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July 30th, 2008

Psystar retains Apple-beating law firm

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 12:50 pm

Categories: Apple, Industry, Legal

Tags: Law Firm, Apple Inc., Burst.com Inc., Psystar, Litigation, Business Operations, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Court documents filed yesterday show that Mac-clone company Psystar has retained a Californian law firm which has tangled with Apple before - and won.

The law firm in question is Carr & Ferrell, a company which specializes in intellectual property law. This was the law firm which represented Burst.com in a patent infringement case against Apple dating back from 2006 (this was settled last year when Apple agreed to pay Burst.com $10 million). The law firm also backed Burst.com when it went up against Microsoft, a move which earned the company $60 million in an out of court settlement.

The documents filed yesterday extends Psystar’s deadline to respond to the lawsuit from next Monday to August 18.

I still don’t fancy Psystar’s chances of being able to beat Apple in court, but this latest move means that case just got a lot more exciting.

Adrian Kingsley-HughesAdrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations

Want to get in touch? Got a tip? Feel free to drop me a note! I ALWAYS respect anonymity. I'm also on Twitter (@the_pc_doc)

Right to Reply: Should any industry representatives wish to comment on any posts on Hardware 2.0, I will be happy to publish their reply verbatim on this blog.

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  • Talkback
  • Most Recent of 155 Talkback(s)
Interesting forum, Apple needs to see an open door...
Sorry for the duplicate post, a warning said no more replies accepted for the comment.

Apple should sell a "geek" version of OS X that will (or will only) install on a newer PC that is already ... (Read the rest)
Posted by: senor_rudy Posted on: 08/11/08  (Edited: 08/11/08 @ 12:43) You are currently: a Guest | | Terms of Use
Modifying code is still wrong  jake_11 | 07/30/08
Depends on what code they modified  Thought1 | 07/30/08
OS X is not covered by the GPL,,,  Intellihence | 07/30/08
The kernel is..  mrlinux | 07/31/08
Actually it's BSD I think  wolf_z | 07/31/08
You are more right than I am on this,,,  mrlinux | 07/31/08
You can download the source code for 10.5 right now  j.m.galvin | 07/31/08
It is sad that Apple uses Open Source as a selling point  hamobu | 07/31/08
To make matters worse  Intellihence | 07/30/08
re: To make matters worse  none none | 07/31/08
It depends on if it's legal to.  TripleII | 07/30/08
Two Arguments  Harry Bardal | 07/30/08
Neither.  TripleII | 07/30/08
What if I sold you a car...  hamobu | 07/31/08
Hopefully you read the sticker and made an  James Quinn | 07/31/08
However...  hamobu | 07/31/08
...  Badgered | 07/31/08
Doesn't the exterior of a shrink wrapped OSX box  James Quinn | 07/31/08
Even Apple does not read it's own EULA  hamobu | 07/31/08
@Jim: 'System Requirements' means technical, not Legal requirements  hamobu | 07/31/08
Ah but Apple does list clearly "Macintosh"  James Quinn | 07/31/08
There is a limit to what you can do to defend your reputation.  hamobu | 07/31/08
Well as long as it is understood by all parties that  James Quinn | 07/31/08
Not sure about support...  hamobu | 07/31/08
Not saying break intentionally that should not be  James Quinn | 07/31/08
Apple must not break other people's property  hamobu | 07/31/08
There is where you are wrong...  James Quinn | 08/01/08
Actually  Bozzer | 07/31/08
There's a Name for That...  Harry Bardal | 07/31/08
Actually there is better name for that  tdhowe | 07/31/08
Free market  tikigawd | 07/31/08
Modifying...  BillDem | 07/30/08
Licenses  rpmyers1 | 07/30/08
OS X is cheap for a reason  Ken_z | 07/31/08
Except, of course, this is product tying  wolf_z | 07/31/08
Correct  hamobu | 07/31/08
re: Modifying code is still wrong  deaf_e_kate | 07/31/08
re-selling has been legal since the dawn of time  hamobu | 07/31/08
I hope Apple gets punished for this  NonZealot | 07/30/08
I'd be shocked if Psystar was funding this themselves  Michael Kelly | 07/30/08
I think the lawyers retained  Pliny the Elder | 07/30/08
Contingency fee?  djchandler | 07/30/08
Was Psystar a front to begin with?  rdawson@... | 07/31/08
I've wondered that myself (nt)  Michael Kelly | 07/31/08
They had partners with big pockets from the start  soonerproud | 07/31/08
this from a guy who runs vista. (n/m)  lostarchitect | 07/30/08
RE: this from a guy who runs vista  celeriun@... | 07/30/08
He speaks poorly of the EULA.  Intellihence | 07/30/08
Except...  Sleeper Service | 07/31/08
re: Except...  none none | 07/31/08
nope, not an xbox.  rtk | 07/31/08
Windows Boy Strikes Again...Move On  mahalotmm | 07/30/08
NonZealot, AGAIN, clearly doesn't live up to his name...  pbromelkamp | 07/30/08
Irony.  Sleeper Service | 07/31/08
No Irony  MacCanuck | 07/31/08
Losing a choice of OS good for consumers?  daftkey | 07/31/08
How so?  wolf_z | 07/31/08
We've seen this experiement before, in much more favorable conditions.  daftkey | 07/31/08
not sure Psystar has a shot  tech_walker | 07/31/08
RE: Psystar retains Apple-beating law firm  celeriun@... | 07/30/08
I wouldn't call it a slam dunk.  TripleII | 07/30/08
RE: Psystar retains Apple-beating law firm  brenworth | 07/30/08
I beg to differ,,,  Intellihence | 07/30/08
Except  adinsx | 07/31/08
Hey now!  tikigawd | 07/31/08
Really now?  Rick_K | 07/31/08
Wow, the case... really?  tikigawd | 08/01/08
Competition  Harry Bardal | 07/30/08
I beg to differ on one point  Pliny the Elder | 07/30/08
I agree with one exception.  TripleII | 07/30/08
And that's the exception that matters here.  rtk | 07/30/08
It never was illegal. You proved my whole premise!  TripleII | 07/30/08
How about looking here?  Rick_K | 07/30/08
Same as best buy.  TripleII | 07/30/08
Just going by what Apple said.  Rick_K | 07/31/08
"Mac" is perhaps purposely ambiguous  djchandler | 07/30/08
Not really.  Rick_K | 07/31/08
Like Chevrolet and Chevy  j.m.galvin | 08/01/08
Consider this...  smdunn | 07/31/08
The headline is bit misleading.  A Grain of Salt | 07/30/08
It seems to me people are hoping Apple wins.  TripleII | 07/30/08
I think it comes down to...  A Grain of Salt | 07/30/08
A major assumption  Ken_z | 07/31/08
It would be a bit more than that..  daftkey | 07/31/08
You are right.  TripleII | 07/31/08
What would be next? Wii clones?  scoobyJ | 07/31/08
There's a distinction you're missing  laura.b | 07/31/08
In many ways I agree with your last statement.  James Quinn | 07/31/08
Depends  laura.b | 07/31/08
What if the requirements list says "Mactioosh"?  James Quinn | 07/31/08
System requirements are not legal requirements  hamobu | 07/31/08
Well I don't see Apple going after joe consumer  James Quinn | 07/31/08
Joe consumer and Joe Corporation have same property rights  hamobu | 07/31/08
Well  laura.b | 08/01/08
re: in many ways  Badgered | 07/31/08
Depends on how your read that...  James Quinn | 07/31/08
You go by comon understanding.  hamobu | 07/31/08
Macintosh with is not that unclear as I love ewe..:P  James Quinn | 07/31/08
No, it doesn't  Badgered | 07/31/08
A simple question.  Rick_K | 07/31/08
I am all for wii clones  hamobu | 07/31/08
Installing an OS on your own hardware.  ted185@... | 07/31/08
Just the way I feel about the whole subject....  James Quinn | 07/31/08
As long as you are not restricting others...  hamobu | 07/31/08
Yet.....  James Quinn | 07/31/08
nope...  hamobu | 07/31/08
As a consumer perhaps but not as an OEM...  James Quinn | 07/31/08
Joe Consumer and Joe Corporation are same under the law  hamobu | 07/31/08
Go Psystar !  jpr75_z | 07/31/08
RE: OS X is cheap for a reason *NEW*  absent | 07/31/08
Seems Logical  dmcclin | 07/31/08
That is because you are not considering that once  James Quinn | 07/31/08
Still at some point Apple is charging $ for Service packs.  hamobu | 07/31/08
Disagree......  James Quinn | 07/31/08
Apple does put out new versions of it's OS quite frequently...  hamobu | 07/31/08
You'd have to actually use them...  Rick_K | 07/31/08
RE: Psystar retains Apple-beating law firm  super_J | 07/31/08
EULA is only one part of Apple complaint  j.m.galvin | 07/31/08
I disagree  hamobu | 07/31/08
Cocoa Puffs?  aj.redmond@... | 07/31/08
Actually...  John L. Ries | 07/31/08
Except that  j.m.galvin | 07/31/08
So...  John L. Ries | 08/01/08
You are simply wrong  j.m.galvin | 08/01/08
J. M.: I'll concede the point in part  John L. Ries | 08/01/08
J, Reis  j.m.galvin | 08/01/08
One last point  John L. Ries | 08/01/08
Not heart of case  j.m.galvin | 08/01/08
Is delete an replace modify?  TripleII | 07/31/08
The updates  j.m.galvin | 07/31/08
Is an indication that they're taking this seriously  John L. Ries | 07/31/08
Apple does put out new versions of it's OS quite frequently...  hamobu | 07/31/08
actually just read the EULA on OS X  YZFDude1@... | 07/31/08
There was similar restriction on iTunes for windows  hamobu | 07/31/08
it's a great point, and there's no fault in posting it  rtk | 07/31/08
re: actually just read the EULA on OS X  none none | 07/31/08
Two little problems  j.m.galvin | 07/31/08
Is Psystar an end user?  senor_rudy | 08/10/08
EULAs are untested.  TripleII | 07/31/08
Correction  John L. Ries | 07/31/08
Read the Apple complaint  j.m.galvin | 07/31/08
Sure  tikigawd | 07/31/08
Why is it laughable?  A Grain of Salt | 08/01/08
It's laughable because  laura.b | 08/01/08
Laura, the law does not agree with you  j.m.galvin | 08/01/08
No, you're not understanding  laura.b | 08/01/08
What laura said  tikigawd | 08/01/08
J. M.: Clarification please  John L. Ries | 08/01/08
J. Ries: News & Comment exempt  j.m.galvin | 08/01/08
@J.M. Galvin  tikigawd | 08/01/08
Apple could take advantage of the Psystar market!  senor_rudy | 08/11/08
Same thing, I wasn't clear.  TripleII | 07/31/08
RE: Psystar retains Apple-beating law firm  NKX | 08/01/08
RE: Psystar retains Apple-beating law firm  mhannon | 08/04/08
Interesting forum, Apple needs to see an open door...  senor_rudy | 08/11/08

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