Apple kicks Psystar butt in first round of fight

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 20 November 2008 01:28

Opinion and Analysis

Apple has won its bid to have Psystar's antitrust counter-suit dismissed. The question now remains whether Apple's legal suit against Psystar will succeed.

Earlier this year, Apple filed suit against Psystar, a small company selling generic PCs with the option of a preloaded copy of Mac OS X.

Psystar's response was to allege that the terms in Apple's software licence agreement prohibiting the use of Mac OS X on anything other than an "Apple-labeled" computer, the deliberate use of code that recognises non-Apple computers, and Apple's refusal to licence the operating system to other vendors constitute illegal tying or monopoly maintenance.

US District Judge William Alsup found that Psystar failed to "allege facts plausibly supporting the counterintuitive claim that Apple's operating system is so unique that it suffers no actual or potential competitors."

He also said that although Psystar brought up the matter of Apple's extensive advertising campaigns, "vigorous advertising is a sign of competition, not a lack thereof. If Mac OS simply had no reasonable substitute, Apple’s vigorous advertising would be wasted money."

As for the question of tying, the judge said that Apple "is certainly entitled" to ask "customers to purchase Mac OS knowing that it is to be used only with Apple computers".

Psystar's claims under California law were also rejected.

What can Psystar do next? Please read on.