• Psystar: Apple Mac OS X is Not Copyrighted

    Psystar: Apple Mac OS X is Not Copyrighted

    Techtree News Staff, Dec 23, 2008 1450 hrs IST

    Psystar also claims that a stealth code in Mac OS X 10.5 makes a machine inoperable if hardware is not Apple approved

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It's a cat and mouse game between Apple and the Mac clone maker Psystar. Psystar, who sells unauthorized Mac systems, was sued by Apple earlier this year for copyright violation. Later, Psystar countersued them claiming that Apple's monopoly in the Mac market is a violation of antitrust laws.

However, a judge rejected Psystar's countersuit and asked them to revise their filing. Psystar's revised filing now claims that Apple does not hold any copyright for its Mac OS X, and demanded that the lawsuit should be dismissed immediately.

The legal wording says "(Apple) is prohibited from bringing action against Psystar for the alleged infringement of one or more of the plaintiff's copyrights for failure to register the said copyrights with the copyright office as required." Now, if such a claim holds true, Apple will be in serious trouble as they will have to cope with more Psystar-like companies in the future.

Psystar's revised filing also mentions that Apple's Mac OS X 10.5, aka Leopard, has some stealth code running in the background, which checks for a particular range of Intel processors sold by them and which tends to make the machine inoperable if the hardware is not Apple approved.

Psystar sells Mac OS X desktops with prices starting from $550 (approx. Rs 26,700).

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Discussion Board
(6) Comments
ghewarlal
,jodhpur, on Jan 05, 2009 05:56 PM
mac today very best OS
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Anonymous
,x, on Dec 23, 2008 09:31 PM
Unfortunately for Psystar, you don't have to register with the copyright office to have a valid copyright that will hold up in a court of law. I suggest they look up "Berne Convention Implementation Act".
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David Benjamin
,Huntington, on Dec 24, 2008 11:00 AM
Yes, you're right. Technically, to copyright something, all you have to do is set it in a tangible form (i.e. on a hard drive). So, Apple did copyright their product.
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Anonymous
,, on Dec 24, 2008 05:17 AM
Oh, Apple is going down! That's so sweet!
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Anonymous
,Tucson, on Dec 23, 2008 10:33 PM
It looks like the Berne Convention Implementation act rules out some of the damage claims and the opportunity to collect legal fees if the copyright is not registered. Looks like a way to limit their losses.
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Mark Mayer
,Los Angeles, on Dec 23, 2008 06:01 PM
Techtree News Staff: Please do a bit of legal research before making claims such as "if such a claim holds true, Apple will be in serious trouble as they will have to cope with more Psystar-like companies in the future". There is not enough space here to go into why both Psystar is wrong, and why you are wrong, even if Psystar is right.
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