Adobe Plans To Sue Apple

ITWorld is reporting that the Apple-Adobe standoff is going to get uglier. According to their sources, Adobe will be suing Apple in the next few weeks for banning applications that are built with cross-compiler programs such as Adobe’s Flash-to-iPhone packaged in its Flash Professional CS5, which was released earlier in the week.

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols of ITWorld wrote:

Usually I write about security here, but Apple's iron-bound determination to keep Adobe Flash out of any iWhatever device is about to blow up in Apple's face. Sources close to Adobe tell me that Adobe will be suing Apple within a few weeks.

It was bad enough when Apple said, in effect, that Adobe Flash wasn't good enough to be allowed on the iPad. But the final straw was when Apple changed its iPhone SDK (software development kit) license so that developers may not submit programs to Apple that use cross-platform compilers.

Adobe has been relatively quiet on the whole issue. The spokesperson had this to say about changes in the SDK agreement in iPhone OS 4 last week:

"We are aware of the new SDK language and are looking into it. We continue to develop our Packager for iPhone OS technology, which we plan to debut in Flash CS5."

Adobe released Flash Professional CS5 on April 12, however Lee Brimelow, a platform evangelist for Adobe has lashed out at Apple calling the timing of the announcement deliberate. Based on Steve Job’s response to the complaints about Apple’s decision to ban apps built with cross compiler programs, it seems to be clear that Apple doesn’t want a “meta-platform” such as Adobe’s Flash or .NET (through MonoTouch) to establish a de facto standard software platform on top of Cocoa Touch and other mobile platforms such as Android, Windows Phone 7, etc. All of which would reduce the importance of Apple’s iPhone platform from a developer’s point of view. It makes sense from Apple’s point of view.

iPhone is Apple’s platform and it has the right to protect it’s interests. However, the iPhone platform is not a monopoly, users and developers still have the option to go to other smartphone platforms such as Android, Blackberry where Flash will be supported. Adobe can hurt Apple by making flash run better and faster on other smartphone platforms so other users flock to them.

We aren’t sure exactly what basis Adobe plans to sue Apple on as of yet but stay tuned for more info by following us on Twitter, and subscribing to our RSS feed.