Topline
Apple and Epic Games are heading back to court next month after the Fortnite maker accused the tech giant of a bad-faith attempt to open up App Store payments, according to a court order issued Tuesday, the latest chapter in a bitter legal feud that could reshape life online and have major implications for app developers.
Key Facts
Epic had asked U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to hold the iPhone maker in civil contempt for violating her 2021 injunction ordering it to allow developers more freedom to link to non-Apple payment methods inside the company’s app ecosystem.
After reviewing documents and arguments from both parties, Rogers said she had reached a preliminary conclusion that Apple’s behavior, when “viewed holistically,” appeared to flout the ruling to open up App Store payments.
“Big news in the Epic v Apple anti-steering injunction,” Epic Games’ founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, linking to a court order from Rogers in Oakland, California.
“Apple’s practice changes undermine the spirit of the injunction by limiting competition, impeding the free flow of information, and constraining user choice,” Rogers said, ordering an evidentiary hearing to explore the issue further.
The hearing will take place on Wednesday, May 8, with a further two days scheduled on May 10 and May 17 if proceedings are not resolved.
Apple did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment but has previously denied violating the court order and accused Epic of trying to “micromanage” its business operations to increase its own profits.
Key Background
Rogers’ order is the latest step in a protracted and bitter legal dispute between the two tech companies. The long running saga between one of the world’s largest companies and one of the world’s most successful gaming firms has been likened to a showdown of David vs. Goliath and one of several key antitrust battles unfolding in the tech sector (simultaneously, Epic has also been taking on another industry Goliath, Google). Epic filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in 2020 accusing the tech giant of illegal, anti-competitive behavior by forcing consumers to get apps and buy content through its App Store and then charging 30% commission for in-app purchases. Epic contends the commission means the company could save money by allowing users to pay with methods outside of Apple’s ecosystem. While Rogers rejected this argument in a landmark case in 2021, she issued an injunction requiring Apple to allow app developers to link consumers to alternative ways to pay. To comply with the order, Apple has updated its App Store policy to allow external payment methods, though it will still take a 27% cut of all transactions for large developers and 12% for small developers. Epic’s Sweeney has slammed what he calls Apple’s “bad-faith” effort at complying with the order and Epic argues the fees — down from 30% and 15%, respectively — are “essentially the same” as those using Apple’s system.
News Peg
The Supreme Court in January declined to hear Apple’s appeal on the lower court’s ruling requiring changes to its policies. The high court also turned down Epic’s appeal that Apple’s policies did not violate antitrust laws. Sweeney called it “a sad outcome for all developers.”
