01/03, 10:50pm
Apple told discovered issue must stay public
Apple encountered its one and only setback in its court victory over Psystar Tuesday after Judge William Alsup ruled that it couldn't keep secret details about how Mac OS X worked. Apple couldn't order sealed documents about the boot-up checks to verify Mac OS X, its integrity checks, and its heat sensor management. Apple tried to argue that information it hadn't confirmed itself still had to be secret to avoid , but Alsup countered that trade secret laws couldn't be used simply to avoid confirmation of details already available in books and published code.
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09/29, 4:05pm
Psystar loses last shot at keeping clones
The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected Psystar's appeal over its loss to Apple. The decision upheld an earlier verdict that the Florida PC builder was violating Apple's copyrights for Mac OS X through its promotions and violating the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) through hacks that got Mac OS X to load on generic Intel hardware. Psystar's lone win was a right to public access of court records, denying Apple's request to seal them after the court procedure was finished.
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09/08, 5:50pm
Quo maxQ2 keeps Mac clones alive
After some silence, Mac clone producer Quo Computer today revealed plans for a high-end workstation to take on the Mac Pro. The maxQ2 tower will use a Core i7 overclocked to 3.6GHz through the use of an officially endorsed Asetek 550LC liquid cooling system. Most other parts are high-end and chosen to work smoothly in Mac OS X, such as the stock GeForce GTX 285 as well as 12GB of RAM, a 240GB solid-state drive for a boot disk and a 1TB secondary hard drive.
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01/15, 8:25pm
Psystar formally disputes Apple case
Documents published today have revealed that Psystar is formally appealing the permanent injunction Apple secured against it in court. Filed on Thursday, the request to the US Court of Appeals' Ninth Circuit challenges the ban on selling Mac clones, the summary judgment and protections surrounding the details of dispositive (settlement-related) motions in the case.
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12/19, 7:35pm
Psystar lawyer claims still in business
One of Psystar's attorneys acted quickly to quiet reports that the company was closing down with a statement Saturday. Camara & Sibley LLP co-founder K.A.D. Camara claims that fellow attorney Eugene Action (and by extension Psystar head Rudy Pedraza) was "misquoted" and that the Mac clone producer is coming back after a break. As of Saturday evening, the Psystar site had come back online after a day's hiatus, but only the company's Rebel EFI software was listed, suggesting the company has honored its agreement to stop selling Mac clones.
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12/18, 1:45pm
Mac cloner Psystar sees no reason to be
(Updated with countering statement) Mac clone builder Psystar on Friday said it was shutting down. The Florida-based company's president Rudy Pedraza said the shutdown would take effect "immediately." All eight employees of the small company have been dismissed, and the company's website is no longer functioning.
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12/15, 10:05pm
Court rules final judgment in Apple's favor
The US District Court for the Northern District of California has entered a final judgment granting Apple's motion for permanent injunction against Psystar. The decision effectively bans the clone maker from continuing to infringe on the Mac OS X copyrights, including manufacturing and distribution of non-Apple computers with the Mac operating system pre-installed.
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12/02, 10:10am
Settlement value revealed to be $2.68 million
Psystar has put a halt to sales of Mac clones, the company's website indicates. All Open Computers are now listed as "out of stock;" the only product still available is the Rebel EFI installation utility, which is quoted as free, but only on a trial basis. PCs with Snow Leopard installed were still available for a brief period after the announcement of a partial legal settlement with Apple.
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12/01, 10:00am
Psystar aims to continue selling computers
Apple and Psystar have agreed to a partial settlement in their long-running legal battle, court documents show. Following a judgment against Psystar, and an Apple call for a permanent injunction, Psystar has agreed to pay an unspecified amount in damages once all appeals have been exhausted. In return, Apple is said to be dropping all trademark, trade-dress and state law claims, removing the need to go to trial.
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11/24, 3:50pm
Motion includes Leopard, Snow Leopard
Following a recent legal victory, Apple is now calling for a permanent injunction against Psystar's operations. If granted the injunction would prevent Psystar from doing anything which might violate Apple copyrights, including bypassing controls in Mac OS X which prevent it from being freely installed on any Intel system. The company would similarly be banned from sharing the necessary decryption technology with others.
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11/14, 6:00pm
Judge says Psystar clearly violated laws
Apple this week won a decisive victory in its lawsuit against clone maker Psystar. Judge William Alsup has ruled in a summary judgment that the Florida-based defendant had violated copyright laws, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) through creating and selling PCs with unauthorized copies of Mac OS X. By modifying the Mac OS X bootloader and kernel extensions to allow non-Apple hardware to run, Psystar has violated Apple's "exclusive right" to determine how and where Mac OS X runs, the judgment reads.
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11/11, 7:25pm
Founder denies tech was taken from osx86project
Psystar co-founders and brothers Rudy Kendall and Robert Kendall have shed light on the beginnings of their company, including a claim they cracked Mac OS X on their own, according to an interview with Miami New Times. After growing up in a family that could not afford the early Macs, Robert set out to learn how to run Apple's operating system on cheaper computers.
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11/06, 5:45pm
Latest computer maker to challenge Apple
An Italian computer maker is the latest company to ignore Apple's Mac OS X license agreement and launch a new series of Mac clones, according to the Italian site Macity. The startup Engineering Project recently launched a site promoting its upcoming EVO computers, which are allegedly compatible with several platforms including Mac OS X.
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10/22, 5:45pm
Software assists DIY Mac clones
Psystar has begun offering its Mac virtualization technology in a software package, Rebel EFI, that allows users to install Snow Leopard on their own PC systems. The utility supports generic Intel hardware based on Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, i7 or Xeon Nehalem CPUs. The Darwin boot loader can also be used to load Linux and Windows XP, Vista or 7.
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10/11, 1:05pm
Both companies submit summary judgements
Both Apple and Psystar have filed separate motions, requesting a summary judgement from Judge William Alsup in a San Francisco court, says AppleInsider. The two hearings are both set for November 12th, the outcome of which could determine whether the trial will take place in January. Apple has asked Alsup rule that Psystar infringed on its copyrights and violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by selling third-party machines that run Mac OS X. Apple believes the company has violated laws by circumventing its operating system's disc protection methods.
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10/05, 3:45pm
Likely to draw fire from Apple
Mac cloner Psystar has announced a new OEM licensing program, designed to spread the company's virtualization software. Subscribers to the program gain access to the company's Darwin Universal Boot Loader (DUBL), which allows users to install Mac OS X on a PC, instead of just an Apple-branded Mac. Users can in fact have up to six operating systems on a computer, but hardware certified by Psystar must at least have Linux, Windows Vista or Windows 7 pre-installed.
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10/02, 6:40pm
Psystar attorney leaves Apple team
Psystar shuffled its defense this week as one of the attorneys defending the Mac clone builder left its team. A filing has revealed that lawfirm Welker and Rosario's co-founder, David Welker, exited the team for unknown reasons but said he only played a small role in defending against Apple's copyright accusations. The defense member was responsible for filing some of Psystar's more recent filings, including those demanding Apple executives re-appear as witnesses, but said he neither worked with Psystar first-hand nor received pay for his efforts.
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09/24, 6:55pm
Separate case now headed to Florida court
US District Court Judge William Alsup has denied Apple's motion to include Snow Leopard in its case against Psystar. Apple initially argued to keep the updated operating system out of the case by "relentlessly objecting to discovery on Snow Leopard," Alsup writes. The company was successful at keeping the issue separate, as the update was released after the discovery period had come to a close.
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09/08, 9:15pm
Unauthorized Snow Leopard clones already on market
Psystar has already circumvented Apple's latest copyright-protection methods utilized in the Snow Leopard update. The clone maker is currently shipping its Open Computer systems with the new operating system, despite the ongoing legal battle between both companies.
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09/08, 10:10am
Charged with sharing secret case details
Psystar's chief lawyer, K.A.D. Camera of the firm Camera and Shipley, is protesting allegations that he broke an order against sharing details of the company's legal battle with Apple. He is said to have leaked information to Charles Nesson, a Harvard Law School professor and the founder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. "The accusation that I have somehow violated the protective order is nothing more than an attempt to distract this Court from what is at issue in this round of supplemental briefing -- namely, Apple's complete failure to provide testimony from a corporate representative on damages," claims Camera in a recent court filing.
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09/01, 11:15am
Psystar tackles S. Leopard
Mac cloner Psystar has filed a second lawsuit against Apple, this time contesting policies surrounding Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Psystar should have the right to buy Snow Leopard and install it on third-party computers for sale, the filing says. The suit moreover accuses Apple of illegally linking Snow Leopard to Apple hardware, creating monopolies in the trade of "premium" computers, and/or systems running Mac OS X as a platform. "Apple's share of revenue in the market for premium computers -- computers priced at over $1,000 -- is currently 91 per cent," Psystar attorneys note.
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08/21, 3:55pm
Poor Schiller testimony
Apple's VP of worldwide product marketing, Phil Schiller, was "wholly unprepared and unwilling to testify" during a deposition last week, say attorneys for Psystar. The company recently called a string of Apple executives to testify in its battle over installing Mac OS X on third-party computers. In a filed complaint, Schiller is alleged to have been uncooperative, unable to provide any information on the damages Apple claims to have suffered as a result of Mac cloning.
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08/17, 12:05pm
Psystar destroying proof?
Mac cloner Psystar is guilty of destroying important evidence needed to proceed in an ongoing lawsuit, Apple alleges in recent court documents. The case revolves around the end-user license for Mac OS X Leopard, which expressly forbids installing the software on systems not branded by Apple. Psystar sells PCs with Leopard pre-installed, which Apple suggests is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act due to the need to modify code in the operating system.
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08/14, 9:55am
Psystar grills Apple execs
A group of Apple executives has begun to answer deposition in the company's ongoing legal dispute with Psystar, the latter party has revealed. People who have already addressed questions relating to Psystar's defense include John Wright, a senior software manager for Mac OS X, and Kevin van Vechten, a software engineering manager. Thursday saw questions directed towards Phil Schiller, Apple's senior VP for worldwide product marketing, and one of the company's most prominent public faces.
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08/11, 5:35pm
Psystar bankruptcy dismiss
United States Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Mark has granted Psystar's request for voluntary dismissal of its Chapter 11 proceedings, although the clone maker is restricted from submitting a similar filing for the next year. The judge also explicitly blocked the company from receiving an automatic stay if it chooses to pursue a Chapter 7 filing.
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07/28, 4:40pm
Psystar gets new lawyers
The Apple vs. Psystar case has taken yet another turn, as the clone maker on Tuesday announced that it has changed lawyers. The company will now be represented by Camara & Sibley LLP of Houston, Texas, the team that is also currently defending Jammie Thomas-Russet against a $2 million RIAA ruling. Psystar also hosts a new "community" page and a wiki that will disclose its methods and tips for running OS X on non-Apple hardware.
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07/13, 1:45pm
Apple lawsuit continues
Apple's licensing infringement lawsuit against Psystar is progressing again, with the trial now scheduled for January 11, 2010. The proceedings had been delayed due to Psystar's bankruptcy filing, which the company recently moved to drop after the Florida court decided the Apple suit would still be allowed to continue.
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07/01, 10:55pm
Psytar ships new clone
Despite a recent Chapter 11 filing and the continuing legal battle, Psystar has introduced a new Nehalem-based clone. The company distributed an e-mail introducing its "fastest and most quiet computing configuration available," while reminding customers that the bankruptcy proceedings will not put an end to its continuing operations, according to ChannelWeb.
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06/23, 11:45am
Psystar lawsuit resumes
The judge overseeing Psystar's bankruptcy proceedings has granted an Apple motion calling for the resumption of a copyright infringement lawsuit, reports say. By entering bankruptcy, Psystar gained a temporary reprieve from charges of illegally distributing PCs running Mac OS X Leopard. The lawsuit is now likely to resume immediately, at least if Psystar chooses not to appeal, an attorney familiar with similar cases claims.
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06/13, 12:45am
Apple files Psystar motion
Apple has filed a motion against the now bankrupt Psystar, alleging that the now defunct clonemaker is utilizing an indigent image to shield itself from Apple's previous accusations. AppleInsider notes that Apple believes Psystar's bankruptcy was conveniently timed to cause more proceedings, thereby diverting questions about the company's inner workings in a deposition. Should the courts not agree with the new motion, Apple suggests Psystar could potentially continue to sell its clones uninterrupted, regardless of the operations legality.
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06/12, 9:30am
Psystar owes Apple
Psystar already owes Apple $75,000, documents from the former's bankruptcy proceedings indicate. Psystar recently submitted a filing mentioning Schedule F debts, those to creditors with "unsecured nonpriority claims." Though Apple is on the F list, it is unknown what the money may be owed for. The only other explicit information from the filing is the phrase "litigation pending" under the section citing Psystar's consideration for the claim.
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06/04, 9:50am
Psystar bankruptcy cause
Legal costs account for the bulk of Psystar's outside debts, court bankruptcy documents reveal. Having filed for Chapter 11 protection late last month, the company has been forced to disclose what it owes and to whom. While the greatest amount of debt is situated in a $120,000 loan from the company's founder, Rudy Pedraza, another $88,000 is due to Carr & Ferrell, the lawfirm that has represented Psystar in its battles with Apple over Mac cloning. The firm has intellectual property experience and has successfully dueled with Apple in the past.
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05/26, 1:55pm
Psystar files for Ch. 11
Psystar has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection through a federal court in Florida, documents show. Although a sign of serious financial trouble, the move will also grant the Mac cloner a temporary reprieve from an Apple lawsuit, charging Psystar with breaking the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the license agreement for Mac OS X Leopard. All legal actions against Psystar have been put on hold while bankruptcy proceedings get underway; the hold may be lifted within a few months, at the discretion of the judge.
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05/20, 3:40pm
RussianMac ships clones
A Russian company, RussianMac, has begun shipping a wide range of Mac clones that come with OS X pre-installed. Despite the ongoing legal battle between Apple and clone-maker Psystar, RussianMac claims it does not violate the Mac OS X end-user license agreement. Along with drawing a unique interpretation of Apple's terms, the Russian company could be confident that it will avoid legal action as long as its business does not leave the country.
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05/05, 10:50pm
Psystar denies Apple claim
In response to Apple's accusations that Psystar is withholding information, the clone maker claims it has submitted any required documents. The company goes further and argues that Apple is not abiding by prior agreements. "The documents produced by Apple are generally publicly available documents that ignore the scope of Psystar's discovery requests," said lawyer Colby Springer in a court filing. Psystar claims copyright and trademark registrations still need to be produced, along with copies of litigation pleadings.
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05/01, 4:25pm
Psystar holding back?
Psystar is failing to follow proper legal procedure, Apple has claimed in a petition to a federal court judge. The Mac cloner is specifically accused of interfering with the discovery phase of a current lawsuit, by refusing to produce balance sheets, monthly statements and other financial documents, although it has provided some cost and revenue receipts. "Moreover," states Apple attorney James Gilliland, "at the deposition regarding Psystar’s revenues, profits, assets and liabilities...Psystar’s CEO and founder Rudy Pedraza, the person designated by Psystar to testify on this topic, would not answer basic questions about Psystar’s financials."
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03/18, 7:55am
Psystar Open 3 Mac Clone
Undeterred by lawsuits, Psystar this morning launched the Open(3) as its latest overt Mac clone. The system drops the conventional mini-tower for a slimline shape but is technically faster: the stock model uses a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo desktop processor and now has the option of up to a 2.53GHz Core 2 Quad. Psystar further gives the clone space for a small dedicated graphics card and options for 802.11n Wi-Fi as well as three FireWire 800 ports or a USB Bluetooth adapter.
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02/26, 3:00pm
Apple Psystar order filing
Following Psystar's recent amendment of its counterclaims against Apple, both parties have submitted a joint filing for protective order that aims to prevent the public release of any proprietary information during the discovery process that will lead into the trial. "The parties and their counsel have agreed to certain procedures and restrictions that they consider mutually acceptable for protecting personal, proprietary and confidential information that may be disclosed during prosecution and defense of this litigation," the filing read.
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02/16, 9:35am
Psystar submits complaint
As made possible by a recent ruling, Psystar has filed an amended complaint in its countersuit against Apple. While the Mac clone builder has been forced to drop antitrust accusations, it is continuing with allegations of copyright misuse relating to Mac OS X. Leopard's End-User License Agreement (EULA) specifies that the OS can only be installed on an official Apple computer, something Psystar argues is an overextension of the Mac OS X copyright.
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02/09, 2:35am
Psystar amended claims
Despite a previous dismissal of Psystar's counterclaims against Apple, District Judge William Alsup has decided to allow the clone-maker to submit an amended version of its arguments. The court is likely to hear most of the copyright misuse accusations aimed at Apple, including allegations that the company over-extended the breadth of the Mac OS End User License Agreement (EULA). The first dismissal rejected any antitrust claims under the Clayton and Sherman Acts, while the recent decision trimmed away the unfair competition accusations.
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01/14, 10:45am
Psystar rebuts Apple
Psystar has challenged a second Apple motion to dismiss the countersuit over the former's Mac clones, filings show. A first dismissal motion forced Psystar to drop any monopoly claims, but the company subsequently submitted a modified complaint, accusing Apple of abusing copyright to prevent fair competition. In rebuffing Apple's second dismissal attempt, Psystar has criticized Apple for maintaining a simplistic view of the lawsuit.
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12/24, 10:00am
Psystar denies conspiracy
There is no conspiratorial effort being made to steal Apple's intellectual property, Psystar claims in federal court documents. Apple has accused Psystar of violating the license for Mac OS X Leopard by installing the software on third-party hardware; expanding on this, however, Apple has accused Psystar of having the help of 10 other people or companies, which it has been unable to name. "The true names or capacities, whether individual, corporate or otherwise, of these persons are unknown to Apple," a statement reads. "Consequently they are referred to herein as John Does 1 through 10."
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12/17, 7:30pm
Psystar DMCA defense
Psystar has submitted a response to Apple's recently expanded list of claims. After a successful filing to have the court reject the clone-maker's initial counterclaims of monopolistic business practices, Apple added several DMCA-violation allegations to the suit. The basic defense against the DMCA accusations argues that the technological copyright-protection measures employed in Mac OS X are being used to monopolize the manufacture of Mac OS compatible hardware systems.
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12/10, 3:15pm
Psystar drops antitrust
Psystar has submitted a modified counterclaim in its legal dispute with Apple, reports say. Filing in response to a tentative dismissal motion, Psystar has dropped any antitrust allegations under the Clayton and Sherman Acts, saying that while it "respectfully disagrees" with the court over definitions of monopoly, it will abide by them for the time being. It is nevertheless continuing a pursuit of Apple for copyright violations, referring to the legal concept of a "misuse doctrine."
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12/02, 12:55am
Apple, DMCA and Psystar
Apple has stepped-up its lawsuit against Psystar, adding claims of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violations, according to Computerworld. The clone-maker is accused of reverse engineering the piracy protection methods employed in Mac OS X. "Defendant has illegally circumvented Apple's technological copyright-protection measures," the amended complaint states. The change comes five months after the initial filings, as the company has "discovered new information."
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11/22, 12:00am
Apple may see fines
The latest development in the Apple-Psystar case may potentially see Apple stumbling over potential fines, as a recent filing shows that the company does not practice common document and email archiving etiquette. The Industry Standard reports that Apple maintains no company standard for email and document retention, a practice that can lead to millions of dollars in fines when adequate documentation is not found, when called upon in support of courtroom proceedings.
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11/18, 5:15pm
Psystar countersuit over?
A countersuit filed against Apple by Psystar has been tentatively dismissed, documents show. Apple filed suit against Psystar in July, accusing the company of illegally installing Mac OS X on unauthorized hardware; Psystar retaliated with a claim of its own, arguing that Apple violates local and national antitrust regulations. In a 19-page ruling issued today however, judge William Alsup has sided with Apple, granting a dismissal of the countersuit should Psystar not improve the reasoning of its case by December 8th.
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11/07, 1:10am
Judge to rule on Psystar
US District Judge William Alsup is preparing a ruling on the ongoing Apple-Psystar drama, wherein Apple is calling for a dismissal of Psystar's countersuit, regarding whether the former holds a monopoly on its own market. Macworld writes that the ruling is expected to occur within two weeks, detailing whether Psystar has a case against Apple, over their tight grip on the Mac ecosystem. A potential conflict of interests could also see a change in judge as well, should Psystar see fit to file a motion.
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11/03, 3:20pm
Apple, Psystar set date
An advance out-of-court settlement in the dispute between Apple and Psystar is now unlikely to happen, filings show. The two companies have been involved in a process called Alternative Dispute Resolution, designed to avoid the time and cost of a court battle; both corporations are recently, however, said to have asked a judge to authorize a proposed court schedule, in which fact discovery would end in late June of next year, and a trial would be set for November 9th. Actual dates could vary substantially.
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10/29, 10:25am
Psystar Mac Notebook
Psystar is preparing to follow up its recent Blu-ray desktop with a notebook that would also be capable of running Mac OS X, says a message from the company to an AppleInsider reader. Without providing details, the Florida PC builder acknowledges that an Open Computer notebook is "in development" and that the system should follow Psystar's usual practice of trying to undercut Apple on cost with a "very competitively priced" example.
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