Apple and Psystar Agree to Talk It Out Behind Closed Doors

Anyone licking their chops at the prospect of a legal battle between Apple and Mac-cloner Psystar, where Apple would face the small (but real) chance that Psystar would be able to prove its antitrust claim in open court, can quit smacking their lips. Apple and Psystar have agreed to settle the case with Alternative Dispute Resolution, a process that will involve non-binding arbitration, early neutral evaluation, and mediation—and is totally behind closed doors.

Besides being non-binding and non-public, even the outcome is private—which is the reason Apple probably agreed, as Tom Krazit notes. It probably doesn’t want to talk about antitrust issues in open court—better to leave the idea unspoken. For Psystar, the benefit is that it’s vastly cheaper than hiring an army of decent lawyers. We won’t know the specific outcome, but whether or not you’ll be able to buy Psystar computers in the future should be a pretty big hint. [Cnet]