Filed under: Rumors, Developer, App Store
Effin' NDA now applies to rejection letters, too
In response to the negative publicity surrounding some recent, high-profile rejections from the App Store, Apple is now reminding developers that the rejection notices themselves are covered under their non-disclosure agreements.
In what is probably a recursive black hole of logic waiting to swallow the Earth whole, we now know that messages to developers now contain the line "the information contained in this message is under non-disclosure" in all caps.
Not knowing the specific terms of the NDA (because I haven't signed an NDA with Apple), I can't personally say if those terms were in the contract to begin with. Knowing Apple's penchant for secrecy, they probably were, and they're just being a bit more forceful with their reminders.
[Via MacRumors.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Tim said 5:24PM on 9-23-2008
I've been defending Apple to a degree so far, thinking every small step, while anti-consumer, was logical, but this is too far. Apple is clearly drunk on power. I understand blocking stuff that may cause problems and things that violate the AT&T contract, but now it just seems arbitrary. If it stays like this, Apple deserves to have every iPhone jailbroken.
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effzehn said 5:30PM on 9-23-2008
Someone tell Apple to stop this farce IMMEDIATELY.
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Anonymous said 10:22PM on 9-23-2008
I think we ALL can tell Apple to stop...send an email message to any and all Apple feedback addresses, including sjobs@apple.com. Posting comments to online articles won't get Apple's attention, but direct contact will.
Kai Cherry said 5:35PM on 9-23-2008
Just wait. SOMEONE will post a comment here defending this.
Watch. Note who this is and choke in the stench they will surely leave behind.
-K
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dastranger said 5:45PM on 9-23-2008
Just read the MacRumor boards, there are 2 or 3 of them on there vehemently defending Apple right now. It truly boggles the mind.
Kai Cherry said 7:45PM on 9-23-2008
Yeah I've seen the pissing match going on over there.
It is almost heartbreaking.
punkassjim said 8:22PM on 9-23-2008
While I'm completely disgusted with Apple over this crap, I gotta admit: developers were absolutely DELUDING themselves if they thought their rejection letters were outside the NDA.
Alex Muller said 5:35PM on 9-23-2008
Absolutely ridiculous. A crazy move, and I hope sales drop because of it.
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sonicwind said 5:39PM on 9-23-2008
That seems incredibly inconsiderate and insecure of Apple to sensor the only information regarding what kinds of things can be rejected. The only reason for doing this would be to hide unreasonable rejections that would cause bad press.
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mitchell.flax said 5:42PM on 9-23-2008
I wonder what Apple is going to do about it - are they going to legally pursue developers who tell the world that the product they were trying to launch will no longer launch? Can developers tell their customers about their rejection from the App Store, or are we all to be left in limbo for eternity? And what's going to happen when a developer that Apple actually cares about and thinks is important gets excluded? Will they apply the same standard to, say, AOL for a version of AIM that doesn't pass muster as to Joe Developer? This hole gets deeper by the day.
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Slobi said 5:44PM on 9-23-2008
this whole thing is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. What crappy Windows couldn't do, what occasional problems with OS X didn't do, the Apple store/iPhone 5HIT will - I may never again buy a SINGLE APPLE product! Why? WHY? Because I have a built-in sense of fairness and a grown-up attitude that I do not like being treated like a cash machine. And that seems to be the modus operandi for Apple these days. No thank you Apple, if you're about to screw me, I will fight back. Jailbreak, here I come! I have fully gotten fed up by their cr4p!
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bobics said 7:05PM on 9-23-2008
Wow. Take a deep breath and don't take it so personally.
flokru said 5:44PM on 9-23-2008
This is ridiculous. Absolutely.
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Rob said 5:57PM on 9-23-2008
Hrm, good way to push me back into the J2ME development side... Or even Android....
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Kai Cherry said 7:50PM on 9-23-2008
How many times have I heard that today, heheh.
I wonder what the hit count on code.google.com/android looked like today, heheh.
Zombie Flanders said 6:15PM on 9-23-2008
Arbitrary and capricious! Boo!
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atuck said 7:03PM on 9-23-2008
Damn. If everyone disregarded the NDA at once, Apple would have to just live with it or shut down the program. We all know that they want their 30%.
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Scoo said 6:38PM on 9-23-2008
This foolishness has put a huge dent in my enthusiasm for developing iPhone apps. Apple will eventually relent, and claim it was their plan all along.
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fredg88 said 6:49PM on 9-23-2008
I don't have a problem with this. Apple is a private company and they can set up their NDAs how they want to. Nobody has to sign one or be a developer for the iPhone. I know if I had a business I'd set-up the NDAs to the specifications I need them to be.
If someone has a problem with any of this they're free to develop their apps for other platforms and/or purchase their tech products from companies other than apple.
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paperless said 6:50PM on 9-23-2008
And that's whats going to happen.