In a stunning turn of events, Apple lost its iOS copyright battle against Corellium, a startup security firm.
Apple lost a major iOS copyright battle that the company itself waged against startup security firm Corellium. In what appeared as reminiscent of the battle between David and Goliath, the judge handed the Cupertino tech giant a stunning loss in what many say will have far-reaching implications for copyright law and iPhone security research.
A Florida federal judge dismissed the claims of Apple that Corellium violated copyright law with its software that allows security researchers to discover security holes and bugs on different products made by the Cupertino tech giant.
Apple loses iOS copyright claim in suit against security firm Corellium pic.twitter.com/d7ktU4ljnp — HamacaSoft (@hamacasoft) December 30, 2020
Corellium, a security startup co-founded by husband and wife team Chris Wade and Amanda Gorton, developed software that allowed users to run "virtual" iPhones on their desktop computers. Many regard the software as a breakthrough in the field of security research as it rendered as unnecessary the use of physical iPhones in poking and prodding Apple's mobile operating system, the iOS.
Apple saw this as a copyright violation and hence waged a major iOS copyright battle against startup security firm Corellium, with the objective of shutting the company down. Unfortunately, the Cupertino tech giant lost the legal battle it waged against the small security firm.
In the iOS copyright lawsuit filed by Apple, it claimed that startup security firm Corellium copied the iOS code and in effect, created a competing product that consumers can use. The court, however, saw it differently. The federal judge, in a stunning defeat handed to Apple, said that the software that Corellium created is only a research tool designed for a limited number of customers.
Many looked at the lawsuit Apple filed against the security firm as a David versus Goliath type of battle, where David Corellium emerging as the victor against Goliath Apple.
In a statement to the media, David L. Hecht, the founder of the law firm Hecht Partners and a co-counsel for security startup Corellium, expressed his gladness at the decision of the court in handing down victory to the security firm in the epic iOS copyright battle waged by Apple. "We are very pleased with the Court's ruling on fair use and are proud of the strength and resolve that our clients at Corellium have displayed in this important battle.
The Court affirmed the strong balance that fair use provides against the reach of copyright protection into other markets, which is a huge win for the security research industry in particular," Hecht said. News outlets sent Apple a request for comment but the Cupertino tech giant still has not given its reply as regards the ruling on the iOS copyright battle that the company waged against security startup Corellium.
