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Apple nukes Psystar

The Apple vs Psystar case has ended rather predictably, with Apple basically nuking the Mac clone maker out of existence.
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer

The Apple vs Psystar case has ended rather predictably, with Apple basically nuking the Mac clone maker out of existence.

Florida-based Psystar rose to fame back in February of 2008 when it started to market Mac close systems - basically PCs modified and configured to run the Mac OS. In July of that year Apple threw a spanner into Psystar's plans by filing a lawsuit against the company. That case has been progressing through the legal system ever since.

However, on Friday Judge William Alsup dealt what seems to be a fatal blow for Psystar by granting Apple’s motion for summary judgment while denying Psystar’s counterclaims.

Basically Alsup ruled that the Mac OS End User License Agreement (EULA) is both legal and valid and ruled that installation of the OS on non-Apple hardware is not allowable. Period.

Alsup also dismissed claims that Psystar was protected by the first sale doctrine (doctrine that gives purchasers of a copyrighted works the right to resell without the permission of, or payment to, the copyright holder). Alsup stated that first sale doctrine only applies to legal copies of software and since Psystar had modified the OS to run on their systems, it did not apply.

This isn't the end though. A hearing is scheduled for December 14 to thrash out remedies, which should be interesting. And who knows, Psystar might still appeal.

So, what does this mean? Well, basically that Psystar is dead. Nuked out of existence by Apple's legal machine. It also sees the legal system side with the EULA. It also kills off any chance of seeing other OEM come out with Mac clones anytime soon.

At time of writing the Psystar website is still open and offering systems running Mac OS X for sale.

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