Apple Sues Psystar, Admits MobileMe Mess

Apple is apologizing for the "rocky" launch of its MobileMe Internet services, and has finally gotten around to suing Mac clone vendor Psystar.

Apple began rolling out its MobileMe collection of "cloud-based" Internet services last week just before the iPhone 3G went on sale…and days later, the company was still trying to get the services up and running smoothly, with the company’s much-touted Web applications proving more difficult to bring online than they were to demo at a WWDC keynote. Apple says the services are all up and running now, and by way of apology it’s giving MobileMe early adopters an automatic 30-day extension on their MobileMe subscriptions.

Interestingly, Apple also says it’s going to stop using the word "push" to describe synchronization between email, contact, and calendar data handled by the service: while Apple says changes from iPhones and Web applications are indeed very speedy, changes made from a PC or Mac might take 15 minutes to propagate, so the company is going to stop using the word "push" to describe the services until Macs and PCs can get near-instant synchronization too.

On another front, remember Psystar, the Florida company that began offering the Open Computer Mac clone for $399? The company announced additional hardware models and even an Openserv server unit to compete with Apple’s Xserve, and everyone’s been waiting for the day when Apple will finally take notice—after all, if there really is an open season for running Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware, the company could face a serious challenge to its lucrative Macintosh sales. Now, word comes that Apple has finally gotten around to suing Psystar, alleging eight claims of copyright infringement, trademark and trade infringement, and unfair competition.

Apple is, of course, asking for statutory and actual damages, along with any profits Psystar has gleaned from selling Mac clones. However, the company is also asking the court to order Psystar recall Mac clones it has already sold.

"[B]y misappropriating Apple’s proprietary software and intellectual property for its own use," Apple wrote in its complaint, "Psystar’s actions harm consumers by selling to them a poor product that is advertised and promoted in a manner that falsely and unfairly implies an affiliation with Apple."

Psystar could not be reached for comment; Apple representatives declined to comment on the suit.