A few weeks ago we told you about how OpenClip's setup a system to bring copy and paste to the iPhone. While far from a perfect solution, it is a noteworthy attempt to deliver a basic, if not essential, feature to what's supposed to be the most advanced smartphone on the market. At least until Apple does so itself. Anyway, we've got a bit of bad news to report.

The beta of upcoming iPhone firmware update 2.1 breaks an important feature of the OpenClip framework, according a post by developer Zac White on the OpenClip site. While you can still copy and past data within a supported application, you can no longer do so between different applications.

Apps that use OpenClip will no longer be able to copy and paste between applications. However, applications can still utilize a persistent way to store data inside the application, meaning that copy and paste within the app will still work fine. And on top of that, apps that utilize only one form (either copy or paste) can disable interface elements when Apple axes OpenClip.

All might not be lost, however.

White speculates that they may be able to alter the way OpenClip works as a workaround. This could mean storing a shared clipboard in an Address Book card or maybe a remote server. While not ideal, these systems could work.

The address book version, would have to write a very weird looking address book card to your address book. It would probably get synced and it would show up on your Mac or PC or even MobileMe.

He is asking for input from users to see what they think of such an implementation. You can contact him through the OpenClip site.