
There are probably lots and lots of lawsuits going on every day in the technology world, and generally, they are quite uninteresting to all of us. Exceptions exist, of course, and the case of Apple and PsyStar is definitely one of them. It's a lawsuit that could test one of the most debated issues in the world of software: the EULA issue. To refresh your memory: PsyStar started offering Macintosh clones
earlier this year, which caused quite the uproar in the Mac community. Apple was silent on the issue at first, but a few weeks ago the company decided to
take legal action against PsyStar,
claiming PsyStar violated Apple's copyright and license agreements (EULAs), and motivated others to do the same. While several legal experts agree that Apple's EULA will
stand the test of court in The Netherlands, the situation in the US might be completely different. PsyStar seems prepared for the worst, as they have
hired lawyers from Carr & Ferrell LLP, a firm who successfully fought Apple in court over IP issues before. I'm breaking out the popcorn, because this is hopefully going to be a big one.
Member since:
2007-02-17
The issue here is not that people are hacking OS to run on commodity hardware but that they are trying to monetize it. Apple's lawsuit hsa to do with copyright as far as I know and not with the EULA. Psystar is modifying OSX and selling it to consumers, which I think is illegal. No tot mention that they have also ignored the license and request of the original EFI hack author that his work no be used commercially. So I have very little respect for Psystar at this point and all you guys frothing at the mouth about the EULA that this is not about the EULA this is about copyright.