Psystar Agrees to Pay Nearly $2.7 Million in Settlement With Apple

Earlier today, we reported on a preliminary settlement between Apple and Psystar regarding the former's lawsuit over copyright infringement by Psystar in selling PC hardware preinstalled with Mac OS X Leopard. Engadget now reports on a new court filing outlining the settlement agreement that sees Psystar scheduled to pay approximately $1.34 million to Apple and a like amount in attorneys' fees.

The agreement covers payments related to five claims made by Apple for which the court ruled in its favor earlier this month. In return, Apple has agreed to drop an additional half-dozen claims primarily related to trademark infringement and not addressed in the earlier judgment. Financial payments are also not required to be made by Psystar until all legal appeals have been processed.

Now, considering Apple and Psystar are currently engaged in pretty much the exact same case in Florida over Snow Leopard, we'd say that this agreement isn't much more than a way for both sides to save money and move on to that fight: Apple's already won the bulk of its case against Psystar in California, and spending money to litigate trademark claims we thought were weak when we first read them doesn't really buy Steve any leverage he doesn't already have, while Psystar probably needs to scrimp all the coin it can right now.

Still at issue is the permanent injunction requested by Apple that would explicitly prohibit Psystar from selling computer hardware with Mac OS X preinstalled. Psystar's court filings indicate that it is prepared to shift the burden of Mac OS X installation to the consumer and instead refocus its business on selling hardware and software to enable that process. Whether such an arrangement will be considered permissible is in significant doubt and will certainly be addressed in future proceedings.