Last August, Apple filed a lawsuit against the virtualization company Corellium, which allows users to virtualize iOS for security research purposes. Now, a judge has dismissed Apple’s claims that Corellium’s virtualization tools violated copyright law.
Apple also argued that if Corellium’s virtualization tools were used by the wrong person, the vulnerabilities discovered with the tools could be used to hack iPhones. The judge in the case, Judge Rodney Smith, called these Apple claims “intriguing, if not disguised”.
As reported by The Washington Post, a federal judge in Florida supported Corellium and said the company had established a fair use for the use of Apple’s code, thus denying Apple’s request for a permanent injunction against security startup.
“Weighing all the necessary factors, the Court concludes that Corellium has fulfilled its burden of establishing fair use,” wrote Judge Smith on Tuesday’s order. “Therefore, your use of iOS in connection with the Corellium Product is permitted.”
Corellium is a security research platform that allows users to run virtualized versions of iOS on desktop computers. This makes the process of locating bugs and vulnerabilities in the operating system much easier, but Apple has argued that Corellium flagrantly infringes its copyright by offering this virtualization technology.
Curiously, The Washington Post adds that Apple’s claim that Corellium “circumvented security measures” and violated the DMCA has not yet been dismissed:
Apple initially tried to acquire Corellium in 2018, according to court records. When the acquisition negotiations were halted, Apple sued Corellium last year, claiming that its virtual iPhones, which contain only the basic functions necessary for security research, constitute a violation of copyright law. Apple also claimed that Corellium circumvented Apple’s security measures to create the software, thereby violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This statement was not rejected.
Apple’s lawsuit against Corellium came after the company significantly renewed its insect reward program last year with higher payments and a new device program that gives researchers what are essentially “pre-unlocked” iPhones.
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