The ongoing drama between Apple and Psystar may have been a little overblown by a few blogs as of late. Referencing the two companies setting forth Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), a few sites claimed that the companies had struck a deal, when in fact the whole story is simply protocol and standard practice in the courts of Northern California.
Colby Springer, an attorney with legal firm Carr & Ferrell LLP who is on the team representing Psystar explains that the ADR is simply a “non-story.” It does not mean that both companies have suspended their legal battle in any way. “The Northern District [of California] requires you to go through ADR,” he said. “It’s standard practice, not for all courts, but the practice is growing. Quite frankly, all the talk about entering negotiations is really a non-story.”
As should have been clarified by writers, an ADR does not mean that both companies have reached an agreement, instead it was forced upon them by the courts in Northern California. “The case is very much alive,” Springer said.
Springer believes that the ADR and mediation will not help both companies resolve the dispute. He thinks that it will instead send the story on dual tracks instead of focusing on an ideal resolution. “This will go on a dual track now, the ADR and the case,” he said, “but the real story from our point of view is our objection to the Apple move to dismiss.”
In its motion to dismiss, which it filed Sept. 30, Apple said that the Doral, Fla.-based clone maker’s claim that Apple is a monopoly is “deeply flawed” and should be tossed out by U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup. Apple also asserted that it could not be compelled to license its operating system to rivals, such as Psystar. “Neither the federal nor the state antitrust laws require competitors to stop competing with, and instead to start helping, each other,” the computer maker argued.
Psystar rebutted Apple’s reasoning last week. “Apple is nothing if not tenacious, having previously asserted this very same argument in attempts to dismiss antitrust claims related to Apple’s iPod, iTunes Music Store, and iPhone ending in the Northern District of California,” Psystar’s lawyers said. They cited several rulings, including one by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, that denied other Apple motions to dismiss antitrust cases brought against those product lines.
As it currently stands, both parties have filed documents and are moving forward with mediation, and are scheduled to argue their motion to dismiss before a judge on November 6.
Click here to get caught up on the saga between Apple and Psystar.
[MacWorld]
