Economist: Psystar has sold less than 1,000 Mac clones

Posted by Dennis Sellers Nov 29, 2009 at 7:00am

As we reported earlier, Apple has requested a permanent injunction against Psystar that would prevent the Mac clone maker from selling machines with Mac OS X and assisting others to install the operating system on unauthorized machines. But it seems the company hasn’t sold very many of its clones.

Psystar has only sold about 768 systems, according to an economist hired by Apple to analyze the clone maker’s business records (as reported by TechWorld). Under its conservative projections, Psystar told investors it would sell 70,000 computers in 2009, 470,000 systems in 2010 and 1.45 million machines in 2011.

The firm’s aggressive growth model, however, put those numbers at 130,000, 1.87 million and 12 million during 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, says TechWorld. By comparison, Apple sold 10.4 million Macs during its 2009 fiscal year, the 12-month span that ended 30 September, 2009.

In a filing with Judge William Alsup made Monday, Apple asserted that it is entitled to a permanent judgment against Psystar under the U.S. Copyright Act and Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Apple has argued that Psystar’s continued business will irreparably harm Apple, and that Psystar has also spawned other infringers by “trafficking in circumvention devices.”


Earlier this month Psystar’s motion for summary judgement on trademark infringement and trade dress was denied. Apple’s motion for summary judgment on copyright infringement and DMCA violation was granted. Apple prevailed also on its motion to seal.

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