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ComputerWorld reports that Mac clone maker PsyStar has hired the Palo Alto, CA legal firm of Carr & Ferrell to defend them against a lawsuit brought by Apple.

The mothership is suing the Florida-based company for multiple instances of violating copyright, trademark, breach-of-contract and unfair competition laws related to the clone maker's use of OS X.

Carr & Ferrell has been successful against Apple in the past, extracting a $10-million out of court settlement in 2006 for Burst.com, as well as $60-million from Microsoft over the same patents.

Editor's note: Call me a fanbois, but I don't see any upside to a PsyStar victory...

What's your take?

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Reader Comments

It would be interesting to see what kind of sales they had. I think most people realize that it is basically a commercial hackintosh and would be concerned about software updates, etc. Besides, I do think that there is a lot of brand name appeal with Apple. So even if they win, which I don't see happening, I'm not seeing $$$ in their future (especially after lawyer fees). Pystar Posted by Guest Poster #1 on 07/30/08 10:45 PM You've gotta wonder if they've got the sales to support a top shelf law firm like this. Is there a sugar daddy lurking somewhere in the background? Michael Dell said he wouldn't mind selling OS X boxes... M Posted by M Sharp on 07/31/08 12:16 AM This question was posed when the comment that the working name of the company must have been "sosueme". Their purpose may well have been to draw Apple into litigation which would have widespread implications should Apple fair. There are more than a few "usual suspects" who may be funding this effort. Posted by Guest Poster #3 on 07/31/08 12:32 AM two possible conclusions 1 Apple wins. The settlement bankrupts Psystar. Psystar is no more. 2 Apple loses. Shrink wrap OS X now costs $500 like windows Vista Ultimate. New Macs now ship with two coupons good for a $100 upgrade to OS X. Psystar is no more. Much ado about nothing Posted by Guest Poster #4 on 07/31/08 8:56 AM Apple could hold the line on pricing by introducing activation functionality. Posted by Guest Poster #5 on 07/31/08 9:49 AM Psystar are so dead. They are so dead that I have to wonder what is really going on here. Clearly they will be sued into oblivion. They have not-a-leg to stand on, despite all the pseudo-law babbling about opening up Mac OS X to other hardware. So are these guys simply retarded? Or is there some ulterior motive going on? Like, is the entire point here to blow lots of money pissing off Apple just for the sake of sadism? (Remind anyone of SCO/Microsoft?) If so, yeah they really are retarded if they think Apple care much more than handing this off to eager lawyers, who as ever are the real beneficiaries in these lunatic lawsuits. I see this thing being a slam dunk that rapidly fades from memory, or at most elicits a yawn. :-P What is Psystar's actual point? Posted by Derek Currie on 07/31/08 4:46 PM

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