Apple drops NDA for iPhone developers

Developers are now free to discuss software that has been released for the iPhone, after Apple dropped a controversial NDA requirement.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Apple has decided to end the nondisclosure agreement attached to software that has already been released for the iPhone, in the latest sign that it is starting to take developer concerns to heart.

The company put up a notice on the main Apple developer Web page that, effective immediately, says developers are released from the NDA regarding iPhone software that has already been released. The NDA was one of the most frustrating aspects of iPhone development in its first three official months, forbidding developers from discussing their software and throwing into legal limbo the status of programs such as iPhone development classes. (As evidence of developers' frustration over the NDA, there's even a dedicated Web site whose boldly proclaimed F-bomb of a name leaves no room for doubt on their state of mind.)

Apple's explanation for dropping the NDA follows:

We put the NDA in place because the iPhone OS includes many Apple inventions and innovations that we would like to protect, so that others don't steal our work. It has happened before. While we have filed for hundreds of patents on iPhone technology, the NDA added yet another level of protection. We put it in place as one more way to help protect the iPhone from being ripped off by others.

However, the NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone's success, so we are dropping it for released software. Developers will receive a new agreement without an NDA covering released software within a week or so. Please note that unreleased software and features will remain under NDA until they are released.

Apple has made subtle tweaks to the App Store this week in response to developer concerns, but this is by far the most sweeping change it has made to placate developers, who continue to flood the App Store with iPhone applications. The greatest source of frustration--the nebulous guidelines for what is permitted in the App Store, and what isn't--remains unaddressed as of this moment, but perhaps Apple's decision to drop the NDA means it has realized the extent of developer angst.

The launch of an open-source developer-friendly mobile operating system just last week probably didn't hurt.

[mmntech]

I think Apple finally realized how big of a PR nightmare it would have been if they continued with it. What puzzles me is why Apple is doing this to begin with. It's not like they're loosing money if you use an iPhone app that "overlaps" with an official Apple one. There's tons of third party applications that overlap with Apple software on their computers and they don't seem to have a problem with that. I'm just puzzled as to why the iPhone/iPod Touch are being treated differently. I just see no reason why the iPhone has to be a closed system.

[deftdrummer]

Mmntech: The iphone and ipod touch are both closed systems and have been since their inception. They are both bound by the same developer requirements and have a set of rules that bar developers that make applications which compete with Apple's own apps. I agree though, its not like they are losing money on these things, they will all only help to compound the hype around the iphone, which will in turn help to sell more phones for Apple. The most frustrating part for me is when I have been following a developer's blog that states they have submitted their application to Apple a month or so ago and still it is not posted on the app store, and is in limbo. This seems to happen with all the "killer" voice and data apps. What we are left with are novelty items and baby games for the iphone. It is such a shame, because the iphone is such a powerhouse it needs to be put to good use.

[timsaky]

Way to go Apple!

[ewelch]

It's not that simple. They don't bar apps that compete with Apple apps specifically. What they have done ( and so far only six apps have been barred out of thousands - a minor point whiners tend to avoid pointing out).

What Apple won't allow is when other apps screw up the way Apple apps work. Podcaster being the poster child for that. It screws up the feature in podcasts that keep track of where you stopped listening. With iTunes, it keeps track of that spot on all your devices. Podcaster broke that. If Podcaster had played nice with that, maybe Apple wouldn't have given them the heave-ho. And the developer seems more interested in complaining about it than fixing it.

Other developers have related stories of Apple notifying them of the same kind of thing. And they show that the note from Apple tells them how to fix it and encourages them to resubmit.

So time will tell if this is true, or if the whiners really have something to complain about.

[Nodack]

Apple hired this computer engineer guy to work for them once and after awhile he decided to take everything he had learned from APPL and apply it to his own new product he called Windows.

Forgive them if they aren't as trustworthy after that as they used to be.

[snorky22]

Now Apple has Eric Schmidt on the board of directors. The NDA should be targeted at HIM!

[Penguinisto]

Nice... NDA's are always a PITA for any project where you're the third-party dev.

BTW: to the commenter who said that Apple is a closed system? Well, not entirely. The core of OSX --Darwin-- is quite open-source: http://www.opensource.apple.com

[kboateng]

ewelch I highly doubt that only 6 Apps have been barred, out of the thousands released. That is literally impossible seeing as how there were low budget apps that people developed just for the sake of seeing how they would work on the phone and I'm sure they were not allowed. And as CNET reported in their ode to developers asking them to jump ship from the iphone to Android, they noted that it most of those rejected are way more than the ones allowed. Also if you watch that video above they do say that a lot of people received rejection letters so it couldn't have been just 6. Apple just wants to monopolize. And Nodack it is too late to cry about Windows now lol.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Apple dropped a turd...because they saw the writing on the wall with Android poised to kick their ass.