Along with winning its lawsuit against Psystar, Apple on Tuesday won a permanent injunction against the Mac clone maker it has been battling all year. The two companies reached a $2.67 million settlement on Dec. 1 when Apple was awarded relief for copyright infringement and violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
U.S. District Court Judge William Aslup ruled that Psystar must stop selling the clones.
Analysts aren't surprised by the decision. "This is what happens when you steal someone
else's intellectual property," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "Users who bought into Psystar unfortunately learned the hard lesson that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. This was a case where caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) clearly applied."
Gartenberg said there is an alternative for Psystar buyers. "Users who are looking for the Mac OS experience are best advised to seek that experience on Apple hardware," he said.
Expanded Injunction
Once Apple brought the suit against Psystar, the company fought back by offering Rebel EI, a software product that allowed Mac users to use Mac OS X Snow Leopard on non-Mac computers. The injunction, however, also covers software such as Rebel EI and clearly states that Psystar must refrain from selling products that would infringe on Apple's copyrights.
Psystar's attorney pleaded with the court to leave Rebel EI out of the ruling because it is the subject of a lawsuit against Apple filed in Miami, Fla. The company has until Dec. 31 to file additional information  about Rebel EI.
"That is not surprising at all," said Ilan Barzilay, an intellectual-property attorney with Wolf Greenfield. "Courts try to tailor injunctions as narrowly as possible without infringing on someone's rights, but for someone who has been found liable for engaging in infringement, courts may expand the injunction to say, 'Don't do anything close to anything you were doing before,' and this is one of those situations."
End of the Road
Psystar was backed into a corner with the Apple lawsuit and countersued in August 2008, claiming Apple was monopolizing its Mac OS X and wiping out competition, but that suit was dismissed two months later. It's not clear what will happen with the case filed in the Sunshine State involving Apple and Psystar.
One thing that is clear is the judge's ruling will send a strong message to companies that attempt to sell products that are not their own, Barzilay said.
Because of its infringement and all of the damages it has to pay to Apple, Psystar may have to close its doors for good. "Unless they have some alternate strategy for a product or service, I would think this is the end of it," Barzilay said.
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