PSYSTAR SAGA: Company claims Apple never copyrighted OS X

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psystar-computer.jpgQuick recap for the uninitiated: Psystar is a company that makes “Hackintoshes”, PCs that can (and do) run OS X. For the entirety of its life, the company has been plagued with legal problems from Apple, and it filed a number of lawsuits in response, including one that alleges antitrust issues and an illegal monopoly on the sales of Mac hardware.

Last month, a judge threw out all these claims, and Psystar was given 20 days to come up with something better. Today, they’ve tried to do just that, filing the rather strange claim that Apple failed to register the copyrights on OS X properly.

Psystar claims that this means that Apple’s suit, which alleges copyright infringement and DMCA violation, is null and void. It also alleges that Apple has undocumented code which checks a number of hardware components on startup and renders any non-Apple machines inoperable.

We’ll see what happens here. I’d be rather surprised if Apple had indeed failed to register its copyrights properly, but it seems that this story is going to run on and on.

One thing puzzles me though – Apple has already claimed that a ‘silent third party’, presumably a big company wanting to enter the Mac market, is behind Psystar. How on earth could Psystar be paying for their lawyers over such a long period of time if they’re *not* supported by that aforementioned third party?

Psystar (via InformationWeek)

Related posts: Psystar antitrust claim dismissed by judge | Psystar: fact or fiction – the OpenMac traders have no premises

Duncan Geere
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