Apple Sues Security Vendor Corellium for Alleged Copyright Violations

Taking its legal fight with iOS virtualisation vendor Corellium to a new level, Apple is suing the company for allegedly trafficking under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the US.

The new lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida comes after the iPhone maker initially sued Corellium for copyright infringement in August, alleging that the company's virtualisation of iOS was violating Apple's ownership of the code, The Verge reported on Friday.

Expanding the case, Apple's revised complaint alleges that "Corellium's business is based entirely on commercialising the illegal replication of the copyrighted operating system and applications that run on Apple's iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices".

"Corellium simply copies everything: the code, the graphical user interface, the icons - all of it, in exacting detail...providing its users with the tools to do the same," it added.

According to the complaint by Apple, the product Corellium offers is a "virtual" version of Apple mobile hardware products, accessible to anyone with a web browser.

"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."

In a statement after the filing, Corellium said it is "deeply disappointed by Apple's persistent demonisation of jailbreaking."

Jailbreaking an iPhone lets people customise their iOS devices and run unsupported apps.

"Apple is using this case as a trial balloon in a new angle to crack down on jailbreaking," said Corellium CEO Amanda Gorton.