Apple wins permanent injunction against clone Mac maker Psystar

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
First on AI: Apple and Psystar concluded 17 months of litigation Tuesday when a federal judge issued a permanent injunction against the unauthorized Mac OS X hardware creator, banning it from selling hardware with Apple's operating system.



The ruling comes after both parties presented their oral arguments Monday afternoon before U.S. District Judge William Alsup. The judge banned Psystar from:



Copying, selling, offering to sell, distributing or creating derivative works of Mac OS X without authorization from Apple.



Intentionally inducing, aiding, assisting, abetting or encouraging any other person or entity to infringe Apple's copyrighted Mac OS X software.



Circumventing any technological measure that effectively controls access Mac OS X, including, but not limited to, the technological measure used by Apple to prevent unauthorized copying of Mac OS X on non-Apple computers.



Playing any part in a product intended to circumvent Apple's methods for controlling Mac OS X, such as the methods used to prevent unauthorized copying of Mac OS X on non-Apple computers.



Doing anything to circumvent the rights held by Apple under the Copyright Act with respect to Mac OS X.



Alsup ruled that Psystar must comply with these by midnight on Dec. 31, 2009 at the latest. The Florida corporation has been ordered to immediately begin the process and take the quickest path to compliance.



Whether those statements apply to Psystar's Rebel EFI software, a $50 application that allows certain Intel-powered PCs to run Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, remains to be seen. Apple had hoped to ban Psystar from the sale of the software and alleged that Psystar had been "trafficking in circumvention devices." From his statements, Alsup would seem inclined to agree with Apple, but the judge refused to specifically mention the software in his ruling.



Alsup said he did so because Psystar's statements to the court avoided saying specifically what Rebel EFI does, so the judge felt it was inappropriate for him to determine whether the software falls within the scope of the injunction. However, he said the company's argument that it has a right to sell and distribute the software is weak, and likely would not hold up if properly tested in court.



"Whether such a defense would be successful on the merits, or face preclusion or other hurdles, this order cannot predict," Alsup said. "What is certain, however, is that until such a motion is brought, Psystar will be selling Rebel EFI at its peril, and risks finding itself in contempt if its new venture falls within the scope of the injunction."



The writing was on the wall for Psystar in November, when the court sided with Apple on a number of summary judgment points. Alsup, at that point, concluded that Psystar infringed on the copyrights owned by Apple and was in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act -- a decision that was reiterated in Tuesday's injunction.



Earlier this month, Psystar and Apple entered into a partial settlement in which the company agreed to pay $2.7 million in damages. While the settlement led to the end of sales for unauthorized hardware with Mac OS X, the payout -- and the fate of Rebel EFI -- are likely to be decided in a separate lawsuit filed by Psystar against Apple in Florida. In that suit, Psystar has alleged that Apple engaged in "anticompetitive attempts to tie Mac OS X Snow Leopard to its Macintosh line of computers."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 117
    An obvious ruling. Totally expected.



    Alsup said he did so because Psystar's statements to the court avoided saying specifically what Rebel EFI does



    More evasive BS chicanery from Psystar. These fools will go to any length to waste everyone's time.



    "Whether such a defense would be successful on the merits, or face preclusion or other hurdles, this order cannot predict," Alsup said. "What is certain, however, is that until such a motion is brought, Psystar will be selling Rebel EFI at its peril, and risks finding itself in contempt if its new venture falls within the scope of the injunction."



    Good enough, for now, but it just prolongs this fiasco.
  • Reply 2 of 117
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    The judge banned Psystar from:

    Intentionally inducing, aiding, assisting, abetting or encouraging any other person or entity to infringe Apple's copyrighted Mac OS X software.



    Circumventing any technological measure that effectively controls access Mac OS X, including, but not limited to, the technological measure used by Apple to prevent unauthorized copying of Mac OS X on non-Apple computers.



    Playing any part in a product intended to circumvent Apple's methods for controlling Mac OS X, such as the methods used to prevent unauthorized copying of Mac OS X on non-Apple computers.

    -

    Whether those statements apply to Psystar's Rebel EFI software, a $50 application that allows certain Intel-powered PCs to run Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, remains to be seen. Apple had hoped to ban Psystar from the sale of the software and alleged that Psystar had been "trafficking in circumvention devices." From his statements, Alsup would seem inclined to agree with Apple, but the judge refused to specifically mention the software in his ruling.



    Pretty much your answer about Rebel EFI is right there, its just not spelled out in black and white. While that would be nice as it would save Apple some lawyer's fees, the above comments are pretty conclusive that Psystar's business model is completely toast.
  • Reply 3 of 117
    Sure looks obvious and in black and white to me... Three of his guidelines directly apply to Rebel EFI. I think the judge is being cautious as he doesn't know the exact nature of Rebel EFI. I think it's a good call and the follow up comments also add to his credit.
  • Reply 4 of 117
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lokheed View Post


    I think the judge is being cautious as he doesn't know the exact nature of Rebel EFI.



    Psystar's statements to the court avoided saying specifically what Rebel EFI does



    Seems Psystar is withholding information here . . .
  • Reply 5 of 117
    Only a PC user would buy one of their shitty computers. They are used to garbage, so it makes no difference to them.
  • Reply 6 of 117
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member
    This is GREAT. I've been waiting for this since the dawn of psystar. I come from the osx86 community, and feel like celebrating. Those jerks stole so much stuff we did it's not even funny. They got what they deserved. I have a small piece of faith restored in the american judicial system.
  • Reply 7 of 117
    pg4gpg4g Posts: 383member
    *Celebrates*



    Finally reason is seen in open court.
  • Reply 8 of 117
    Like they say: cheaters never prosper!!
  • Reply 9 of 117
    Congratulations in order for Apple. It is a sweet victory against a thief. And so other thieves beware because Apple is gonna get them.
  • Reply 10 of 117
    Just visited their website. All hardware labeled "out of stock." How disingenuous is that? Not a word about legal issues. Rebel EFI is being pushed--hard. Guess they figure it's their last chance to stick it to Apple. Hope they eat it.



    Their product consumer "reviews" reek of bogusness. Not a single negative comment. Most of the rest sound like butt-kissing praise written by their own PR person in a way as to sound like real people.



    What a bunch of tossers. I wish the court case would have ferreted out who was really behind this charade. Follow the money as was said in Deep Throat.
  • Reply 11 of 117
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OC4Theo View Post


    Congratulations in order for Apple. It is a sweet victory against a thief. And so other thieves beware because Apple is gonna get them.



    Precedent, baby, Precedent!
  • Reply 12 of 117
    bertpbertp Posts: 274member
    I glad Apple was able to defend its IP ? simply because they need a successful business model to do the necessary R&D, and to compensate the highly talented Apple engineers for their hard work. As a customer, I want the innovation to continue. To "commoditize" the OS would have been a disaster, IMO.
  • Reply 13 of 117
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Robin Huber View Post


    Just visited their website. All hardware labeled "out of stock." How disingenuous is that? Not a word about legal issues. Rebel EFI is being pushed--hard. Guess they figure it's their last chance to stick it to Apple. Hope they eat it.



    Their product consumer "reviews" reek of bogusness. Not a single negative comment. Most of the rest sound like butt-kissing praise written by their own PR person in a way as to sound like real people.



    What a bunch of tossers. I wish the court case would have ferreted out who was really behind this charade. Follow the money as was said in Deep Throat.



    They've been acting unprofessionally and have been taunting Apple openly from day one. They deserve what's happening to them, and more
  • Reply 14 of 117
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    They've been acting unprofessionally and have been taunting Apple openly from day one.



    You mean just like Mac's unprofessional ads taunting PC's?
  • Reply 15 of 117
    We're done here.
  • Reply 16 of 117
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by frugality View Post


    You mean just like Mac's unprofessional ads taunting PC's?



    No, like posting garbage such as this:



    http://community.psystar.com/in-comes-the-cavalry/



    In comes the cavalry



    July 28th, 2009 by admin



    Psystar has always been more a Cowboy than a Hippie. Now we?ve changed lawyers to better reflect who we are. Camara & Sibley LLP of Houston, Texas, has officially become our primary legal counsel in our ongoing litigation with Apple.



    Everyone here values openness. And that?s how we?re going to fight Apple: in public. We have nothing to hide. We buy hundreds of copies of OS X legally, from retailers like Amazon and Apple itself. We?re probably one of Apple?s biggest customers. Then we install these copies of OS X, along with kernel extensions that we wrote in-house, on computers that we buy and build. Then we resell the package to people like you. That?s it.



    Apple?s copyright on OS X doesn?t give Apple the right to tell people what they can do with it after they buy a copy. Apple can?t tell an applications developer that it can?t make a piece of Mac-compatible software. They can?t forbid Mac users from writing blogs critical of Apple. And they can?t tell us not to write kernel extensions that turn the computers we buy into Mac-compatible hardware.



    A new trial date has been set for January 11, 2010, in federal court in San Francisco. As we move toward trial, we?ll be keeping you informed about the arguments, the evidence, and what?s going on in the case. And, come January, Camara & Sibley will be ready to fight for Psystar, guns blazin?. We hope to see you there!
  • Reply 17 of 117
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  • Reply 18 of 117
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    They've been acting unprofessionally and have been taunting Apple openly from day one. They deserve what's happening to them, and more



    Nothing is going to happen to them. They will sell as much junk as they can and then shutdown and never pay a cent to Apple. Maybe even reopen under another name.
  • Reply 19 of 117
    Thank you Jenkins. How very nice.
  • Reply 20 of 117
    Certainly not the two ignoramus brothers. Until we follow the deep money to the source -- Microsoft , Dell, Sony, etc. -- this judgment is moot.



    Is "Journalism" really dead or will we get an answer?
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