Apple Officially Kills iPhone NDA, Launches Developer Forums

A few weeks ago, Apple announced that it was dropping the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for all released versions of Apple's iPhone Software, stating:

"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. 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 now officially released the new agreement, which removes the confidentiality clause and makes several other changes. Theoretically, this means that developers can now truly feel free to discuss the iPhone APIs, applications can be open-sourced, and more.

As previously reported, users had already started distributing free iPhone SDK App source code.

The company has also announced an iPhone developer-to-developer forum, which includes its own set of agreements. Developers tell iPhone Atlas that the agreement states, among other stipulations:

"Apple may provide you with access to confidential forums within the Apple Developer Forums for discussion of certain Apple Confidential Information, such as the discussion of pre-release software. For purposes of such confidential forums, Apple is providing a limited exception to your iPhone Developer Agreement(s) by allowing you to discuss Apple Confidential Information that you have obtained from Apple under such agreement(s) with other Participants who are also on such confidential forums, but only within these confidential forums. Except for the limited purpose of discussions with other Participants within these confidential forums, you acknowledge and agree that this Agreement does not grant you the right to copy, reproduce, publish, blog, disclose, transmit, or otherwise disseminate any Apple Confidential Information."

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