An open source project designed to bring universal copy-and-paste support to the iPhone handset may have hit a wall due to security-related changes being implemented in the upcoming version of the iPhone firmware.

According to AppleInsider, the project, known as "OpenClip", was conceived by student developer Zac White earlier this month after an Apple executive remarked that copy-and-paste functionality for the iPhone remained a relatively low priority, in spite of user comments for the function.

White's OpenClip project sought to create a framework which developers could use as a means of implementing the Cocoa-based NSPasteboard functionality into their applications without violating the terms of Apple's iPhone Software Development Kit.

The project's framework made it easy for developers to utilize a shared space on the iPhone, thereby allowing any application which used the framework to read and write data from the common area, thus allowing for the long-sought-after copy-and-paste feature to work.

For a demo of the program in action, take a gander at this video courtesy of GeekBrief.tv:

Despite the setback, developers of nearly a dozen applications have vouched support for the framework and future versions of applications Twittelator, MobileChat and MagicPad were listed as programs that would eventually see support for the unofficial copy-and-paste framework, though not if it runs counter to Apple's plans to plug perceived security holes in the iPhone's operating system.

On Friday, White updated the OpenClip website, noting that changes discovered in beta 4 of the upcoming iPhone Software 2.1 break his copy-and-paste concept because the new software no longer allows apps to access to the common storage area of other apps.

Despite the changes, White argued that though Apple is killing the concept behind the current OpenClip, that doesn't mean we can't change the concept." His new proposals include a share clipboard that could be stored in an Address Book card or on a remote server.

"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. I'm not too cracked up about that, but I would be interested to know what users think of that," he wrote. "The network solution is impossible for Apple to shut down, but it is no easy task."

Stay tuned for more news as this story develops and let us know what you think over in the comments or forums.