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Continue reading Samsung and Kodak put an end to patent squabbles

Samsung and Kodak put an end to patent squabbles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Florida startup Psystar has switched its business model from selling ugly Mac clones to selling ugly t-shirts.

Psystar, which recently lost its year-and-a-half-long legal battle with Apple, is selling t-shirts on its website instead of generic PCs hacked to run the Mac operating system. The company is accepting donations, too.

In a blog post, Psystar said it plans to ask the court to clarify legality surrounding Rebel EFI, a downloadable piece of software that enables users to create their own Hackintoshes. Apple in mid-December won a permanent injunction effectively banning Psystar from selling clones and tools that assist consumers in creating Hackintoshes. But alas, Rebel EFI was not explicitly brought up in the case, and Psystar is seeking clarity.

Psystar’s attorney K.A.D Camara told Wired.com that the startup also plans to appeal the summary judgment and proceed with an anti-trust suit filed against Apple in October 2008.

Psystar agreed in a settlement to pay Apple $2.7 million in damages, but it won’t have to give a dime until the appeals process is complete. That means Psystar better hope to sell about 200,000 t-shirts, which cost $15 apiece.

Psystar’s t-shirts read “I sued Psystar…and all I got was a lousy injunction,” meaning their direct audience is Apple staff. And unfortunately Apple only has about 35,000 employees. Somewhat of an oversight, but one you would expect from a company that sold fewer than 1,000 Hackintosh computers after promising investors it would ship millions of units by 2011.

See Also:

• Psystar Banned From Selling Mac Clones
• Apple, Mac Cloner Agree to Settle Lawsuit; Psystar Still Kicking …
• Mac Cloner Psystar Sold Fewer Than 1000 Hackintoshes

It’s unclear whether Psystar, a Mac cloner that recently lost a long legal battle with Apple, is dead or alive. The startup was quoted in a news report saying it was shutting down, and then in a followup story the company retracted the statement.

Apple last week won a permanent injunction against Psystar. The injunction effectively banned Psystar from selling Mac clones or distributing tools that would enable consumers to create their own Hackintoshes.

Subsequently on Friday, Dow Jones Newswire quoted Psystar’s company attorney Eugene Action, who said the startup would immediately fire its employees and shut down. Psystar’s website promptly went offline.

However, hours later lead counsel K.A.D Camara said the opposite in an interview with Computerworld, as well as an e-mail statement provided to Wired.com. He said Action had been misquoted and that the company plans to ask the judge to decide the legality of Rebel EFI, a piece of software that enables consumers to make their own Hackintoshes. (Though the permanent injunction effectively banned the functionality of Rebel EFI, Rebel EFI was not explicitly mentioned in the case.) Psystar’s website went back online over the weekend.

“Psystar is fighting on,” Camara told Wired.com in an e-mail. “Psystar will file a motion in Judge Alsup’s court asking him to decide the legality of Rebel EFI.  Judge Alsup invited us to do that in his injunction order. Psystar will also appeal Judge Alsup’s summary judgment to the Ninth Circuit.”

After Apple filed its lawsuit against Psystar in July 2008 alleging copyright infringement, the Florida start-up filed an antitrust suit against Apple alleging the corporation was violating laws discouraging monopolies.

Camara told Wired.com the antitrust suit will proceed.

In a settlement, Psystar agreed to pay Apple $2.7 million in damages. However, the company will not be required to pay a dime until the appeals process is complete.

See Also:

• Psystar Banned From Selling Mac Clones
• Apple, Mac Cloner Agree to Settle Lawsuit; Psystar Still Kicking …
• Mac Cloner Psystar Sold Fewer Than 1000 Hackintoshes
• Psystar ‘Rebel EFI’ Patch Installs Snow Leopard on Any PC
• Apple’s Battle With Psystar Far From Over

Photo courtesy of Psystar

Good old December, the busiest time of the year for elves, reindeer, jolly old fat guys… and lawyers, apparently. Joining the rush to make momentous decisions before Santa arrives, the International Trade Commission has made a preliminary ruling in favor of Kodak in its dispute over digital camera patents with Samsung. Though the original lawsuit included LG, an out of court settlement has left only Sammy in the firing line, and this early decision has affirmed that two of Kodak’s patents were infringed in the production of its cameraphones. It’s still necessary for the full commission to look at and approve the judgment, but considering Samsung’s vast range of camera-equipped phones, we’d throw legal caution to the wind and start bombarding the ITC with “holiday cheer” pronto.

Kodak wins preliminary ruling in patent squabble with Samsung originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple on Tuesday afternoon won a permanent injunction against Psystar, a Florida-based Mac cloner. The ruling prohibits the startup from selling hardware hacked to run Mac OS X.

US. District Judge William Alsup issued the ruling, banning Psystar from the following:

• Infringing Apple’s copyrights in Mac OS X .
• Circumventing any technological measure used by Apple to prevent unauthorized copying of Mac OS X on non-Apple computers.
• Creating or selling a product intended to circumvent Apple’s methods for preventing Mac OS X to be installed on non-Apple hardware.
• Aiding or abetting any other person or entity to infringe Apple’s copyrighted Mac OS X software.
• Doing anything to circumvent the rights held by Apple under the Copyright Act with respect to Mac OS X.

In short, that means Psystar can no longer ship generic hardware that’s running Mac OS X. And the cloner can’t sell goods that assist consumers in creating Hackintoshes. Psystar must comply no later than Dec. 31, 2009.

However, it doesn’t spell a complete end to Psystar’s Rebel EFI software, a $50 downloadable utility that enables consumers to create Hackintoshes of their own — even though the ruling about circumvention applies to DIY solutions. Psystar argued Rebel EFI was not explicitly covered in this case and thus should not be included in the injunction. Alsup said Rebel EFI was not covered in the injunction, but the startup could continue to sell its software “at its own peril.”

“What is certain, however, is that until such a motion is brought, Psystar will be selling Rebel EFI at its peril, and risks finding itself held in contempt if its new venture falls within the scope of the injunction,” the final judgment states.

Long story short, even though Rebel EFI was not explicitly mentioned in the case, its functionality is banned by this injunction. So although technically Rebel EFI can be sold, it would be a very, very bad idea.

Psystar opened its business selling Mac clones in April 2008. Apple filed a lawsuit three months later against Psystar, alleging copyright, trademark and shrink-wrap licensing infringements.

Final Judgment [pdf] via AppleInsider via Macworld

Updated 11 a.m. PDT with clarifications regarding the ruling’s effects on Rebel EFI.

See Also:

• Apple, Mac Cloner Agree to Settle Lawsuit; Psystar Still Kicking …
• Mac Cloner Psystar Guilty of Violating Apple’s Copyright
• Mac Cloner Psystar Sold Fewer Than 1000 Hackintoshes
• Mac Copycat Psystar Gets Ammo to Countersue Apple

Photo: Psystar