April 27, 2008: Psystar released clones of Mac – Open Computer, becoming the first commercial distributor of computers, called hackintosh. The devices came with Mac OS X Leopard pre-installed and of course the company did not have a license to release them.
Naturally, Apple could not ignore this fact.
Returning to the history of Mac clones
Many people know that in the 90s, Apple signed an OS licensing agreement with Power Computing and Radius. The goal was to expand the popularity of the Apple brand. However, the strategy turned out to be unprofitable and instead of increasing the number of Macs sold, it led to huge losses. Returned to the company Steve Jobs abandoned Mac clones by purchasing licenses from these companies in the late 90s.
Ten years later, Apple was already at the top of the financial world. In addition to restoring the prestige of the Mac, the company released the iPhone, iTunes Music Store, and iPod, and no longer needed clones. But some clone makers didn’t give up hope of cashing in on Apple’s success.
Psystar and its Open Computer
One company that attempted to clone Macs without permission was Psystar Corporation of Miami, which released Open Computer with OS X, equipped with a 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 processor, 2 GB of DDR2 667 memory, built-in Intel GMA 950 chip and four USB ports. Prices, depending on the configuration, ranged from $399 to $1154.99.
In its ad, the company pointed out that Open Computer with OS X was as good as a Mac, but it cost 150% less. Apple sued Psystar for copyright infringement.
In response, Psystar claimed that Cupertino was infringing the copyright of using Mac OS X by forcing customers to use only Apple computers. Ultimately, in 2009, the court ruled in favor of Apple and Psystar had to pay $2.67 million in damages.
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