Adobe “Ready To Sue Apple” Over Flash

Adobe Systems is reportedly considering suing Apple, over changes to the iPhone software development kit, in a move that will do little to change Steve Jobs’ opinion about Adobe’s software.

Steve Jobs Not A Flash Fan

It is no secret that Steve Jobs does not like Adobe’s Flash technology, so much so that he doesn’t allow Apple devices like the iPad to run it, despite it being something of a de-facto standard on the web. Indeed, a report from Valleywag back in February said that Jobs had reportedly dismissed Flash as buggy, a “CPU hog,” an entry way for security issues and a technology that’s seen its day,” whilst he was speaking to staff at the Wall Street Journal.

“We don’t spend a lot of energy on old technology,” Jobs reportedly told the Journal.

But Adobe’s ire has reportedly been raised by a recent Apple move. Apple has changed the iPhone SDK (software development kit) licence so that software developers may not submit programs to Apple that use cross-platform compilers. This would prevent developers using the Flash-to-iPhone compiler in Adobe’s upcoming Flash Professional CS5 release.

A source close to Adobe apparently told the tech website IT World, that Adobe would therefore be suing Apple within a few weeks.

Adobe Frustration?

Adobe has not made any official comment of course, but there is little doubting the increasing frustration from the Adobe camp. This is evidenced by Lee Brimelow, an Adobe platform evangelist, who wrote the following blunt advice for Apple on his personal website, The Flash Blog.

“Speaking purely for myself, I would look to make it clear what is going through my mind at the moment. Go screw yourself Apple.”

It should be pointed out that Brimelow’s site now features a disclaimer that his opinions are his own and not the official views of the company, and indeed some of his comments were removed at the request of Adobe.

Apple is also tied up in an increasingly bitter lawsuit with Nokia, which back in October filed a suit in a US district court alleging that Apple’s iPhone infringes on 10 Nokia patents – a scenario that Reuters said could cost Apple up to $1 billion ($649 million) .

Apple responded with its own lawsuit in December, alleging that Nokia infringed on 13 Apple patents. Both companies have filed additional allegations, as well as filing additionally complaints with the International Trade Commission.