Stephen Withers
Friday, 12 December 2008 09:45
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
It's easy enough to make such claims, but Psystar cites a precedent that sounds quite convincing, at least to a layperson.
The case in question concerned a company called DSC that had developed a microprocessor card and an operating system for a telecommunications switch, and provided the latter under a licence that prohibited its use on cards that weren't made by DSC.
The courts held that to be copyright misuse.
That does sound very similar to Apple's position with Mac OS X. This is how Psystar's filing puts it:
"Apple is attempting to use its copyrights in the Mac OS not to prevent unauthorized production of any copyrightable elements but to prevent competitors from developing competing hardware systems interoperable with the Mac OS.
"Through the use of anti-circumvention and the DMCA, Apple is attempting to leverage its copyright limited monopoly in reproduction of the Mac OS into a broader monopoly in a separate hardware market. This is the exact behavior that is prohibited by the copyright misuse doctrine."
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 15, 2009.
Need a recap of the story so far? You'll find it on
page 3.
