Psystar failed to convince the court that the Cupertino company has no right to try and block third party computer makers from selling cheaper clones of machines running Apple’s Mac OS X. The judge agreed with Apple’s argument: there is no Mac market, there’s only a slice of the much larger PC market:

“Apple asks its customers to purchase Mac OS knowing that it is to be used only with Apple computers,” wrote judge William Alsup. “It is certainly entitled to do so.”

“Psystar’s claim that Mac OS-compatible computer hardware systems constitute a distinct submarket or aftermarket contravenes the pertinent legal standards, and Apple’s motion to dismiss Psystar’s federal counterclaims is therefore granted,” he added.

Psystar can file an amended complaint until December 8.

The legal war between the two companies dates from July this year, when Apple sued Psystar for selling computers that basically were, claims the plaintiff, “cheaper Mac machines”. PsyStar countered  with an antitrust case one month later. The Apple-clone maker claimed that Apple’s way of bundling the OS with the hardware doesn’t comply to current antitrust laws.