Since that defeat, Psystar has been on the defensive, and has resorted in an amended countersuit to arguing that Apple abused federal copyright laws when it tied Leopard to Apple's own hardware.

In May, , a move many interpreted as a delaying tactic, but Alsup denied a stay of the case, which has resumed. Psystar has since dropped its original legal team -- it owed the Palo Alto, Calif. firm of Carr & Ferrell in back bills, according to its bankruptcy filings -- and has hired a Texas firm, Camara & Sibley, as well as another California firm, Welker & Rosario, to represent it in the case.

For its part, Apple has filed a letter brief with the court, claiming that Psystar erased earlier versions of the software it uses to make Mac OS X run on its clones, even though Alsup had expressly told Psystar not to delete anything.

"As stated in the October 30, 2008 Joint Case Management Statement, Psystar's principals were put on notice of this duty to preserve, and a document preservation notice was sent out to Psystar's employees," Apple said in the letter brief dated Aug. 10. "Yet, as admitted by Mr. Pedraza [Psystar's president], Psystar has not complied with its obligations and instead has destroyed evidence of its willful infringement."

The heavily-redacted brief lacked specific examples of what Psystar was alleged to have deleted.