Last week Apple filed a copyright infringement suit against Psystar, alleging the company “misappropriated Apple’s proprietary software and intellectual property.” That’s no shocker, but that Apple is asking for, along with damages and an injunction, that every Psystar Mac OS-based OpenComputer be recalled, could turn into more than just the usual lawsuit.
Psystar began selling the Open Computer in April, which uses, according to Apple, a modified version of its OS X. Since Psystar launched the PC everyone has been waiting for Apple’s suit. But the terms of the suit could have serious consequences for other companies who might be thinking about selling PCs using Apple’s OS and for Apple, see CNET’s analysis of the case and its possible outcomes.
In short: if Apple wins the suit and all clones are returned and destroyed, then any other copycatters waiting out there will have learned a discouraging lesson, but if Apple wins the suit and instead of recalling the clones, the court decides Psystar owes Apple some sort of licensing deal and fees, then we could see an army of Mac OS clones hitting the market.
The full text of Apple’s claim is available, here.