Apple Inc has filed a lawsuit against Psystar Corp, alleging that the Mac-like machines sold by Psystar are in the violation of Apple's Shrink Wrap license, as well as trademark and copyright infringement, because they are pre-installed with Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" operating system.

According to Apple's shrink wrap policy, the OSX 10.5 should only be installed on Apple branded computers. The End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) for Mac OSX, clearly forbids users from installing the operating system on hardware not sold by Apple.

On the other hand, Psystar has been selling Mac-like machines, named "OpenComputer," originally named as Apple's "OpenMac," with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard pre-installed on them, for $399.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California and the case has been assigned to Magistrate Judge James Larson and California's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program for civil suits.

Earlier this April, a Psystar spokesperson said that Apple's shrink wrap license might not hold up to a legal challenge. However, Psystar
declined any comment on its legal position, later that day.

Apple's lead Attorney in the case, James Gilliland, also refused to comment on the filing.