Tech & Biz

Apple Wins Copyright Infringement Case Over Psystar & MAC Clones

by amyellensoden | November 16, 2009 at 10:02 am

278 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment

Apple has won their case for copyright infringement over Psystar, a company that has been selling MAC replica computers that use MAC's operating system on PCs..The legal battle, which began with a lawsuit in July 2008, has finally come to a close with Apple winning the case due to Psystar's violation of Apple's exclusive reproduction right.

Psystar was selling MAC clone machines about four months before Apple filed the lawsuit against them for copyright infringement. The Doral, Florida based company had been offering three machines compatible with Apple OSX operating system. These "knock-off" machines ranged in price from $600-$1,500.

"Psystar's use of Mac OS X has been in excess and has violated Apple's copyrights," the judge wrote at one point in his 16-page order.

The decision appears to gut Psystar's entire line of defense, according to the legal Web site Groklaw. "Psystar is toast," Groklaw wrote.

While Psystar claimed from the start that they had used right fairly, Apple insisted that there had been infringements of both their licensing agreement and their trademarks. Psystar will likely face damages claims in the coming weeks due to issues of creating competition and a general breach of contract.