Apple has filed a lawsuit against Corellium, a mobile device virtualization company that supports iOS. Corellium describes itself as the “first and only platform” that offers iOS, Android, and Linux virtualization on ARM.
The way Correllium’s product works is that it creates an exact digital replica of iOS, the default apps, and all the essential UI elements and provides access to them via a web-based platform. Apple says this isn’t a mere reproduction or a fair use case, as Corellium “has simply copied everything: the code, the graphical user interface, the icons—all of it, in exacting detail.”
Corellium allegedly makes unlicensed replicas of new versions of iOS as soon as they are officially launched and Apple has asked a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida to stop the violations. It also doesn’t help that Corellium pitches its product as a research tool for security experts and developers, and promises to deliver a “private installation” for any buyer willing to pay a million dollars a year.
Apple notes that it strongly supports efforts to discover security vulnerabilities on its platforms as long as it stays in the realm of “good-faith security research.” The company offers a $1 million “bug bounty” for anyone who can showcase any flaws in iOS, and supplies “special” iPhones to “legitimate” researchers.
Interestingly enough, Forbes took a close look at the “super stealth startup,” and found that its co-founders are some of the early pioneers in the jailbreaking scene. At the recent Black Hat conference in the US, Corellium extolled the ability of its product to offer iOS replicas to everyone, including “foreign governments and commercial enterprises.”
Apple is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent Corellium from continuing to offer a product that replicates iOS. Apple also wants Corellium to destroy all infringing materials that it’s collected, and pay Apple damages, lost profits, and attorney fees.
View Apple v. Corellium by Mikey Campbell on Scribd
