The legal dispute between Apple and Corellium, which has been ongoing for four years, has now been resolved out of court, as per a recent report. The case gained amusement when Apple’s claim that Corellium had infringed on its copyright by replicating iOS was unsuccessful, leading Apple to counter-claim that Corellium had infringed on its copyright for using Apple wallpapers.
Corellium is a cybersecurity company that develops software to create virtual replicas of both Android and iOS smartphones. These virtual devices are designed for security researchers who aim to identify vulnerabilities in both operating systems and mobile apps. Using a virtual device for such work is advantageous as it allows researchers to work with multiple hardware configurations and pause iOS at a specific point to examine what’s happening in detail.
The legal battle between Apple and Corellium began in 2019. There was no dispute about Corellium replicating copyrighted Apple intellectual property, including the iOS code and all UI graphics. The only debate was whether this constituted “fair use”, a legal provision that allows copyrighted materials to be reproduced under certain circumstances. Corellium argued that it did, as the intention was to enhance device security, with security researchers assisting Apple in eliminating security flaws. Apple, however, disagreed, arguing that Corellium did not obligate security researchers to report their findings to Apple, potentially allowing black-hat hackers to exploit vulnerabilities.
The case escalated, with Corellium’s CEO claiming that Apple was attempting to set a legal precedent that would allow it to take action against iPhone jailbreakers. The Department of Justice also got involved, expressing “national security concerns” about evidence Apple wanted to submit.
Apple initially lost the case, but appealed and lost again. It then filed a new case, arguing copyright and trademark infringements on Apple wallpaper and branding. However, the case was eventually settled, with the court announcing that a full and complete settlement had been reached. Neither Apple nor Corellium had commented on the case at the time of publication, and no details about the settlement terms have been released.