Ahead of WWDC 2015, Apple’s lawyers have demanded AltConf organizers refrain from streaming or displaying any video or display any video content from WWDC. As a result, the conference has decided to cancel its annual viewing of the Keynote and State of the Union stream on Monday that has been a staple of the event for the past few years.
In a letter to AltConf, Apple’s lawyers maintain that the company has the right to “exercises control over not only the content of its messaging, but also the manner in which those messages are packaged, distributed and delivered,” and that the AltConf’s big party of developers watching the keynote together “would strip Apple of exclusive control over one of the most anticipated events of the year, and could deprive Apple of potential revenue generated from its exclusive rights.”
Honestly, this is a dick move by Apple. Banning a gathering of developers that love your platform from meeting together and celebrating the WWDC keynote is absolutely ridiculous. It could just as well apply to us here at the Cult of Mac offices or any other large group of the Apple faithful.
Apple limits the number of WWDC invites to just 5,000 per year and there’s just absolutely no way everyone who wants to attend can, even if they have the funds to pay for a ticket and transportation. AltConf is the next best thing, giving iOS and OS X developers the opportunity to meet face to face and discuss coding tips and issues. If anything, Apple embrace AltConf. Microsft and Google don’t have a developer fanbase passionate enough to throw AltBuild and AltIO conferences.
Fortunately the show will go on at AltConf, albeit without a keynote session in the Viewing Room. Organizers say they’re still doing everything in their power to come to an agreement with Apple by using their direct contacts and hold out hope that Apple will basically stop being a bunch of jerks, because how is watching it in my living room any different than watching it with my friends?
