Psystar is doing consumer a favor by announcing that they will make available to US consumers a non-Apple machine that runs the Apple operating system Leopard.

But a battle looms because Apple may fight Psystar about the latter’s right to install Leopard in computers other than those manufactured by Apple.

We’ve seen and heard of Mac clones in the past few months, but this news from Psystar is welcome for those who seek to use Leopard but can’t afford the uber expensive Apple machines.

Apple should be careful with what it will do to Psystar. Psystar may hurt Apple a bit in the short run but the greater popularity for Leopard may be good for the company in the long run.