Psystar is asking the courts to dismiss Apple Inc.'s copyright infringement suit against Psystar on the basis that Apple failed to actually get a copyright for Mac OS X. The request came in court documents filed as the company's Answer to Apple's First Amended Complaint, but a search of the Library of Congress's Copyright Office found copyrights for "Mac OS X Server Version 10.5 Leopard" and "Mac OS X Leopard 10.5" belonging to Apple.

Both copyrights are dated October 26th, 2007.

Psystar is a vendor of unauthorized Mac clones that run Mac OS X "Leopard" 10.5 through a third party firmware hack. Apple has sued the company for copyright infringement and for violating the End User Agreement License for Mac OS X. More recently, Apple added a claim that Psystar was violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by bypassing Apple's firmware controls that keep Mac OS X from running on non-Apple-branded hardware.

While Psystar countersued with a claim that Apple had a monopoly on Macs, that countersuit was dismissed by the judge in its entirety. The latest filing is in answer to Apple's Amended Complaint, in which Apple added the DMCA-violation complaint to the suit.

Psystar's newest gambit is to get the copyright violation aspect of the suit thrown out on the grounds that Apple doesn't own a copyright to Mac OS X in the first place.

According to an InformationWeek report, Psystar claimed in court documents that Apple, "is prohibited from bringing action against Psystar for the alleged infringement of one or more of the plaintiff's copyrights for failure to register said copyrights with the copyright office as required" by law.

This claim from Psystar may merely be a standard court maneuver, as suggested to The Mac Observer by an attorney who wishes to remain anonymous, but be it that or a serious effort to derail Apple's legal attacks, the U.S. Library of Congress seems to think Apple does indeed have its copyright on Mac OS X Leopard.