KEY POINTS:
Apple has sued a company making Mac clones, according to web reports.
The company, Psystar, started selling PCs bundled with Apple's OS X operating system earlier this year.
This breaks Apple's EULA (end user licensing agreement), which specifies: "You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labelled computer, or to enable others to do so."
The Arstechnica website reports that Apple has filed a lawsuit against Psystar in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
It accuses Psystar of copyright, license and trademark infringements.
The company's website is still live after a reported break earlier in the week.
Psystar's low-cost 'clones' immediately raised red flags in the vigilant Mac blogosphere, with many wondering just how long it would take Apple to take action against the company.
Its Open Computer ships with a 2.2GHz Intel Core2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive. It can also be upgraded with nVidia's GeForce 8600 video card or a three-port FireWire card.
It cost just US$399 to buy, far cheaper than Apple product with comparable performance.
Arstechnica also cites court documents that put initial filings due in October, with a 'case management conference' scheduled for October 22.
Apple has previously allowed clone versions of its machines, with several made using licensed Apple ROMs by Power Computing, UMAX and Motorola, amongst others.
The strategy didn't come with the same success that IBM clones did - seeing computer companies like Compaq and Packard-Bell experience massive growth with the Windows-loaded machines.
Steve Jobs pulled the pin on clone licenses when he returned to Apple in 1997.
