Remember Psystar? The small company used to put together computers running OS X to then sell on the cheap. Apple won a permanent injunction against Psystar back in 2009 that prohibited the company from selling any unauthorized computers running OS X.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirms that Psystar did indeed violate Apple’s Mac OS X copyrights, and that the ban on sales will be upheld.
Cnet reports:
“Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder ruled yesterday that Psystar’s Mac clones violated copyrights Apple holds, and the ban on sales will be upheld. According to Schroeder, Psystar specifically violated copyrights Apple holds in Mac OS X, and said that the U.S. District Court’s ruling in favor of Apple was just.”
Psystar became famous years ago for its “OpenMac” computers that were essentially PCs running modified versions of Mac OS X. The benefit of buying from Psystar was that customers could get powerful hardware running OS X for a fraction of Apple’s retail price.
After Apple sued Psystar, the courts ruled that the company violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Psystar was a pretty small company, and it was an uphill battle against Apple’s world class legal team from the very beginning.
The court deciding to uphold the ban doesn’t bode well for Pystar. The company’s days are clearly numbered.
