
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:
2005-12-02
"You're wrong. I work at a university and we get a special deal on our OS licenses from Apple. As a result, we can NOT pass them on when we sell off old equipment. The machines are sold with a blank drive. As such, buyers are buying a full retail version of the OS, not an upgrade version."

I can easily accept being wrong, as everyone is from time to time. My only point was that by owning a Mac you have a license to use the software, so buying a copy of OS X is not in question and is therefore considered an upgrade, since owning a Mac is requisite for using OS X according to Apple. Your discounts and rules are not in question at all, and I do not doubt them. One of the reasons why this case will be good, as it will answer these questions once and for all at a higher level and with much more weight than "Apple says...".