Appeals Court Sides with Apple in Dispute over Psystar's Unauthorized Mac Clones

It has taken nearly two years, but CNET reports that an appeals court has ruled in favor of Apple in its lawsuit against Psystar, a company that began selling unauthorized Mac clones back in 2008.

Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder ruled yesterday that Psystar's Mac clones violated copyrights Apple holds, and its ban on sales will be upheld. According to Judge Schroeder, Psystar specifically violated copyrights Apple holds in Mac OS X, and said that the U.S. District Court's ruling in favor of Apple was just.

Apple was awarded a permanent injunction against Psystar in December 2009, but Psystar appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit a month later.

i sued psystar shirt
Psystar's 2009 last-ditch effort to raise funds for its legal fight against Apple

Psystar was unusually defiant in its stance against Apple given the threat it faced from the substantially larger company, and extended its legal efforts well beyond what most small companies would typically be willing to engage in. Those efforts lead Apple to suggest that Psystar could have been part of a conspiracy with the backing of a larger entity attempting to break open Apple's stranglehold on Mac OS X systems, but no concrete evidence of such a connection has ever been exposed.

Popular Stories

airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Launch Now Just Months Away: Here's What We Know

Tuesday March 11, 2025 3:26 am PDT by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

iOS 19 to Have Some of the 'Biggest' Design Changes in iPhone's History

Sunday March 16, 2025 10:35 am PDT by
Apple is planning some of the "biggest iOS and macOS redesigns in its history," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman reiterated that iOS 19 will have a visionOS-like design with more transparent interfaces:The new interfaces will adopt the design principles introduced in visionOS, the software for Apple's Vision Pro headset. That includes greater...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Max Rumors Allegedly Refer to 'iPhone 17 Ultra' Model

Friday March 14, 2025 7:56 am PDT by
If you've been following iPhone rumors over the last few years, you may remember reading reports that Apple flirted with the idea of introducing a super high-end "Ultra" model that would either replace its Pro Max device or sit above it in Apple's smartphone hirearchy. These reports appeared in the pre-launch iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 rumor cycles, but ultimately came to nothing. Now though, the...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

Ultra-Thin 'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Include These 12 Features

Saturday March 15, 2025 10:50 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
Bent iPhone Air Feature

Apple Canned Larger iPhone 17 Air Model Over Fears of Bendgate 2.0

Monday March 17, 2025 4:07 am PDT by
Apple prototyped a larger ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air with a 6.9-inch display, but ultimately decided not to go ahead with the device because of fears that it could be susceptible to bending, according to a new report. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, writing in his latest Power On newsletter: When it first started work on the phone, it prototyped a device with a 6.9-inch screen — matching...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Start at $899 With Surprisingly Good Battery Life, Camera Control, and More

Sunday March 16, 2025 9:05 am PDT by
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today shared some new details about the rumored iPhone 17 Air. In his Power On newsletter, Gurman said he was told that the device may start at roughly $899 in the U.S., which means that it would occupy the same price point as the iPhone 16 Plus. This would make sense, as it has been widely rumored that the Air model will take over the Plus model's spot in the iPhone...
apple surveyor app

Apple Launches 'Surveyor' App for Apple Maps Data Collection

Friday March 14, 2025 10:38 am PDT by
Apple today launched a new app called Surveyor, which is designed to allow users to collect data like images of street signs and roadside details to improve Apple Maps. The app is not public facing and appears to be for use with companies that Apple partners with to assign mapping tasks. Downloading the app and opening it up directs users to "Open Partner App" to choose a task. Tapping on...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Apple's First Foldable iPhone Estimated to Cost Nearly Twice as Much as iPhone 16 Pro Max

Monday March 17, 2025 6:42 am PDT by
In an investor research note today with British bank Barclays, analyst Tim Long said Apple's first foldable iPhone could have a starting price in the $2,300 range in the United States, which would make it by far the most expensive iPhone model ever. If the first foldable iPhone starts at $2,299, that means it would cost nearly twice as much as the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which starts at $1,199. ...
iphone 16e usb c feature

'iPhone 17 Air' is Step Towards Slimmer iPhones Without USB-C Ports

Sunday March 16, 2025 9:36 am PDT by
Apple considered launching the iPhone 17 Air without a USB-C charging port, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said that while Apple ultimately decided against making the iPhone 17 Air its first iPhone model without a charging port, the idea is still on the table for future iPhone models. He said the iPhone 17 Air will "foreshadow a move to...

Top Rated Comments

KnightWRX Avatar
176 months ago
Psystar lost, but they did help point the way for hackintoshes:

Actually, wasn't Psystar just ripping off the hackintosh community's work for their own purposes ? I think you got the roles reversed here. It's the hackintoshes that paved the way for Psystar.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adztaylor Avatar
176 months ago
Always wondered where that money came from and how they could afford being so defiant. Who knows, perhaps some internet bubble money went into this.

I always wondered this too. There's noway they got there by selling those t-shirts.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D.T. Avatar
176 months ago
Oh please lol, if I wanted to read nonsense like that I could go to one of those schizophrenic websites like Above Top Secret

Only somebody in on it would say something like that...










:D
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kid A Avatar
176 months ago
Worst. T-shirt. EVER.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
176 months ago
The only surprise here is that it took this long to get upheld. Seriously, Psystar should have given up after the first cease and desist letter, their business plan never made any sense.

And yet I spent a lot of time reading arguments from folks telling me I was wrong when I explained why Psytar would lose.

Psystar lost, but they did help point the way for mackintoshes:

Nice revisionist history.

Actually, wasn't Psystar just ripping off the hackintosh community's work for their own purposes ? I think you got the roles reversed here. It's the hackintoshes that paved the way for Psystar.

Exactly.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AAPLaday Avatar
176 months ago
Good news. I dont have a problem with people making hackintoshes themselves but a company shouldn't be selling clones for profit
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)