Apple’s Demands Against Psystar, Rightful Or Exaggerated?

Is Apple really that “cold-hearted” to put Psystar out of business by forcing it to recall all the computers sold and stop production? Well, it depends on what point of view we’re analyzing from: Psystar was trying to break what they called the Apple “monopoly” on the market, while Apple is defending its intellectual property and its name.

As Carole Handler, partner in the intellectual property department of Wildman, Harrold, Allen and Dixon, explained in an interview with ComputerWorld, it may be an extreme measure, but they certainly wouldn’t be the first to do it.

On the same note, Apple fears future rebounds, and it is in its best interest to demand measures that not only put a stop to Psystar, but also keeps other companies from trying the same method in order to make some money on their expense.

Apple finally filed a lawsuit at the beginning of this month against Psystar, complaining about the unauthorized use of its intellectual property, as well as the commercialization of poor quality products that affect the Apple brand.

The entire story started in April this year, when Psystar “fearlessly” started selling Open Macs, later Open Computers, which were in fact cheaper versions of Apple’s Mac Pro. Despite the large number of questions regarding the company and its business, Psystar limited to complaining about Apple’s monopoly.

Everyone eagerly expected Apple’s reaction at the time, as Psystar continued to proudly sell its “Macs” with all the nonchalance in the world. However, it wasn’t until recently that Apple decided to take the matter to court, asking for full statutory damages for Psystar’s “willful” acts of copyright infringement, an injunction against Psystar for the production and distribution of Apple copyrighted materials, as well as the recall of all products sold.

The questions surrounding the case are now whether Psystar has enough arguments to fight Apple’s infringement copyright accusations, and if the monopoly theory that they mentioned earlier in spring is solid enough to escape Apple's demands.