Apple and Psystar Agree to Private Mediation

Apple and Psystar have agreed to a private ADR session to attempt a resolution to the ongoing lawsuit filed by Apple. It appears they opted out of the court-provided ADR options for a private mediation service.

Psystar is a Florida corporation that has received some level of attention over a recent website that sold custom-built computers with Apple’s OS X operating system installed. Such setups, PCs running Macintosh operating systems, are often dubbed “Mac Clones.” Apple places legal restrictions on its software with a license agreement stating that OS X should only be run on its proprietary hardware. Psystar argues that such restrictions are unenforceable and countersued.

It does strike me as strange that anyone can walk into an Apple Store and purchase a copy of OS X, but then would be restricted from installing it on their PC. Indeed, that’s what Psystar was doing – telling its customers that if they purchased OS X, Psystar would install it on the PC for free. They argue their process was an end-around the license agreement.

This is a great look at the advantages of ADR, and a classic case for its usefulness. Psystar is a small company that probably doesn’t want to engage in a drawn out litigation with a monster like Apple, and the last thing Apple wants is a court opinion holding its user license agreement unenforceable. By choosing private mediation, the parties may be able to reach a private settlement that would allow Psystar to cut its losses (or even take home some winnings), and let Apple resolve the issue without showing a chink in its armor.

This should be interesting as it develops.

The initial report:

http://www.macobserver.com/article/2008/10/16.9.shtml

Another article, which contains a link to the full ADR agreement:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10068824-37.html?part=rss

A few more articles on the suit:

(July) http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-9991572-56.html?tag=mncol;txt

(May) http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-9933896-37.html?tag=mncol;txt