[Qemu-devel] Fwd: Apple tries to patent 'tamper-resistant software'

[Philipp Gühring]

Hi,

I guess this is of interest here too.

  Begin forwarded message:

  Apple tries to patent 'tamper-resistant software'

  By Ina Fried
  <http://news.com.com/Apple+tries+to+patent+tamper-resistant+software/
  2100-1045_3-5942107.html>

  Story last modified Wed Nov 09 11:16:00 PST 2005

  Apple Computer, which is in the process of switching to computers
  based on the omnipresent Intel processor, has filed a patent
  application describing a method for securely running Mac OS X on
  specific hardware.

  The Mac maker has applied for a patent to cover a "system and method
  for creating tamper-resistant code." Apple describes ways of ensuring
  that code can be limited to specific hardware, even in a world in
  which operating systems can be run simultaneously, in so-called
  virtual machines. The patent application was made in April of 2004,
  but only made public last Thursday.

  In its application, Apple describes a means of securing code using
  either a specific hardware address or read-only memory (ROM) serial
  number. Apple also talks about securing the code while interchanging
  information among multiple operating systems. Mac OS X, Windows and
  Linux are called out specifically in the filing.

  "This invention relates generally to the field of computer data
  processing and more particularly to techniques for creating tamper-
  resistant software," Apple says in its patent filing. Specifically,
  Apple refers to the technique of "code obfuscation," in which
  software makers employ techniques that make it harder for those using
  debuggers or emulators to figure out how a particular block of code
  is working.
  Apple's patent application comes as the company prepares to offer its
  Mac OS X operating system for Intel-based chips, with the first
  machines slated to go on sale next year.

  Historically, the company has had to worry less about the Mac running
  on non-Apple hardware because it has used different chips and other
  components from those that power Windows PCs. With its move to Intel
  chips, though, the innards of the Mac will become more similar to
  those of its Windows-based counterparts.

  The company said it is not planning on supporting Windows or other
  operating systems on the Intel-based Macs it sells but has also said
  it doesn't plan on taking steps to prevent Mac owners from running
  other operating systems.
  "We won't do anything to preclude that," Apple Senior Vice President
  Phil Schiller told CNET News.com in June.

  However, Schiller also said Apple has no plans to allow its operating
  system to run on non-Apple hardware. "We will not allow running Mac
  OS X on anything other than an Apple Mac," he said. An Apple
  representative declined to comment Wednesday on the patent filing.
  Clearly, though, Apple is gearing up the intellectual property push
  around the Intel move.

  The company has reportedly been beefing up the technology that
  constrains the Intel versions of Mac OS X to run only on authorized
  machines, to this point a set of test Macs given to developers. The
  company has also applied for a trademark on Rosetta, its technology
  for running existing Mac programs on the Intel chips.

  Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>