Back in April, the appearance of Psystar’s value “OpenMac” computer, which came with Apple’s Mac OS X pre-installed as standard, led to tech media watching intently for Apple’s legal eagles to swoop down on what seemed like easy prey given the obvious violation of copyright and software licensing stipulations.
Apple files legal complaint against Psystar for its Mac OS X-equipped OpenComputer. Image: Psystar.
It’s taken a while, a lot longer than some of us thought, but that time has now arrived with news that Cupertino-based Apple Inc. has lodged a complaint with U.S. District Court in San Jose that accuses Psystar of violating Apple’s shrink wrap license and also infringing upon trademark and copyright by delivering its (now strategically re-named) OpenComputer with Mac OS X.
According to the New York Times, which did some investigative digging through the federal court system’s electronic documents, Apple Inc. filed its complaint against Psystar back on July 03, claiming a licensing violation on the grounds that the Mac OS X operating system is legally bound to only Apple-branded computers.
More specifically, the end-user licensing agreement (EULA) attached to the Mac OS X 10.5 (a.k.a. Leopard) clearly prohibits users from installing the operating system on any other form of computer hardware not manufactured by Apple.
When Psystar’s $555 Mac OS X-equipped OpenMac first surfaced in April, the Florida-based company countered possible concerns of a messy legal battle with computer giant Apple by confidently claiming that any such attack would be unlikely to hold water in court.
“What if Honda said that after you buy their car, you could only drive it on the roads they said you could?” said a Psystar spokesman regarding any possible licensing violation accusations that Apple might subsequently launch its way.
While it remains to be seen how Apple’s complaint will affect Psystar, it is believed that the computer giant will be seeking damages and looking to block all future sales of Psystar hardware equipped with Mac OS X and also prevent Psystar from providing existing systems with OS updates.
While by no means proof positive that Psystar is already feeling the rough edge of Apple’s legal tongue, it is perhaps worth noting that Psystar’s official Web site has been offline since around midday of Tuesday.
Neither Psystar nor Apple have yet offered official comment regarding the lawsuit.
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