Wed, September 27, 2023
By Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) - Epic Games on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the antitrust case it brought against Apple, hoping to reverse lower court rulings that have found the iPhone maker has not violated antitrust laws.
"Fortnite" owner Epic has waged a multi-year legal battle against Apple alleging its App Store, where developers pay commissions of up to 30% on in-app purchases, violates U.S. antitrust laws. In 2021, a trial court ruled Apple's App Store does not break antitrust laws.
But the lower court said a provision that prevents developers from providing users with a link to other third-party payment methods violated a California unfair competition law. Apple was ordered to change that practice, but those orders have been on hold while the appeal plays out.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's ruling, and the U.S. Supreme Court has already refused an emergency bid by Epic to enact the lower court ruling about changing App Store rules, saying they must remain on hold.
Epic's filing on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify several complex areas of antitrust law.
The trial court found Apple's practices do in fact reduce competition in the software market, but found in favor of Apple's arguments that those anticompetitive effects are offset by its efforts to keep iPhones secure.
Epic has argued the trial court performed that legal balancing test incorrectly.
Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Epic Games asks Supreme Court to reconsider Apple antitrust ruling
The company previously attempted to force Apple to change its App Store payment practices.
Malak Saleh
·Reporter
Wed, September 27, 2023
Epic Games has asked the US Supreme Court to review a ruling from 2021 that cleared Apple of violating antitrust laws, according to a Bloomberg report. The Fortnite maker previously claimed that Apple violated California's Unfair Competition law, stating that the App Store prohibits developers from directing users to other third-party payment systems. The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2021 court’s decision back in April, finding that Apple’s practices had “a substantial anticompetitive effect that harms consumers,” but didn’t meet the bar for an antitrust case.
Should Epic win its appeal, Apple could stand to lose a substantial source of revenue. The company takes a cut of all purchases made through its App Store, which can run as high as 30 percent. Epic Games has been the loudest voice protesting this cut, though other companies like Spotify and Tile are also part of the Coalition for App Fairness, which has been pressuring Apple to change its policies. Outside of the US, Epic and its peers have had more success in changing the status quo: Authorities in both South Korea and the Netherlands have ruled that Apple must allow third-party payments, though Apple is still taking a considerable cut as a “transaction fee.” Apple is also rumored to be preparing support for third-party app stores in response to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.
Bloomberg says the Supreme Court could decide if it will take up the case before the end of the year. In the meantime, Fortnite is still not available on the App Store. It’s been absent since August 2020, when Apple banned the game after Epic added alternative payment methods to bypass the App Store cut.
Epic is also in a legal battle with Google for similar practices. Both Epic and the Match Group, which operates dating apps like Hinge and Tinder, are alleging that Google abuses its control of Android app distribution through the Play Store by establishing unfair fees and requirements for in-app purchases. That trial is supposed to kick off in the next few weeks.
The company previously attempted to force Apple to change its App Store payment practices.
Malak Saleh
·Reporter
Wed, September 27, 2023
Epic Games has asked the US Supreme Court to review a ruling from 2021 that cleared Apple of violating antitrust laws, according to a Bloomberg report. The Fortnite maker previously claimed that Apple violated California's Unfair Competition law, stating that the App Store prohibits developers from directing users to other third-party payment systems. The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2021 court’s decision back in April, finding that Apple’s practices had “a substantial anticompetitive effect that harms consumers,” but didn’t meet the bar for an antitrust case.
Should Epic win its appeal, Apple could stand to lose a substantial source of revenue. The company takes a cut of all purchases made through its App Store, which can run as high as 30 percent. Epic Games has been the loudest voice protesting this cut, though other companies like Spotify and Tile are also part of the Coalition for App Fairness, which has been pressuring Apple to change its policies. Outside of the US, Epic and its peers have had more success in changing the status quo: Authorities in both South Korea and the Netherlands have ruled that Apple must allow third-party payments, though Apple is still taking a considerable cut as a “transaction fee.” Apple is also rumored to be preparing support for third-party app stores in response to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.
Bloomberg says the Supreme Court could decide if it will take up the case before the end of the year. In the meantime, Fortnite is still not available on the App Store. It’s been absent since August 2020, when Apple banned the game after Epic added alternative payment methods to bypass the App Store cut.
Epic is also in a legal battle with Google for similar practices. Both Epic and the Match Group, which operates dating apps like Hinge and Tinder, are alleging that Google abuses its control of Android app distribution through the Play Store by establishing unfair fees and requirements for in-app purchases. That trial is supposed to kick off in the next few weeks.
Epic asks the Supreme Court to weigh in on its beef with Apple
Taylor Hatmaker
Wed, September 27, 2023
We haven't heard the last of Epic's crusade against Apple over the iPhone maker's App Store fees.
Epic Games filed a cert petition with the Supreme Court on Wednesday, setting things in motion for the highest court in the land to reexamine if Apple's software business violates federal antitrust laws.
We'll know in the coming months if the Supreme Court will select the case, which would reopen a protracted legal battle between the two companies that's wended its way through the courts for going on five years now. Apple will likely file a petition soon too, taking issue with a previous ruling that was partially sympathetic to Epic's complaints.
Epic Games, which makes Fortnite and runs its own software marketplace, the Epic Games Store, initially sued Apple back in 2020. That lawsuit came after Apple booted Fortnite from iOS — a controversy that Epic itself kicked off by purposefully breaking App Store rules by giving players a way to pay directly for Fortnite's in-game currency.
That workaround circumvented Apple's controversial fees, running afoul of the tech giant's guidelines in the process and kicking off Epic's vigorous campaign to rally developers against Apple's longstanding software practices.
Earlier this year, Apple largely won an appeals court fight with Epic stemming from the same complaints over the company's App Store policies. In an opinion issued in April, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld most of a previous decision issued by a federal judge in U.S District Court for the Northern District of California. That ruling denied most of Epic's argument that Apple violates federal antitrust laws by boxing out alternative software markets on iOS.
While the courts mostly landed on Apple's side, the federal judge did rule that Apple violated California’s Unfair Competition Law by restricting developers from telling consumers about alternative payment options — a sliver of a win for Epic. The appeals court affirmed that decision earlier this year.
With the ongoing legal fight now headed in the direction of the Supreme Court, Epic requested that developers be allowed to point iPhone users toward payment options beyond Apple's walled garden. That request was rejected by Justice Elena Kagan in August, meaning that Apple's existing rules will remain in place for now unless the Supreme Court decides not to weigh in after all.
View this document on Scribd
App Store payment rules won’t change as Apple’s battle with Epic Games heads to Supreme Court
Taylor Hatmaker
Wed, September 27, 2023
We haven't heard the last of Epic's crusade against Apple over the iPhone maker's App Store fees.
Epic Games filed a cert petition with the Supreme Court on Wednesday, setting things in motion for the highest court in the land to reexamine if Apple's software business violates federal antitrust laws.
We'll know in the coming months if the Supreme Court will select the case, which would reopen a protracted legal battle between the two companies that's wended its way through the courts for going on five years now. Apple will likely file a petition soon too, taking issue with a previous ruling that was partially sympathetic to Epic's complaints.
Epic Games, which makes Fortnite and runs its own software marketplace, the Epic Games Store, initially sued Apple back in 2020. That lawsuit came after Apple booted Fortnite from iOS — a controversy that Epic itself kicked off by purposefully breaking App Store rules by giving players a way to pay directly for Fortnite's in-game currency.
That workaround circumvented Apple's controversial fees, running afoul of the tech giant's guidelines in the process and kicking off Epic's vigorous campaign to rally developers against Apple's longstanding software practices.
Earlier this year, Apple largely won an appeals court fight with Epic stemming from the same complaints over the company's App Store policies. In an opinion issued in April, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld most of a previous decision issued by a federal judge in U.S District Court for the Northern District of California. That ruling denied most of Epic's argument that Apple violates federal antitrust laws by boxing out alternative software markets on iOS.
While the courts mostly landed on Apple's side, the federal judge did rule that Apple violated California’s Unfair Competition Law by restricting developers from telling consumers about alternative payment options — a sliver of a win for Epic. The appeals court affirmed that decision earlier this year.
With the ongoing legal fight now headed in the direction of the Supreme Court, Epic requested that developers be allowed to point iPhone users toward payment options beyond Apple's walled garden. That request was rejected by Justice Elena Kagan in August, meaning that Apple's existing rules will remain in place for now unless the Supreme Court decides not to weigh in after all.
View this document on Scribd
App Store payment rules won’t change as Apple’s battle with Epic Games heads to Supreme Court
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