Apple Throws Ball Back to Psystar, Asks Judge to Throw Out Anti-Trust Suit

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

The legal volleyball between Mac clone maker, Psystar and Apple continues as it emerges that the latter has asked a court to throw away the antitrust lawsuit Psystar filed towards the end of the summer.

Following the news of a copyright infringement suit filed by Apple, Psystar filed a lawsuit of its own claiming there were a lot more complicated issues than just copyright or trademark and that these more complex issues involved the end-user licensing agreement and a little bit of antitrust thrown in for good measure. Colby Springer, one of a trio of lawyers representing the company said they were alleging restraint of trade, “among other things."

Apple remained fairly quiet about the antitrust suit until this week. Yesterday it emerged that the Cupertino company had gone to a federal judge and requested the dismissal of the countersuit claiming the monopoly allegations made by Psystar were “deeply flawed.”

The progress of this legal battle has been slow and fairly quiet. Psystar began trading back in April and Apple didn’t file any lawsuits until half way through the summer. Mid-July saw the Mac maker file a copyright infringement suit against Psystar Corp. Psystar refused to comment on the suit (we did phone, we did email) until it filed its antitrust lawsuit at the end of August. Again, the company refused to comment over the phone (no one “qualified”) and didn’t respond to emails (no one arsed, we assume). Apple is also remaining quiet about the situation. Tune in over the next month or so for Psystar’s response. In the mean time, feel free to dangle your arms, legs and other appendages outside the carraige, we’re nearly positive this isn’t going anywhere fast.

April 16: Mac Clone Psystar Slams Steve JobsJuly 16: Apple Sues PsystarAugust 6: Psystar Beats Around Anti-trust SuitAugust 28: Psystar Files Anti-trust Lawsuit Against Apple

Jane McEntegart
14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • starhoof
    I think that apple should stop doing what they are doing with their OS.
    OSX is based on Linux which is free of course, means part for OSX been built already and they didn't pay for it, all they did is just modified and rewrote parts of it. Then apple made it possible to run Windows on macs, Microsoft didn't do nothing (i believe they should had done something, now that i see what apple doing to Psystar)
    And at the same time trying to stop people from buying PCs and throwing stupid Commercials (get a mac campaign) As much as I like PCs i find it very annoying.
    Reply
  • ravenware
    I don't know man. Psystar knew damn well this was going to be a problem.
    Apple has always charged royalty fees for selling machines with apple os/name. This is what put the freely licensed IBM based PC ahead of apple in the personal computer market.
    Reply
  • rocky1234
    No what put Apple so far behind was their attitude about everything they are all high & mighty about everything. The normal computer user see's this & just shakes their head & keeps walking on by the big wind bag of a company Apple really is. I still say if they got rid of stave jobs & got someone less annoying in to run that company Apple would do alot better in the PC business & yes Apple computers are just PC's but with higher price tags & a more limited OS as in not as many programs for it & a lot less hardware devices.

    End of rant
    Reply
  • Apple isnt anything without Steve Jobs. When he dies of cancer by the end of the year or early next year, apple stocks will crumble, and MSFT will have to give apple another 150mil to stay afloat so MSFT isnt deemed a monopoly (which I believe should be legal for MSFT) Jobs is viewed as a 'God' by die-hard apple users, they will go into denial when he dies
    Reply
  • smalltime0
    Ag3nt SmithApple isnt anything without Steve Jobs. When he dies of cancer by the end of the year or early next year, apple stocks will crumble, and MSFT will have to give apple another 150mil to stay afloat so MSFT isnt deemed a monopoly (which I believe should be legal for MSFT) Jobs is viewed as a 'God' by die-hard apple users, they will go into denial when he diesHopefully linux will rise just a bit so Microsoft doesn't have to bail Apple out... again
    Reply
  • Ryun
    Starhoof I think that apple should stop doing what they are doing with their OS.OSX is based on Linux which is free of course, means part for OSX been built already and they didn't pay for it, all they did is just modified and rewrote parts of it.
    I just want to point out that you're half right, OSX is built on code that Apple didn't have to pay for but OS X is not based on the Linux kernel.
    Reply
  • biometriccoder
    While I don't think Psystar as any chance of taking down a giant like apple, I do think that they have a completely valid case. I think apple's EULA has "anti-trust" written all over it. It amazes me that it was ever deemed legal in the first place. It basically states that apple owns control of all hardware, software & brainless user that it comes in contact with.
    Reply
  • I agree that Apple's EULA is too strict; maybe even to the point of monopolistic dealings, but I also think that if we're going to crack down on Apple, flags must be raised about all software EULA (i.e. "Your software purchase is good for use on one computer, no copies of the discs may be made legally). However, any business that Psystar has done until their EULA was ruled illegal should be considered damages.
    I know that OSX was built off of code that wasn't originally Apple's, but it's more than just an OS clone. If Linux was that easy and pleasant to use, people would be using it. Apple has refined OSX to perform well and it is a great example of what a modern day OS should be. It doesn't hang up or bog down just because you asked it to multitask, and it is extremely stable. Anyone that uses OSX with any frequency would admit, we cannot let Apple go unpaid for their efforts. Part of the beauty of Apple's products is that their software and hardware pair together seamlessly if not beautifully.
    That being said, I still feel that Apples EULA is too limiting and strict, but the choice we must make is do we want to shred an innovative company who has done great things for the industry over this? I say no, but I do think some reform in in need across the board.
    Reply
  • Maxor127
    OS X was based off Nextstep which was based off Unix. As for anti-trust, I don't see how it's illegal to make software and hardware and not want other people profit from it. OS X was written for Macintosh computers and they can't be expected to support unofficial systems. It's not like OS X is the only operating system around. There is still Windows or Linux. I'm all for being able to run OS X on whatever hardware you want, but I don't think what Apple is doing is wrong.
    Reply
  • Well, the only valid reason people with macs use it is because of the software seeing as the hardware is now common to pc and mac, as where before you did have differences. Now Apple should be clever and let the people sell pc's that can run OSX and just come to an agreement with venders like Psystar to give them a percentage of the takings. That's how more people will use OSX and then if they are convinced they will later buy an apple when they have more budget. I've worked for advertising agency and the creative people are MAC crazy. So for these companies to get better spec machines doing the same job for cheaper will give them more proffits and on the other hand Apple will gain way more market share. They will have more exposure to their "perfect" OS.
    Reply