Judge Puts Apple’s Case Against Psystar Back on Track

June 22nd, 2009 at 9:10 PM - News by Jeff Gamet

Unauthorized Mac clone maker Psystar suffered a serious blow on Monday when the Judge overseeing its bankruptcy case in Florida granted Apple's Motion for Relief From Stay, allowing the copyright infringement case against Psystar to resume in norther California. Psystar filed for bankruptcy in May because of its mounting legal expenses, temporarily halting Apple's case against it.

The Judge hearing Psystar's bankruptcy case granted Apple's motion to resume its case in its entirety, most likely killing the company's chances of keeping Apple off its back for the next few months. "This means that the infringement case of Apple v. Psystar in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California shall resume immediately, unless Psystar makes a timely appeal of Judge Mark's decision to U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida or the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel," an attorney familiar with these types of cases anonymously told TMO.

Apple filed a lawsuit against Psystar in northern California claiming the company was violating the Mac OS X licensing agreement with end users, and that it was violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act with the steps it used to install the Mac operating system on PCs. Despite Apple's claims that the company doesn't have permission to sell PCs with Mac OS X, Psystar is still offering Mac clones for sale on its Web site.

Now that Judge Mark has lifted the automatic stay preventing Apple from moving forward with its case in California, Psystar isn't in a strong position to defend itself since it most likely doesn't have the money to pay its legal team.

Psystar could delay Apple's case a little longer by asking Judge Mark for a written analysis of his decision, and then filing a motion to reconsider. The odds, however, seem to be against Psystar.

"I doubt that an appeal would be successful, and the prospects for a motion for reconsideration are even worse," TMO's legal contact said. "So it appears that Apple and Psystar will soon by back in Judge Alsup's court."