Copy That? Psystar Slapped With Huge Fine, Stops Selling Mac Clones
However, the fun, which has gone on for the past 17 months, won't end as Psystar has signaled its intention to take the case to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Last month, Judge William Alsup ruled that Psystar violated Apple's copyright as well as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act every time it installed Apple's operating system on the clones it sells. The judge ruled in Apple's favor even before the case went to trial. Under the conditions of the settlement, Apple cannot collect any damages from Psystar until all appeals are exhausted or filing deadlines have passed.
All this doesn't leave Psystar without a business model, but it does leave it with a somewhat revised one, a precarious concept for a company that has just emerged from bankruptcy. Psystar can still sell its Intel-based machines with other operating systems installed.
On Dec. 14, Judge Alsup could grant Apple an injunction that would bar Psystar from selling Mac clones; right now, Psystar is not selling any machines running either Leopard or Snow Leopard on its Web site. Psystar is. however, selling its Rebel EFI product. The $50 utility, which it started selling in October, allows generic PC owners to build their own Macs and run Apple's Snow Leopard operating system.
Adding insult to injury, Psystar is continuing to press its countersuit against Apple, claiming that Apple has broken several antitrust laws by chaining Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), to Mac hardware. That case is currently pending in a Florida federal court.