The legal noose around iPhone developers’ necks

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Programmers everywhere cheered when Apple issued a software developer kit so they could make games, productivity programs and other applications for the iPhone. Many didn’t blink when they downloaded the kit for free, quickly agreeing to the nondisclosure agreement that came with the it. They expected Apple, as most companies do once they launch products, would soon lift the restrictions that barred them from discussing the iPhone’s coding.

But Apple hasn’t lifted the NDA, and, as we explain in this story, that’s causing headaches for book publishers, conference organizers, bloggers and software developers who want to be able to talk publicly about the iPhone’s developer tools and help each other. Manning is among the publishers that have had to disappoint customers eager for iPhone-related books. Someone has organized an online petition asking Apple to lift the NDA. Pragmatic Programmers, a consultancy firm and publisher, published an open letter on its website asking Apple to lift the NDA.

The concern is that the NDA is causing harm, says Ars Technica, because the quality of programs suffers when people can’t get help.

Of course, there are ways around it. Pay a friend $1 to make her your subcontractor, which might be following the letter but not the spirit of the NDA. WordPress, the blogging software organization, has published its iPhone application open source, meaning anyone can contribute to the development. In the process, WordPress is exposing the software code -- and talking about it.

So far, Apple hasn’t complained.

-- Michelle Quinn