Apple says Epic lawsuit shouldn’t reshape App Store rules for all developers
Key takeaways
- In Apple s seemingly never-ending lawsuit with Fortnite maker Epic Games over App Store commissions, the i Phone maker is once again fighting a court s ruling.
- In the same document, Apple also argues against the Ninth Circuit s civil contempt order over Apple s compliance with the injunction.
- The Ninth Circuit said that charging fees of 27% on external payments defeated the purpose of allowing them which, well, it did.
In Apple s seemingly never-ending lawsuit with Fortnite maker Epic Games over App Store commissions, the i Phone maker is once again fighting a court s ruling. Its latest tactic? Saying that Epic Games beef with Apple over its fee structure shouldn t lead to an injunction that applies to all developers that publish on the U.S. App Store, including other tech giants like Microsoft and Spotify, which weren t a part of this particular litigation.
Epic never brought a class action and never attempted to show that enjoining Apple’s conduct against all other developers—like Microsoft or Spotify, who have nothing to do with Epic—was somehow necessary to provide relief to Epic, reads Apple s new petition, which asks the U.S. Supreme Court to review the lower court ruling.
In the same document, Apple also argues against the Ninth Circuit s civil contempt order over Apple s compliance with the injunction. The court had ruled that Apple must give developers the right to include links in their apps — links that could direct users to alternative payment options outside of Apple s own system — if they chose to do so. Apple did permit this as required, but charged fees on those outside purchases, leading to the contempt order.