Apple Requests Supreme Court Overturn Decision Favoring Epic in App Store Dispute
Apple Inc. has formally requested the US Supreme Court to reconsider a judge’s decision made two years ago, which has the potential to reduce the substantial revenue generated by its App Store. The ruling in question allows app developers to guide users towards alternative payment options.
Apple’s request to the Supreme Court on Thursday is the latest settlement in its battle with Epic Games Inc. over how the iPhone maker runs its app marketplace.
App Store revenue is lucrative for Apple, and developers are charged up to a 30 percent commission on the sale of digital goods and services — a fee that the maker of the popular game Fortnite is trying to avoid paying. Meanwhile, years of complaints from app developers and government scrutiny worldwide have already forced Apple to rewrite some of the rules that protect its dominance of the $160 billion app distribution market.
Apple’s request comes a day after Epic petitioned the Supreme Court to review a separate part of the ruling that found the App Store’s practices do not violate federal antitrust laws. Apple’s application could not immediately be confirmed in court documents.
According to its regular schedule, the Supreme Court could decide by the end of the year or the beginning of next year whether it will take one or both of the applications into consideration.
In a mixed ruling after a September 2021 trial in Oakland, California, a federal judge largely rejected Epic’s claims that Apple’s online marketplace practices violated federal law by blocking third-party app marketplaces on its operating system. But he also found that Apple violated California state law by preventing developers from providing consumers with information about alternative payment methods. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the trial judge’s decision in April.
Apple has made changes to how the App Store operates to address developer concerns after Epic sued the company in 2020. The dispute began when Apple kicked Fortnite from the App Store because Epic created a workaround to pay customers a 30% fee. in-app purchases.
Apple now allows developers to “direct” consumers in some situations to pay for subscription apps outside of their own system. This means that “reader apps” – which include apps and services for digital newspapers and magazines, books, audio streaming and video viewing – can direct users online with a button to sign out.
This resolved a core issue in Epic’s lawsuit against Apple, but Apple’s current policy does not apply to game apps. Epic’s software is not available on the App Store and Apple devices.
