Apple Inc failed Monday to convince a U.S. appeals court that security startup Corellium Inc infringed its copyrights by simulating its iOS operating system to help researchers find security flaws in devices. Apple devices.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Corellium lawfully recreated Apple’s system under U.S. copyright doctrine of fair use, advancing scientific progress by helping to important safety research.
Company representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.
The software from Florida-based Corellium allows users to run iOS on non-Apple devices and inspect and modify the operating system in ways that allow security researchers to search for vulnerabilities more effectively. Apple sued Corellium for copyright infringement in federal court in South Florida in 2019.
Apple tried unsuccessfully to buy Corellium for nearly $23 million before filing suit, the appeals court heard.
The district court dismissed Apple’s claims regarding Corellium’s iOS simulator in 2020. Apple appealed in 2021.
The 11th Circuit agreed that Corellium made fair use of iOS on Monday and said Corellium’s software adds new features that help security researchers “do their jobs in ways physical iPhones just can’t.” just not”.
The appeals court dismissed Apple’s arguments that Corellium simply repackaged iOS into a different format for profit, harming Apple’s market for its operating system and security research programs.
Corellium “opened the door to deeper security research on operating systems like iOS,” the circuit court said.
The appeals court returned the case to the district court to determine whether Corellium infringed copyrights covering Apple’s icons and wallpapers or contributed to the infringement by third parties.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)