Apple and Corellium Reach Settlement in iOS Replication Lawsuit

Apple has reached a settlement in its multi-year copyright lawsuit against Corellium, a company known for creating virtual versions of iOS for security research purposes, Forbes reports.

iPhone 13 Security
The lawsuit, initiated by Apple in 2019, accused Corellium of infringing upon its copyrights by replicating iOS. Corellium's technology allowed security researchers and developers to run virtual iPhones, enabling them to probe iOS outside of Apple's own security measures. This capability was at the core of Apple's allegations, claiming that Corellium's software not only replicated iOS but also served as an alternative to Apple's security research products.

Corellium defended its actions under fair use, asserting that its replication of iOS was solely for the purpose of security research and was substantially transformative. In 2021, Apple agreed to drop its claims but then filed an appeal that challenged an earlier ruling in favor of Corellium's fair use claim.

This week, the court announced that both Apple and Corellium have ultimately come to a confidential settlement, bringing the prolonged dispute to an end.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
New MacBook Pros Launching Tomorrow With These 4 New Features 2

M5 MacBook Models to Use New Compact Camera Module in 2025

Wednesday July 17, 2024 2:58 am PDT by
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...

Top Rated Comments

0339327 Avatar
8 months ago
While I understand that Apple doesn’t want this, it seems that Corellium has a legitimate purpose that serves to help better the product.

What I find surprising is that Apple didn’t agree to work with Corellium as a partner, instead, forcing them to recreate the OS.

Whatever the settlement is, I hope it allows the research to continue unabated.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shirasaki Avatar
8 months ago

Whatever the settlement is, I hope it allows the research to continue unabated.
Those involved would be more than happy to know what kind of change to Corellium’s ToC and all the string attached because of this confidential settlement, and the impact of this settlement to their research.

With that being said, we badly need strong individual entities outside Apple to see how ugly iOS is in its security and patch those vulnerabilities before government and hackers find them out and exploit for nefarious purposes.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Steve121178 Avatar
8 months ago

What I find surprising is that Apple didn’t agree to work with Corellium as a partner
They probably didn't want them finding too many holes in the security & prefer security issues to be something they curate and highlight rather than the broader community exposing their software willy nilly.

But I can understand they didn't want them creating virtual versions. However, if it helps plug the holes in security it's completely bizarre to be against this.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nathan_reilly Avatar
8 months ago

Well, if you're uploading their software on the internet without paying them, they won't be happy!
this is not at all what this is about. To frame this like it's a high schooler pirating videogames is disingenuous and uncharitable to the extreme
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spcopsmac21 Avatar
8 months ago

So what is Corellium’s business model? Find security flaws on iOS and sell them on the dark web?
No….not at all.
It helped developers better design and implements applications and patch loose holes in systems and code in order to get full utilization of the operating system.

They didn’t sell back doors or holes. The whole thing was designed to BLOCK back doors and hole and find flaws that would enable nefarious actors into doing what you said…..
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lkrupp Avatar
8 months ago
So what is Corellium’s business model? Find security flaws on iOS and sell them on the dark web?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)