Re:Apple announces changes to iOS, Safari, and the App Store...
by EMIRELADERO on Friday January 26, 2024 @01:32AM
(#39139508)
> The open source SDK you talk about might be completely free of Apple’s code, but it most definitely makes use of Apple’s code.
It "makes use of Apple's code" in the sense that it calls iOS APIs. But the resulting binary wouldn't have Apple's IP, which is what matters for the purposes of copyright and patent law. When saying something "uses" an IP, we generally mean the exclusive rights granted to the holder by law. Merely interacting with an already-existing API on an already-existing copy of iOS is not "use".
If the opposite were true, all third-party aftermarket accessories for physical (patented) products that merely plugged in to the mechanisms and didn't implement them themselves would be illegal.
It "makes use of Apple's code" in the sense that it calls iOS APIs. But the resulting binary wouldn't have Apple's IP, which is what matters for the purposes of copyright and patent law. When saying something "uses" an IP, we generally mean the exclusive rights granted to the holder by law. Merely interacting with an already-existing API on an already-existing copy of iOS is not "use".
If the opposite were true, all third-party aftermarket accessories for physical (patented) products that merely plugged in to the mechanisms and didn't implement them themselves would be illegal.