The News: U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Appeals From Apple as well Epic In Antitrust Case -
The 16th of January, on the 16th of January The U.S. Supreme Court denied requests to hear appeals from both Apple and Epic Games regarding the antitrust lawsuit Epic has filed with Apple for 2020. Reuters reported.
In 2021, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected most of Epic's allegations against Apple however, she ruled against Epic's policy against developers sending customers out of Apple's systems to make digital purchases. In 2023 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed with much of Judge Rogers' 2021 decision.
What is the way Apple Responds
It was reported that the Associated Press reported that this is a release of the order, which gives developers greater freedom to utilize different payment methods. Apple was also able to file court documents late on January 16 that outline its plans to comply with the court order while still preserving most of the fees.
AP continued that Apple's Tuesday court filing indicates that they plan to:
- Developers are allowed to make use of hyperlinks that point to other websites, but Apple will still charge 12%-27 percent commission on payment through links to other websites.
- Be sure to warn consumers with the "scare screen" in the event that they click an advertisement that takes users to an alternative payment method, and inform them that Apple does not have any responsibility for those purchases regarding security or privacy.
- Institute a pre-approval process that AP describes as "potentially complicated" prior to allowing externally-pointing links or buttons to appear in iPhone or iPad apps, citing Apple's "effort to limit fraud, scams, and confusion."
What Epic Games is Reacting
AP noted that the document detailing the above-mentioned plans "provoked claims that Apple has acted in a fraudulent manner and has set the stage for more dispute over legal issues," apparently quoting Epic Games' chief executive Tim Sweeney's X (formerly called Twitter) tweet that stated "Apple has filed a 'compliance' in bad faith program to obtain the District Court's order."
Sweeney followed up with an extensive list of "glaring issues we've discovered in the past," concluding with " Epic will challenge Apple's bad-faith compliance plan in District Court" and uploading an image of the aforementioned "scare display" Apple has included in its Developer Support update regarding external purchase links.
The previous day, Sweeney had posted mixed opinions, noting it was "unpleasant" that the Supreme Court choosing not to take appeals on this matter was "A tragic outcome for all developers" but pointing out that " developers can begin exercising their court-established right to notify US consumers about lower prices when they shop online."
More Epic Games v. Apple Case Developments
On the 17th of Jan, Reuters reported that Apple has also requested the court on Tuesday for Epic Games pay them over $73 million in legal fees as well as other expenses. Reuters states that Apple's request is based on "a lower court's ruling in which it was found that Epic Games violated a developer agreement they signed in 2010," in which "Epic agreed to cover losses, legal fees, as well as other expenses for any violations."