Apple’s Secret iPhone Dev Agreement Revealed
Apple is frighteningly strict with its app developers.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has acquired Apple's secretive iPhone developer agreement, spelling out an interesting insight into what the company demands of its app creators. The 28-page document can be found here in PDF format, recently provided by NASA over the Moon Lander app for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. The EFF used the Freedom of Information Act to ask NASA for the copy-- NASA responded with the Rev. 3-17-09 version of the agreement.
Some of the requirements aren't that surprising. For starters, Apple has placed a ban on public statements regarding the agreement. Developers who sign the contract cannot reveal anything within the document. Additionally, all apps developed using Apple's SDK can only be distributed through the App Store. This means any rejected app cannot appear on any other markets like Cydia or Rock Your Phone.
Other Apple restrictions include a ban of SDK or iPhone OS reverse engineering, and a ban on "tinkering" with any Apple software or technology. The agreement also states that Apple will never be liable to any developer for more than $50 in damages, and that Apple has the right to "revoke the digital certificate of any of Your Applications at any time."
The EFF spelled it out perfectly however: all your apps are belong to Apple. That's true whether the app is approved or rejected.
"Overall, the Agreement is a very one-sided contract, favoring Apple at every turn," said EFF's Fred von Lohmann. "How can Apple get away with it? Because it is the sole gateway to the more than 40 million iPhones that have been sold. In other words, it's only because Apple still "owns" the customer, long after each iPhone (and soon, iPad) is sold, that it is able to push these contractual terms on the entire universe of software developers for the platform."
And just think, the iPad launches next month.
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wow, if i were a programmer, i would hate to put up with that. i would also hate the remote possibility of Apple rejecting my app and distributing it anyway because they own it.
IMO, don't feel any pity for the programmers because it was their choice and they are the ones that weighed the decision and put their signature on the paper.
let the apple hate continue...
@cheepstuff
From what I read, if Apple rejects your app, they don't own it, you just simply cannot distribute it because it was made using Apple's SDK. If you were to recreate the same app without using the SDK provided by Apple, it is completely legal and not owned by Apple.
Again, just my interpretation, but I think you may have misread.
F apple
damn now i know why my "tequila shooters challenge" featuring steve jobs as the final boss app was rejected...
I'm really glad I got an Android phone now and never looked into playing with the Apple SDK like I did with the Android SDK.
I hate how Apple is so strict when their OS is based off of freeware. It really grinds my gears. =\
The logical conclusion is simple:
Never ever buy any product with the Apple logo on it.
This is why Apple sucks & why so many hate them. Can you imagine what the world would be like if THEY had a 90% market share of world's PCs? Thank God for Micro$oft!
And people wonder why I refuse to buy an iPhone...
And people trash me for calling them "Apple Almighty." How nice it is to be vindicated by Apple Almighty itself.
OMG. would you idiot apple haters please change the record! ever wonder why apple owners dont hate on the pc owners and their sheep-like mentality? we dont f*cking care about you or your Micro$oft problems!! when you buy apple you are buying the "bentley". it isnt the fastest, it isnt the most powerful. you are getting high end product with exceptional look and feel, coupled with a fantastic user experience. this site used to be about hardware, now it is "how many ways can we bash apple". time to find a less biased site...