14 DAY TRIAL // In its ongoing battle with Apple, Florida-based Mac cloner Psystar has added new claims presented to a federal judge last week. Psystar is invoking the concept of first sale, recognized more than 100 years ago.
Psystar is arguing that, because it legally purchased its Mac OS X copies from Apple and authorized resellers, it has the right to use the software how it pleases, as it falls under the first-sale doctrine.
In court filings disclosed by Computerworld, Psystar has reportedly told the court that “Once a copyright owner consents to the sale of particular copies of a work, the owner may not thereafter exercise distribution rights with respect to those copies. See, e.g., Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus, 210 U.S. 339, 350-51 (1908) (recognizing more than 100 years ago the concept of first sale and the limitations imposed upon a copyright owner in light thereof).”
The document continues to outline that “Psystar acquired lawful copies of the Mac OS from Apple; those copies were lawfully acquired from authorized distributors including some directly from Apple; Psystar paid good and valuable consideration for those copies; Psystar disposed of those lawfully acquired copies to third-parties.”
The court is yet to issue its response with regard to the matter. According to a 9to5mac report, Psystar is walking on thin ice. The argument? Courts have almost never agreed that the first sale doctrine applies to software, which are generally licensed goods. However, Apple's OS X isn't!
Admitting that Apple’s efforts to license the OS was disastrous before Steve Jobs returned to Apple, CNet's Don Reisinger believes things have changed for Apple, and that it should act accordingly, licensing the software to computer makers Dell and HP. The benefits of licensing the Mac OS would be shaking off copycats like Psystar, but also “expand its presence in the PC business and finally get to a place where it can compete on the same level as Microsoft,” the author suggests.
However, almost all Mac fans will agree that Apple isn't likely to license its OS to PC manufacturers. One of the main reasons is that Apple is all about providing the full solution, out of the box.