Edible Apple

The ongoing saga between Apple and Psystar is turning into quite a soap opera, at least for Apple and legal geeks. The latest piece of news is that Psystar recently filed a motion with the court seeking permission to continue using business checks and deposit slips. That motion was denied.

According to Groklaw, the ability to continue using business checks while bankruptcy proceedings are underway is usually a formality typically bestowed upon parties without much of a hassle. That said, the court’s refusal to grant Psystar such leeway doesn’t bode well for the Florida based hackintosh maker.

Last week, Apple filed a motion seeking to resume litigation proceedings with Psystar after its bankruptcy filing put a temporary stay on the case. Apple asserts that Psystar’s bankruptcy filing is merely a ploy to delay litigation and give it more time to sell hackintosh machines unfettered. Groklaw interprets the courts recent refusal to allow Psystar to use business checks and deposit slips as an indication that Apple’s motion to life the stay will be granted.

If the hope was to continue the business under the umbrella of protection in Chapter 11, while Apple was left at the courthouse door gritting its teeth, blocked from any ability to stop Psystar due to the bankruptcy’s stay on litigation, which is Apple’s accusation I think that dream just died, no matter how the court rules on Apple’s motion to lift the stay. Clearly the judge has read that motion, and it will not be helping Psystar to keep a business in place that Apple has now told the court is infringing its rights. It’s telegraphing, I suspect, that Apple’s motion will be granted.

Interestingly, Psystar filed a similar motion, which was granted, seeking permission to continue using business forms. In that filing, Psystar lists a few reasons explaining why that motion should be granted.

12. The Debtor uses various business forms in connection with their businesses including, without limitation, invoices, order forms, stationery, check stock, deposit slips, brochures, packaging and flyers.

Oh really? That’s funny, because up to this point Psystar has been arguing, quite un-persuasively I might add, that because it’s a new company, it doesn’t keep records such as invoices, order forms, and deposit slips. Hmm…

And finally, and in what should come as no surprise to anyone following the case, Psystar, in its motion to continue using business checks, was required to list all of its bank related assets. After all, if you want to write a few checks, the court wants to know what funds you’ll be using to back them up. Shockingly, Psystar didn’t divulge any of the required info. Shockingly, its motion was denied.

At this point, Psystar is clearly in the “Tyson Zone”, a phrase coined by sportswriter Bill Simmons which refers to a status whereby any action involving a particular person is believable no matter how crazy or outlandish it may seem at first glance. If tomorrow Psystar filed suit against Apple for selling Mac OS software that infringed on its own “intellectual property”, would anyone really be surprised at this point?  Yup, Psystar is in the “Tyson Zone.”