An appeals court mainly sided with Apple in a lawsuit filed by Epic Games about the rules of the App Store. The decision suggests that control of Apple on App Store and the fees you charge will not change significantly as a result of this ongoing legal challenge brought by Epic Games.
Apple celebrated the decision as a victory. “Today’s decision reaffirms the resounding victory of Apple in this case, having decided nine of the ten claims in favor of Applesaid a company spokesperson. “For the second time in two years, a federal court has ruled that Apple complies with state and federal antitrust laws.”
Apple firmly controls the App Storewhich is the only way to sell apps from iPhone to customers. Company employees review all updates before they go live and can reject entire apps, and the company charges up to 30% of all digital sales within apps from iPhone. The store remains a critical source of profit for the company, contributing to $78.1 billion of service revenue from Apple in fiscal year 2022.
App and game developers have been dissatisfied with the store’s rules and fees for years, and Epic Games claimed that it represented not only itself, but also the interests of the broader developer ecosystem by suing Apple for violating antitrust laws.
Epic Games sued Apple after the game company introduced its own payment system in Fortnitewho violated the rules of Apple and ultimately caused the company to be kicked out of the App Store. The case culminated in a multi-week trial two years ago in California, in which the CEO of AppleTim Cook, and the CEO of Epic GamesTim Sweeney, declared.
Monday’s decision in the Ninth Circuit Court upheld the decision which found primarily that Apple did not violate antitrust laws by banning competing app stores on iPhones.
Apple It mainly won the initial court battle, as the judge determined that it did not monopolize any markets. However, the manufacturer of iPhone lost a claim and had to allow developers to place links within their apps so users could make off-app purchases App Store.
The appeals court did not reverse that decision, which was related to California law, and is the only claim that Apple He says that it was not decided in his favor. Whether the company will be forced to allow links to external payments will be determined in possible future hearings.
Apple said in a statement that it was considering taking further action, which could include an appeal to the Supreme Court. Yeah Epic Games will help pay legal fees for Apple it will also be decided in a lower court. “Apple prevailed in the Ninth Circuit Court,” said the CEO of Epic Games, Sweeney, in tweets sent after the decision. “Although the court upheld the ruling that the restrictions on Apple have ‘a substantial anti-competitive effect that harms consumers,’ they found that we did not prove our case for the Sherman Act.” “Fortunately, the court’s positive decision rejecting the anti-targeting provisions of Apple allows iOS developers to send consumers to the web to do business directly there. We are working on the next steps,” Sweeney continued.
Via: CNBC
