A federal judge in Florida dismissed Apple's copyright infringement claims against US security bug startup Corellium, a company it tried to purchase in 2018, according to a Reuters report. Corellium's software helps security researchers find vulnerabilities in Apple products including the iPhone.
US District Judge Rodney Smith dismissed Apple's claims, arguing that Corellium's software emulating Apple's iOS that runs on the iPhone and iPad amounted to "fair use" because it was "transformative" and helped developers find security flaws. In its legal offensive, Apple argued that Corellium replicated iOS to create "virtual" iOS-operated devices, whose "sole function" was to run unauthorised copies of the system on non-Apple hardware. The judge said Corellium "adds something new to iOS".
Judge Smith also rejected Apple’s argument that the startup acted in bad faith by selling its product to anyone and by not requiring users to report bugs to Apple. He said that argument appeared "puzzling, if not disingenuous", saying Apple did not impose a reporting requirement under its own Bug Bounty Program.
Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Corellium denied wrongdoing.
Judge Smith said Apple may still pursue a separate federal law claim that Corellium dodged its security measures when creating its software.
Corellium CEO's position
In its comments about Apple's filling submitted against Corellium in 2019, Corellium CEO Amanda Gorton said Apple is using this case as a trial balloon in a new angle to crack down on jailbreaking, which is the process through which end-users get access to a device's foundational code that determines the ways in which the device works and lives. Gorton said Apple has made it clear that it does not intend to limit this attack to Corellium: it is seeking to set a precedent to eliminate public jailbreaks.
She said developers and researchers across the industry rely on jailbreaks to test the security of both their own apps and third-party apps – testing which cannot be done without a jailbroken device.
