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Yay, No More NDA

By The Angry Drunk

Actually, that’s not quite true; but Apple did put up announcement on the iPhone developer site promising to release a new NDA shortly that would significantly lift the restrictions on iPhone developers. The full text is:

We have decided to drop the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for released iPhone software.

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.

Thanks to everyone who provided us constructive feedback on this matter.

Now, let us be clear here. No one has publicly seen the new NDA; but my read of the announcement is that unreleased iPhone OS software and features will still be NDA while released features are clear. In other words; this is exactly the same as the NDA that covers OSX desktop development.

Now I want to take a look at the bigger picture here. If you take this announcement, in combination with the earlier announcement of changes to the App Store customer review process (mainly that reviewers must have, at least, downloaded the application), I think that a pattern is emerging. I’ve held all along, although I haven’t blogged extensively about it, that the various iPhone development issues (reviews, NDA, app acceptance/rejection) were not indicative of any sort of grand plan on Apple’s part; but were instead a collection of bad decisions being made at multiple levels in the organization. My hunch is, what we’re seeing now is the adults waking up and getting everyones’ act together.

All I can say is, “about time, the whining was giving me a headache.”

October 1st, 2008 | Keywords: , | View Comments - (Comments are closed)


  • http://www.the-wabe.com/ Rob

    Thank you for pointing out that the new NDA pretty much mirrors the NDA of unreleased MacOS X previews. Of course, some people won’t stop bitching until Steve Jobs comes to their house to personally fellate them.

  • http://www.the-wabe.com/ Rob

    Thank you for pointing out that the new NDA pretty much mirrors the NDA of unreleased MacOS X previews. Of course, some people won’t stop bitching until Steve Jobs comes to their house to personally fellate them.

  • http://www.theangrydrunk.com The Angry Drunk

    @Rob:
    Nah, Steve could personally deliver a blow job to each and every developer and you’d still get a good ten percent complaining that he uses too much teeth.

  • http://www.theangrydrunk.com The Angry Drunk

    @Rob:
    Nah, Steve could personally deliver a blow job to each and every developer and you’d still get a good ten percent complaining that he uses too much teeth.

  • bkharmony

    Developers! Developers! Deve-

    Sorry.

  • bkharmony

    Developers! Developers! Deve-

    Sorry.

  • http://unlogica.com Blain

    I’m secretly hoping Apple takes iPhone dev more like what they do with MacOS X. If you want to fiddle with the simulator, go at it for free. If you want to actually play and ship for currently shipping iPhone OS, it’s $99. If you’re actually serious, and want to get the stuff that actually demands a proper NDA, the unreleased stuff, it’s time to pony up for a Premier or Select membership, which would then cover both MacOS and iPhone (And the developer hardware discount’s good, too). It’d separate the men from the boys, and let those serious about it a faster track than flashlight app devs.

    Combine that with actually publishing and adhering to the double-super-secret allow/reject rules, and things will be much better.

  • http://unlogica.com Blain

    I’m secretly hoping Apple takes iPhone dev more like what they do with MacOS X. If you want to fiddle with the simulator, go at it for free. If you want to actually play and ship for currently shipping iPhone OS, it’s $99. If you’re actually serious, and want to get the stuff that actually demands a proper NDA, the unreleased stuff, it’s time to pony up for a Premier or Select membership, which would then cover both MacOS and iPhone (And the developer hardware discount’s good, too). It’d separate the men from the boys, and let those serious about it a faster track than flashlight app devs.

    Combine that with actually publishing and adhering to the double-super-secret allow/reject rules, and things will be much better.

  • http://diskgrinder.blogspot.com diskgrinder

    Fair play there, Mr. Angry and Mr. Jobs. Thanks for pointing out the fact that, hey, we can all make bad decisions sometimes. As in, “we just changed the game for mobile here, and guess what? We’re making the rules up as we go along.”

    That’s the way it is. Does anyone think that soccer was invented on day one and was perfect in every regard just then? No. The first rules of association football included the caveat that players of a higher social standing could kick the cock off working class oiks with impunity. (Actually that rule still exists)

  • http://diskgrinder.blogspot.com diskgrinder

    Fair play there, Mr. Angry and Mr. Jobs. Thanks for pointing out the fact that, hey, we can all make bad decisions sometimes. As in, “we just changed the game for mobile here, and guess what? We’re making the rules up as we go along.”

    That’s the way it is. Does anyone think that soccer was invented on day one and was perfect in every regard just then? No. The first rules of association football included the caveat that players of a higher social standing could kick the cock off working class oiks with impunity. (Actually that rule still exists)

  • http://diskgrinder.blogspot.com diskgrinder

    (I am agreeing with you bay the way)

  • http://diskgrinder.blogspot.com diskgrinder

    (I am agreeing with you bay the way)

  • http://ripragged.blogspot.com Anonymous

    The NDA is gone. I know this is a big fat hairy deal because I read it on the internet.

    Can somebody tell me what, exactly, changes? Also, if you wouldn’t mind, tell me in clear, logical terms why we do daylight savings time.

    Thank you. (I’ll be at the same end of the bar tomorrow.)

  • http://rip-ragged.com/dross Rip Ragged

    The NDA is gone. I know this is a big fat hairy deal because I read it on the internet.

    Can somebody tell me what, exactly, changes? Also, if you wouldn’t mind, tell me in clear, logical terms why we do daylight savings time.

    Thank you. (I’ll be at the same end of the bar tomorrow.)

  • http://unlogica.com Blain

    “Can somebody tell me what, exactly, changes?”

    The real big win is that developers can share tips and tricks on how to make things work. Half the iPhone dev comments on Twitter were, “How do I do this? Fucking NDA!” The other half were, “I could tell you how to do this, but Fucking NDA!” Hopefully, this will also mean better apps at the low end as those with Mac experience devs can show ex-Windows or Java devs the way of the Cocoa.

    As for Daylight Savings, not a clue. But I also blame the NDA for that.

  • http://unlogica.com Blain

    “Can somebody tell me what, exactly, changes?”

    The real big win is that developers can share tips and tricks on how to make things work. Half the iPhone dev comments on Twitter were, “How do I do this? Fucking NDA!” The other half were, “I could tell you how to do this, but Fucking NDA!” Hopefully, this will also mean better apps at the low end as those with Mac experience devs can show ex-Windows or Java devs the way of the Cocoa.

    As for Daylight Savings, not a clue. But I also blame the NDA for that.

  • Phil

    Good news!

    You may get to dance on the grave of Circuit City. After closing Answer City and embracing DIVX it has been all downhill for them.

    Phil T.

    Fmr AC Main Queue Team Lead

    http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2008/10/06/kiss-these-retailers-goodbye.aspx

  • Phil

    Good news!

    You may get to dance on the grave of Circuit City. After closing Answer City and embracing DIVX it has been all downhill for them.

    Phil T.

    Fmr AC Main Queue Team Lead

    http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2008/10/06/kiss-these-retailers-goodbye.aspx

  • http://jtechcommunications.com Josh Reynolds

    Darby-

    Please pause your drinking long enough to write us something entertaining.

  • http://jtechcommunications.com Josh Reynolds

    Darby-

    Please pause your drinking long enough to write us something entertaining.

  • http://diskgrinder.blogspot.com diskgrinder

    @Josh Reynolds: I found it entertaining. You didn’t. So that was the royal we, then?

  • http://diskgrinder.blogspot.com diskgrinder

    @Josh Reynolds: I found it entertaining. You didn’t. So that was the royal we, then?

  • Josh Reynolds

    Oh I found it entertaining too… I just want more ;)

  • Josh Reynolds

    Oh I found it entertaining too… I just want more ;)

  • http://diskgrinder.blogspot.com diskgrinder

    @Josh Reynolds: fair play, Josh

  • http://diskgrinder.blogspot.com diskgrinder

    @Josh Reynolds: fair play, Josh

  • http://ripragged.blogspot.com Anonymous

    Darby,

    Please keep drinking long enough to hold forth on Windows 7, now due sometime late next year.

    There’s no doubt it will suck, but a true geek, drunk, should discuss it.

  • http://rip-ragged.com/dross Rip Ragged

    Darby,

    Please keep drinking long enough to hold forth on Windows 7, now due sometime late next year.

    There’s no doubt it will suck, but a true geek, drunk, should discuss it.

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