Miami, Florida based computer company Psystar Corporation was sued by Apple Inc. Last month a federal judge ruled in favor of Apple. Psystar was accused of violating Apple’s copyrights. Psystar was selling “hacked” Macintosh computers.

Because of the lawsuit, Psystar stopped selling Hackintosh computers on their website for now. In the meantime Psystar is accepting donations and is selling $15 T-shirts that say “I sued Psystar” on the front and “…and all I got was a lousy injunction.” on the back. Below is what the T-shirts look like:

And here is an official statement sent out by Psystar regarding the Apple issue:

Psystar Temporarily Halts Sale of Rebel EFI

December 22, 2009

Psystar has voluntarily suspended the sale of our Rebel EFI software product. Psystar feels it would be prudent to halt the sale of Rebel EFI while we explicitly ask the court for clarification on the legality of Rebel EFI. Our patience has been tested but our resolve is unwavering. Psystar’s vision of bringing the Mac OS to generic PC hardware is and always will be unyielding. Although Rebel EFI may be temporarily unavailable for purchase on the Psystar online store, those who purchase a t-shirt or donate over twenty dollars will receive one free copy of Rebel EFI once the court has ruled in our favor on this issue.

We respectfully disagree with courts notion that we are “hardcore copyright infringers”. Psystar has never, and will never, condone software piracy. It’s your software, you should be able to use it where you want to. If you purchase an off-the-shelf copy of OS X Snow Leopard, its your right to use that software. A publisher cannot forbid you from reading a book in the bathroom or listening to a music disc while riding your bicycle. There should be no difference in the software realm, no matter how much money Apple or anyone else throws at it. That is the real issue here and what we have always been fighting for.

Psystar will continue to support all of its existing customers of hardware and software through this transitional period. Warranties on hardware will continue to be honored as long the customer has a valid warranty. Rebel EFI support for existing customers, as always, will remain exclusively available through email and the built-in ticket interface.

Earlier this month, Psystar discontinued the sale of all its computer systems. In the coming days, we will again be offering complete systems but at discounted prices as they will be bundled with your choice of Linux operating system. In addition to using only first quality components, our hardware specifically chosen such that it is known to be compatible with OS X (via Apples own drivers or open source offerings online). This makes it easier to get up and running with your favorite XNU based operating system, including Pure Darwin.

Also worth mentioning are new flavors of our wildly popular Rebel EFI software product (pending court for release). These include editions tailored to specific off the shelf hardware including the Dell 9 Mini and HP Mini netbooks. In the interim, please keep up to date with Psystar’s open source offerings @ https://foundry.psystar.com . Note, those who qualify for a free copy of Rebel EFI will be able to choose one of these new offerings.

Any and all information regarding Rebel EFI, future software products and all other things Psystar should be directed to press@psystar.com or legal@psystar.com.

In a lawsuit against Psystar Corporation, a judge ruled in favor of Apple Inc. However there isn’t a clear winner in this case. Psystar will have to cease designing their core products unless they appeal the case. And Apple is restricting the market share of their operating system.

Psystar installed the Mac operating system into hardware that normally is used for PCs only. After that they sell the PC with the Mac operating system which is better known as a “Hackintosh.” Perhaps Apple saw Psystar as a threat to the sales that they would otherwise make on selling the Mac directly through retail stores or Apple.com. Clearly Apple is slightly concerned about their operating system price when installing it in their own hardware because the company filed for a patent that would allow operating systems to be sold on the cheap assuming there was ads built in.

“In sum, Psystar has violated Apple’s exclusive reproduction right, distribution right, and right to create derivative works,” stated U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup.

Psystar emerged from bankruptcy in July and vowed to make some “applesauce.”  Psystar is best known for making “Hackintosh” computers, or hardware that has the Apple Mac operating system installed on them.  Apple and Psystar sued each other back and forth.

Now Psystar is suing Apple for monopolizing the “premium computer” market.  “By tying its operating system to Apple-branded hardware, Apple restrains trade in personal computers that run Mac OS X, collects monopoly rents on its Macintoshes, and monopolizes the market for ‘premium computers,’” said Psystar’s lawsuit, filed last Wednesday. “Apple’s share of revenue in the market for premium computers — computers priced at over $1,000 — is currently 91%,” wrote Psystar in a statement.

Calling a company a monopoly is an accusation that does not go unnoticed.  Microsoft lost a lot of money for being considered a monopoly.  Apple may have their lawyers go full force on this case.  More news on this lawsuit as it comes in.

At the end of May, Psystar filed for bankruptcy.  The company was facing a legal battle against Apple Inc. which put them in bankruptcy in the first place.  Now the company is out of bankruptcy and is ready to take on Apple once again.  Below is a statement from Psystar:

As you all may already be aware in late May, Psystar filed for Chapter 11 protection. Although this was critical to our continued daily operations, we now are ready to emerge and again battle Goliath.

More information will be available in the coming days when we will be formally discharged by the Bankruptcy court.

When life gives you apples, make applesauce.

Psystar is best known for building computers that use the Mac operating system, but at cheaper prices than what Apple sells computers for.  Psystar has even introduced a couple of new products.  One is called Open(7) which is a system that uses the Intel Nehalem Xeon platform.  The new system is available in desktop and server form.  The price of the Open(7) starts at $1,4999 with OS X Leopard installed.

[via MacRumors]

Psystar is a company that is best known for building Hackintosh machines.  A Hackintosh is considered an unauthorized Mac clone machine.  Psystar did it in a massive production, resulting in a lawsuit headed their way.  Long story short, Apple sued Psystar for making Mac clones and Psystar sued them back for anticompetitive practices.

Making matters more complicated, Psystar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week in Florida.  The Chapter 11 bankruptcy indicates that Psystar’s investors may have given up in the legal battle against Apple.  A hearing will take place on June 5 and Psystar’s equity creditors will be revealed on that day.  Apple claimed Psystar was violating the Digital Millenium Copyright Act based on the way they installed the Mac OS on the PC.

Despite the bankruptcy filing, Psystar continues to sell Hackintosh PCs on their website: psystar.com.  Given the case at hand, it will be an uphill battle for Psystar.  Hopefully Apple and Psystar will be able to resolve their differences somehow.

[via MacObserver]

About a month ago Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) decided to sue a small computer company in Florida called Psystar for selling hacked versions of Apple’s operating system. Apple filed the suit one day after Psystar sold modified copies of the Mac OS X 10.5.4 Leopard updates to their previous customers.

Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP led the case for Apple. The lawsuit was filed on the basis of copyright infringement according to AppleInsider. Psystar sells a desktop for $400 that has PCs running a Mac OS X operating system. Later a representative from Psystar taunted Apple to try and sue them… If Apple did attempt to sue them, it would be in violation of antitrust laws. Apple responded to the challenge.

Today Psystar plans on filing a lawsuit back to Apple with the allegations that Apple is engaging in anticompetitive business practices. Psystar claims that the OpenComputer product sells with a licensed and unmodified copy of the Mac OS.

“My goal is to provide an alternative, not to free the Mac OS,” stated Rudy Pedraza, owner of Psystar. “What we want to do is to provide an alternative, an
option…It’s not that people don’t want to use Mac OS, many people are
open to the idea, but they’re not used to spending an exorbitant amount
of money on something that is essentially generic hardware [CNET].”

More details to come on Pulse 2.0 as this news fleshes out further.

Related Link:
1. AppleInsider
2. Psystar