Apple Inc. lost its copyright claims against a Florida company that makes \u201cvirtual iPhones\u201d used by security researchers to test for vulnerabilities to its system.<\/b>
\nBy Susan Decker| Bloomberg Apple Inc. lost its copyright claims against a Florida company that makes \u201cvirtual iPhones\u201d used by security researchers to test for vulnerabilities to its system. Apple contended Corellium LLC\u2019s copied the operating system, graphical user interface and other aspects of the devices without permission. It accused Corellium of acting under the guise of helping discover bugs in the iPhone\u2019s operating system but then selling the information \u201con the open market to the highest bidder.\u201d Corellium\u2019s actions fell under an exception to copyright law because it \u201ccreates a new, virtual platform for iOS and adds capabilities not available on Apple\u2019s iOS devices,\u201d District Court Judge Rodney Smith in West Palm Beach ruled Tuesday. Corellium has said its customers are government agencies, financial institutions and security researchers. It said Apple tried to hire the company\u2019s founders and buy a predecessor of the firm and sued when the talks fell through. \u201cThere is evidence in the record to support Corellium\u2019s position that its product is intended for security research and, as Apple concedes, can be used for security research,\u201d the judge said. \u201cFurther, Apple itself would have used the product for internal testing had it successfully acquired the company.\u201d Related Articles COVID phone notification shows sharing data can save lives\t Elon Musk claims Tim Cook refused to meet with him to discuss buying Tesla\t Apple targets car production by 2024 and eyes \u2018next level\u2019 battery technology\t Facebook accuses Apple of anticompetitive behavior over privacy changes\t The judge said that Corellium may still be in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits tools to circumvent security measures, so declined to dismiss that aspect of the case. Corellium\u2019s virtual product used on a desktop computer can\u2019t make phone calls, send text messages, access iTunes or do any of the other things an iPhone can. The ruling was reported earlier by the Washington Post. The case is Apple Inc. v. Corellium LLC,19-81160, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (West Palm Beach). For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com \u00a92020 Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n