Psystar drops antitrust

Psystar has submitted a modified counterclaim in its legal dispute with Apple, reports say. Filing in response to a tentative dismissal motion, Psystar has dropped any antitrust allegations under the Clayton and Sherman Acts, saying that while it "respectfully disagrees" with the court over definitions of monopoly, it will abide by them for the time being. It is nevertheless continuing a pursuit of Apple for copyright violations, referring to the legal concept of a "misuse doctrine."

Psystar argues that while a company may technically operate within the boundaries of antitrust law, copyright claims can nevertheless be abused to block competition, in this case through a EULA which prevents anyone from installing Mac OS X on third-party hardware. In this regard it the company also denies that it has broken rules of the DMCA, meant to deter circumvention; in fact, Psystar says, creating Mac-compatible hardware does not represent any sort of violation, and it is Apple that is exceeding its reach.

Apple is accused of breaking California's Unfair Competition Statute, which permits less narrowly-defined claims. Also challenged is Apple's suggestion that Mac OS X includes a copy protection system, which Psystar observes consists only of kernel panics and looping errors when non-Apple firmware is present. Psystar moreover says that it reserves the right to resurrect antitrust charges, should it find enough evidence to back them up.

by MacNN Staff