Apple Loses Copyright Claim Against Security Startup Corellium

Apple’s legal dispute against security startup firm Corellium has led a Florida federal judge to dismiss Apple’s copyright claims.

Corellium is a Flordia-based security startup that offers a virtual version of iOS for the purpose of security testing. Apple issued its lawsuit against Corellium back in 2019. As reported by Reuters, U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith ultimately ruled against Apple this week. Judge Smith claimed that Corellium’s security software fell under fair use and assisted developers in testing security flaws.

Apple’s initial claims against Corellium stemmed from the security firm emulating iOS. As Apple saw it, Corellium was offering unauthorized copies of the operating system on non-Apple products. As far as Corellium’s stance, the security company believes it was offering a product that “adds something new to iOS”. Corellium’s software allowed developers to test security functions by controlling processes, taking snapshots, amongst other security protocols.

Judge Smith also ruled against Apple’s claim that Corellium sold its product indiscriminately, including hackers. No evidence was found to believe that Corellium did not require its users to report bugs to Apple. Countering this specific claim, Judge Smith found it to be “puzzling” that Apple raised this argument as Judge Smith believed the company does not require users to report bugs through their own Bug Bounty Program.

Apple may still pursue a federal law claim against Corellium, according to Judge Smith. The Cupertino company may follow through on its beliefs that Corellium found a workaround regarding its security measures when creating the security software.

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