Monday, November 16, 2009

Apple v. Psystar: Apple Granted Summary Judgment in Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Apple has prevailed in its copyright infringement lawsuit against Psystar corporation. The court granted Apple's motion for summary judgment on Nov. 13th.

Basically, Apple sued Psystar for copyright infringement because Psystar used a modified version of Apple's operating system on Psystar's line of computers called "Open Computers". Apple has three copyright registrations on its Mac OS X operating. Apple alleged that Psystar's "reproduction, modification, and distribution of Mac OS X on non-Apple computers constituted copyright infringement under the Copyright Act and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."

Psystar's defenses were "the first-sale doctrine" and that Apple engaged in a misuse of copyright. Psystar failed to convince the court that either defense had merit.

The court granted summary judgment for copyright infringement and violation of the DMCA, but several claims still remain for trial: (1) breach of contract; (2) induced breach of contract, (3) trademark infringement; (4) trademark dilution; (5)trade dress infringement; and (6) state unfair competition under California Business and Professions Code § 17200; and (7) common law unfair competition.

Apple v. Psystar: Court Order Granting Summary Judgment

Psystar’s Response to Apple's Motion for Summary Judgment

Apple's Reply Brief in Support of Summary Judgment

No comments:

Post a Comment