Psystar Claims It's An Apple CustomerPsystar Claims It's An Apple Customer

The Mac cloner says it purchases its copies of OS X directly from Cupertino.

Paul McDougall, Editor At Large, information

January 14, 2009

2 Min Read
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Psystar claims it's fully within its rights to resell the Mac OS X operating system on its Mac clones because it legally purchased the software directly from Apple, which is suing Psystar for copyright violation.

"Psystar distributes computers with legitimately purchased copies of Mac OS," Psystar states in a new court filing related to the case.

"For every computer that Psystar distributes with the Mac OS installed, Psystar also includes a legitimately purchased copy of the Mac OS," the company adds in the document, which was filed this week in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Psystar also claims that Apple is trying to override federal copyright law "by telling Psystar and its customers that Apple -- and Apple alone -- will say 'whether, how, or by whom its software is distributed or used.' "

Last month, Psystar stated in a separate filing that Apple's copyright suit against it should be dismissed because Apple has never filed for copyright protection for its Mac OS X operating system with the U.S. Copyright Office, according to court papers.

Apple "is prohibited from bringing action against Psystar for the alleged infringement of one or more of the plaintiff's copyrights for failure to register said copyrights with the copyright office as required" by law, Psystar claims.

The stunning claim, if true, could undermine Apple's ability to restrict third parties, such as Psystar, from selling clones that run the Mac OS on generic, PC hardware. information was not immediately able to verify the claim.

Psystar also claimed that Apple's Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" operating system contains undocumented code designed to render inoperable personal computers that are not running on Apple-approved hardware.

Psystar charges that Apple uses so-called stealthware to protect what Psystar claims is an illegal monopoly in the Mac computing market. Specifically, Psystar contends that OS X runs a startup routine that checks whether the host computer is running on a particular line of Intel Dual Core processors that are included in genuine Macs.

Psystar sells unauthorized Mac clones from a nondescript warehouse in a Miami industrial park. Apple sued the company last year for copyright violation. Psystar countersued in response, claiming that Apple's control of the Mac market violates antitrust laws.

Last month, a judge rejected Psystar's counterclaim -- leading Psystar to file revised claims. Psystar is now asking the judge overseeing the case to declare Apple's Mac OS copyrights invalid.

In court filings, Apple has said it believes Psystar is backed by a silent third party that's presumably seeking to enter the Mac market.

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About the Author

Paul McDougall

Editor At Large, information

Paul McDougall is a former editor for information.

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