Today, Public Knowledge joined the Electronic Frontier Foundation and expert security researchers on an amicus brief at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Apple, Inc. v. Corellium, LLC.
Apple has been litigating against Corellium, arguing that its use of Apple’s software without permission is unlawful, and that Corellium violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s prohibition on circumventing digital locks.
The following can be attributed to John Bergmayer, Legal Director at Public Knowledge:
“Corellium’s business is to help software developers and researchers do their jobs more easily. It does not compete with Apple, and copyright law allows the use of copyrighted material without permission in many circumstances like these.
“In particular, copyright does not insulate rightsholders from criticism, nor does it allow software companies to prevent security researchers from examining software and attempting to find its vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This kind of research enhances the overall security of devices like iPhones and is plainly a fair use.”
You may view the amicus brief. For more information on why we support Corellium’s use of iOS software for security research, you may also view our recent blog post, “Apple v. Corellium Demonstrates a Clear Example of Fair Use.”
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.