Psystar permanently banned from selling Mac clones

John Brownlee ()

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We’ve all been gleefully following the seventeen month legal battle between Apple and Mac clone maker Psystar, but it looks likes the credits are finally about to roll. Yesterday, United States District Judge William Alsup granted a permanent injunction to Apple that will prevent Psystar from ever again selling hardware with Apple’s operating system already installed.

The injunction prevents 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.

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The only thing still left up in the air is whether or not Psystar can continue to sell their $50 Rebel EFI software, a $50 application which makes installing OS X on Intel-powered PCs a breeze. Alsup seemed inclined to agree with Apple that Rebel EFI is a “circumvention device” and thus a violation of the DMCA, but since Psystar deftly avoided explaining the software in court, Alsup refrained from ruling on it… though he did take the opportunity to issue a warning.

“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.”

In other words: Psystar, don’t be idiots. Again. You’re already $2.7 million in the hole.

8 comments »

About the author

John BrownleeJohn Brownlee is news editor here at Cult of Mac, and has also written about a lot of things for a lot of different places, including Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker, AMC, Geek and the Consumerist. He lives in Cambridge with his charming inamorata and a tiny budgerigar punningly christened after Nabokov's most famous pervert. You can follow him here on Twitter.

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  • Rocky

    You know, I almost feel sorry for them.

    Nah.

  • Ictus75

    Smack down!

  • Bonk

    I’m very curious to find out who’s checkbook was behind Psystar?
    This was all pretty bold and risky – I’d like to know who was behind it all.

  • katiepea

    thanks apple, shutting down pystar was the best thing you’ve ever done for the hackintosh community, they were really messing things up!!! I love you again apple, way to go!!! (Still won’t buy your computers tho) my asus p5 DH runs snow leopard better than your entry level mac pros

  • http://www.toxicspark.com Andrew Macdonald

    Im happy for Apple that they have managed to win this legal fight, but lets face it, Pystar are in debt to their eyeballs. There’s no way on earth Apple has any chance of recovering that $2.7 million.

    But i guess that is pocket change to Apple. This was more about sending a warning to anybody who wants to do what Pystar were doing.

    Well done Apple!!

  • sangony

    I am not a legal expert so I can’t comment on whether this was the right ruling or not but I am a little disappointed. I can’t see why Apple simply does not allow for other companies to sell clones. I have heard their argument about wanting to keep things under their control as to avoid the chaotic crap the windows universe has to deal with on a daily basis. I for one would be very happy with a system whereby you know if you are buying Apple “certified” hardware and can be reasonable assured of its standards or have the option of buying non-Apple certified hardware for which you pay less and take your chances on compatibility. I would see this as a win-win situation whereby Apple can spread its seeds and still remain in control. But what do I know… my first computer was an Apple II+

  • PG

    I am not a legal expert so I can’t comment on whether this was the right ruling or not but I am a little disappointed. I can’t see why Apple simply does not allow for other companies to sell clones.

    You must have been born after 1997. Because you are too young to recall that about 11-12 years ago, Apple already did this FAILED EXPERIMENT called licensing Mac clones. It did nothing for the brand, and financially it did not help Apple whatsoever since Apple was in near-bankruptcy at that time. Nor did anyone really care very much for those (cheaper) Mac clones. Ten years later, no one really writes about them any more, because no one wants to remember or admit they ever had one.

    Only after Steve Jobs came back, shut down all the Mac clone licensees, did Apple become immensely profitable and innovative once again.

    Legally-licensed Mac clones was a FAILED EXPERIMENT in the 1990s. It’s already been done. Get over it. Stop being a crybaby and let it go.

  • katiepea

    the entire hackintosh community was praying that apple would win this. nobody that is running os x on their pc, me included, wanted pystar to win. it’s too much heat, everything works better without people mucking around with the community. right now i out benchmark $4k mac pros with my 800 pc running snow leopard natively (no hacks, only retail) so i don’t care about pystar. the software they were ‘selling’ is readily available for free already and installing snow leopard currently is as easy as it is on a real mac. so yay apple, and boo pystar, you were the worst thing ever for the hackintosh community.