Apple to shut down Corellium for making and selling perfect replicas of iOS
Apple Inc. has filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida against Corellium, a mobile device virtualization company for selling virtual versions of Apple’s operating system, iOS, within a web browser to customers so that they can test them for security vulnerabilities.
For those unaware, iOS is the operating system that powers many of Apple’s mobile devices, including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. On the other hand, Corellium provides services as a mobile device virtualization solution to help security researchers determine vulnerabilities in iOS.
According to Apple, Corellium’s iOS virtualization product infringes on Apple’s copyrights.
“Corellium has simply copied everything: the code, the graphical user interface, the icons — all of it, in exacting detail,” Apple said in the complaint who is looking to shut down Corellium’s virtual iPhone.
“Corellium’s business is based entirely on commercializing the illegal replication of the copyrighted operating system and applications that run on Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices. The product Corellium offers is a ‘virtual’ version of Apple mobile hardware products, accessible to anyone with a web bro
“Specifically,Corellium serves up what it touts as a perfect digital facsimile of a broad range of Apple’s market-leading devices–recreating with fastidious attention to detail not just the way the operating system and applications appear visually to bona fide purchasers, but also the underlying computer code. Corellium does so with no license or permission from Apple.”
The Cupertino-based tech firm said that while it encourages benevolent “white hat” hacking, Corellium is instead selling information to people purely for the goal of generating a profit.
“Although Corellium paints itself as providing a research tool for those trying to discover security vulnerabilities and other flaws in Apple’s software, Corellium’s true goal is profiting off its blatant infringement,” the suit noted.
“There is no basis for Corellium to be selling a product that allows the creation of avowedly perfect replicas of Apple’s devices to anyone willing to pay.
Apple noted in its suit that it supports “good-faith security research” by offering a $1 million “bug bounty” for anyone who discovers flaws in its system. However, Corellium is marketing its product for more immoral purposes, alleged Apple.
“Corellium makes no effort whatsoever to confine use of its product to good-faith research and testing of iOS. Nor does Corellium require its users to disclose any software bugs they find to Apple, so that Apple may correct them.
“Instead, Corellium is selling a product for profit, using unauthorized copies of Apple’s proprietary software, that it avowedly intends to be used for any purpose, without limitation, including for the sale of software exploits on the open market.
“Far from assisting in fixing vulnerabilities, Corellium encourages its users to sell any discovered information on the open market to the highest bidder.”
Apple added that it does not want to obstruct “good-faith security research” but wants to end Corellium’s “unlawful commercialization of Apple’s valuable copyrighted works.”
As a result, Apple has demanded a jury trial for, “a straightforward case of infringement of highly valuable copyrighted works.”
Apple is seeking a permanent injunction against Corellium that would stop the firm from creating replicas of its iOS. Besides blocking sales of the Corellium Apple Product, the tech giant also wants a court order forcing Corellium to notify customers that they are in violation of Apple’s rights. In addition, the company is also seeking damages in the form of attorney fees and lost profit.
