Apple awarded key win over Psystar

It's been a long time since we've heard anything from Psystar, the company responsible for making unauthorized Mac clones in 2008. Apple sued the company into the bedrock due to it selling PC hardware with OS X pre-installed, a violation of Apple's OS X licensing agreement. Psystar has made numerous appeals against the permanent injunction slapped on them, with their latest appeal being filed over a year ago.

According to CNET that appeal has been denied, and the permanent injunction against Psystar will be upheld. Judge Mary Schroeder ruled that Psystar's clones do indeed violate Apple's copyrights, and a ban on Psystar's sale of Mac clones will continue indefinitely.

This is likely the last we'll hear on the matter unless Psystar decides to take the case to the Supreme Court -- a case it would almost certainly lose. In fact, given the Ninth Circuit's unequivocal ruling against Psystar, it's unlikely the Supreme Court would even deign to hear the case.

In years past, a small but vocal minority of users has called for Apple to license the OS X operating system so they could install it on non-Apple hardware. Apple's vigorous, swift, and decisive battle against Psystar should put any hopes of such official licensing to rest once and for all. One need only look at Apple's financial statements to see that a company that makes the overwhelming majority of its profits on hardware sales stands to lose far more than it would gain if it licensed OS X to run on Mac "clones." If financial statements are too dry of a read, try history instead; Apple's decision to license the Mac OS to third-party manufacturers in the mid-1990s was a move that nearly drove the company into bankruptcy.