Apple achieved an almost complete victory on Monday in the long litigation promoted by the video game developer Epic Games, owner of the popular Fortnite, which accuses the technology company of violating US antitrust laws for its control over the App Store.
The case originated in 2020, when Epic sued Apple for anti-competitive practices after that the manufacturer of the iPhone removed its game from the App Store in retaliation for offering, against its rules, a system to avoid the commission that the digital store charges developers.
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After a trial, in 2021, a federal judge rejected that Apple had a monopoly on the App Store, upheld the controversial 30% commission it charges developers and backed its right to offer only that app as a store in their products, among other things.
Epic appealed the ruling and, this Monday, April 24, the appeals court positioned itself mostly in favor of Apple, although it considered that it violates California regulations by prohibit developers from redirecting their customers to payment systems outside of the App Store in order to avoid the 30% commission.
“This Monday’s decision reaffirms Apple’s resounding victory in this case, with nine of the 10 appeals decided in Apple’s favor,” the company told The New York Times, suggesting that it could appeal the only point on which it did not they have proved right.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney opined on Twitter that Apple “has prevailed” in the appeals court, but said it was because Epic had not made its case properly.
Likewise, Sweeney considered it a “positive decision” that Apple “frees up” developers so that they can transact with their customers on the web, avoiding the App Store, adding that it is “working on the next steps.”
According to CNBC, a court has yet to decide whether Apple will be forced to allow links in its App Store. that lead to third-party payment systems, and whether Epic Games will have to compensate Apple for litigation costs.
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