However, Judge Rodney Smith ruled that Apple’s allegations were ‘mysterious, if not insignificant’. He writes in his verdict (via TechCrunch): ‘Taking into account all the necessary factors, the Court finds that Corellium has imposed its burden to bring about fair use. The use of iOS in connection with the Corellium product is therefore permissible. The judge also pointed out that Apple tried to acquire Corellium in 2018 and was able to test its product before their talks failed. If Apple had penetrated through the acquisition of Corellium, the latter’s software would apparently have been used for internal testing and validation. The ruling discussed how Corellium also visits its customers before selling the software to them.
Apple has long been criticized for making it difficult for researchers to disassemble their mobile platform to look at vulnerabilities. Recently, however, it launched the SRD (Security Research Device) program that sends qualified security experts to hacker-friendly iPhones that they can use to find bugs in iOS itself and in third-party apps. Apple launched its first series of SRD iPhones a few days ago and is expected to accept more applicants to the program in the future.