be entitled to attorney fees from Psystar and recover whatever damages Apple can prove, according to Barzilay. It is likely that they want to just shut Psystar down, he said.
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A hearing on what, if anything, Apple will receive in damages will be Dec. 14, according to court filings.
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subheadPrice Is Right/subhead
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Apple first sued Psystar last year after the company began selling PCs with Mac OS X installed at a fraction of the cost of Apple computers.
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Attorneys for Apple argued that the company’s end-user licensing agreement forbids third parties from installing Mac OS X on anything other than Apple computers. Aslup agreed, telling Psystar it could not sell Apple software.
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The Miami, Fla.-based Psystar then countersued in August 2008, claiming Apple was monopolizing its Mac OS X and wiping out competition, but that suit was dismissed two months later.
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While battling with Apple, Psystar last month added more fuel to the fire by offering Rebel EFI software that allows generic PCs to run Mac OS X.
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There are people clamoring for lower-cost computers that will run Apple’s software, Barzilay said. But people cannot do that by buying…