After numerous protests from the developer community, Apple has decided to drop its NDA attached to the applications that were already released to the AppStore.

In a notice posted on its website, Apple explained that the NDA was intended to be “just another layer of protection”, so “others don’t steal” the Apple’s inventions and innovations that are included in the iPhone and its software.

Acknowledging that the NDA has stirred up a passionate debate amongst the developers, Apple said that: “…we are dropping it for released software”.

The Cupertino-based company said that the developers will receive “a new agreement without an NDA covering released software within a week or so.”

The unreleased software and features will remain under NDA until they are released, Apple warned.

However, the company has still to address another issue raised by the developers: the guidelines for what is permitted in the App Store.

Released in July this year, AppStore allows third party developers to post their applications for iPhone and iPod Touch. Nowever, the applications should be approved by Apple technicians. Developers can charge up to $1,000 per download, with 30 per cent of the fee going to Apple.

Apple’s move could be motivated by the upcoming release of Google’s and T-Mobile’s G1, which is set to be launched this month along with Android Market, a virtual store similar with AppStore.

In August, Steve Jobs said that 60 million applications were sold through AppStore in just one month.