Psystar to Countersue Apple for Restraint of Trade

Psystar, the company that made headlines here back in April when it started shipping a Mac clone, is reported to be about to respond to Apple's lawsuit with a countersuit, alleging that Apple is engaging in anti-competitive practices, which violates the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Act.

This course of action by Psystar was expected, but as many legal experts have pointed out, it isn't likely to dramatically affect the outcome of Apple's suit. The problem is that in order to invoke the Antitrust Act, Psystar will have to prove that Apple's actions have not only harmed general consumers of computer products but also Apple's competitors.

Both points will be difficult to prove. I'm not sure how Psystar will be able to argue that a consumer running Windows on a PC was hurt by Apple limiting OS X's license to Apple computers. Even if Psystar could find a way to make that argument, how will they manage to argue that Apple's competitors were hurt?

Well, all's fair in love and lawsuits. We'll just have to sit back and see how this plays out.

Anyone giving odds? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.