Psystar vs. Apple

If your unaware about the legal battle between Psystar and Apple let me inform you. The case revolves around the fact that Psystar used Apples operating system on their own custom made computers without asking Apple. "Apple claims that Psystar originally tried to claim that Apple's EULA, which stipulates that Mac OS X can only be installed on Apple-made hardware, was invalid." After a judge ruled against that claim Psystar claimed that Apple misused its copyright even though Psystars claims don't agree with other rulings on copyright misuse.

Psystar further defends its position by saying that it bought multiple copies of OSX legitimately from Apple. Therefore they say that they satisfied the first sale doctrine. The first sale doctrine states that the purchaser can transfer a copyrighted work without permission from the developer once they bought it. It also states that no more copies can be made once the original one is received. However the claim ignores how installing the software makes a copy onto the computer. In that case Apple has the right to make sure that software is copied in a certain way. However it works out, the deadline for working it out before heading to court is in february. In the end if the judge rules in favor of Psystar it will have far reaching effects for the software world.

In my opinion I think that Psystar should be given the chance to market their product in small numbers without Apple warranties in order to see if people would buy the computers. If it is shown that people would buy it then Apple could impose a royalty on every computer sold in order to make money. Of course Apple may not want to do this because if they do then the appeal of a Mac being just a Mac can fall and the actual market share of Apple itself will fall as these Mac clones can be sold for a lot less money. In general Psystar is both a good and bad thing for Apple and consumers. For Apple it can be good as it would expand the use of their software relative to windows. However it can be bad for Apple as it would lose exclusivity and quality of support may fall. For consumers it would almost be a win-win situation as they would get Apple quality software for a much cheaper price along with performance upgrades as well. In the end it may come down to a matter of time as Apple has an overwhelming legal and financial advantage over Psystar.