The IT Nerd

Here’s a plot twist in the Apple vs. Psystar lawsuit. Psystar is going to sue Apple for anticompetitive business practices:

“Miami-based Psystar, owned by Rudy Pedraza, will sue Apple under two federal laws designed to discourage monopolies and cartels, the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act, saying Apple’s tying of the Mac OS to Apple-labeled hardware is “an anticompetitive restrain of trade,” according to attorney Colby Springer of antitrust specialists Carr & Ferrell. Psystar is requesting that the court find Apple’s EULA void, and is asking for unspecified damages.”

I have to give Psystar credit for having balls of steel trying to fight Apple in the legal arena. But I can’t see it succeeding. Speaking of lawyers, you can bet the iLawyers are getting ready to defend Steve and company against this threat.

Are there any actual lawyers who care to comment on Psystar’s chances?

It seems there is news from the wonderful world of Mac clonemakers. Why don’t we start with the new boys on the block Open Tech (Whom you’ll recall that I questioned if they were for real). Apparently they have put themselves up for sale at the bargain basement price of $50K. That includes their “trade secrets and brand equity,” whatever that means. Oh, you can pay by PayPal if you’re interested. That inspires confidence.

Meanwhile over at Psystar, it’s apparently business as usual. They’ve posted this note on their website saying that they’re still shipping systems and they’re even now started shipping restore CDs to users too. I guess the fact that Apple is trying to sue them out of existence means nothing to them. But then again, they have good lawyers so that may explain their bravado.

I think I’ll sit back and watch what happens next. It should be fun.

It seems that Psystar isn’t going to fold up like a cheap suit after all. They’ve hired Carr & Ferrell who are best known for beating Apple back in 2006 when Apple sued Burst.com for patent infringement and Burst.com counter sued. These guys specialize in intellectual property cases, so they’re the right guys for the job. The first thing they’ve done is filled for an extension, which gives Psystar until August 18th to make a reply to Apple. Both Apple and Psystar agreed to the extension.

This may just get really interesting in a hurry. Read more details about this new plot twist here.

According to Yahoo, Psystar (you’ll remember them as the Mac clone maker who has attracted the attention of Apple’s iLawyers a few days ago) has their headquarters up for sale:

” One ad for the property, which makes no mention of Psystar, notes that it’s a 47,000-square-foot “warehouse/office building.” The ad boasts that the property is “priced for quick sale” and adds that it includes “space for bulk, rack and bin storage, aisle space, receiving and shipping space, packing and crating space, and office space with bathrooms.

In other words, it’s perfect for assembling and shipping computers.”

So the question is, are they dead or simply circling the wagons by unloading the building to finance the fight against Apple? I’m guessing we’ll find out Monday or Tuesday as Apple’s iLawyers will likely want some sort of explanation for this.

Back in April, a company named Psystar came out with a clone Mac pre-installed with OS X Leopard. Because of the fact that this is a direct violation of Apple’s end user licensing agreement that forbids you from running OS X on non-Mac hardware, it was thought that this company would have a very short lifespan. The company itself believed that it could fight Apple’s end user licensing agreement successfully and was hoping for a fight.

It’s got one now.

It took a while, but “The Steve” has ordered his army of iLawyers to sue Psystar for violating its shrink wrap license, trademark and for copyright infringement. One has to wonder why it took so long as Apple is known for being quick on the trigger when it comes to sending in the iLawyers to deal with anything that threatens the company.

It’s a safe bet that Psystar is doomed.

UPDATE: This story from news.com gives more details. It seems that Apple wants all of the Psystar clones that have been shipped recalled. Not only that, a lawyer quoted in the story calls the lawsuit a “slam dunk” for Apple.