Is the license tied to hardware on Mac OS?

Question

macOS

I am offered to take the iMac on which the system flew. I have no experience with macos, that's why it's interesting.
If I install the macos myself via a USB flash drive on this computer, will it be considered licensed? Are there pirated OS X and is there any point in bothering with them?
What axis goes on this 2009 iMac?
It is written that Pre-Installed MacOS: X 10.6.2 (10C2234) Maximum MacOS: Current*, but there are a bunch of them: Sierra, Mavericks, and so on.
Well, in short - how to set the axis? Download the image, burn it to a USB flash drive and boot from it? Or a little different? I would be grateful for advice :)

Answer 1

There is no concept of a license for Mac OS. In general, the principle is this, it is allowed to install Mac OS only on Apple hardware, and you can’t actually install it on other hardware (without hemorrhoids). From this we conclude that any copy of Mac OS is licensed and easily receives updates. You can install a fresh Mac OS through Recovery directly over Wi-Fi or by writing an image to any external media.