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Latest News U.S. Supreme Court denies appeals from Apple and Epic in Antitrust Case -

Jan 28, 2024

The 16th January on the 16th of January on the 16th day of January The U.S. Supreme Court denied the appeals of both Apple as well as Epic Games regarding the antitrust suit Epic filed against Apple in 2020. Reuters reported.

In 2021, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed the majority of Epic's arguments in opposition to Apple however she decided to reject Epic's policies against developers sending customers outside Apple's systems to buy digital products. In 2023 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed with much of Judge Rogers 2021 ruling.

What do you think Apple think? Apple Reacts

According to reports, the Associated Press reported that this will end the hold regarding the ruling and give developers greater freedom to utilize different payment options. Apple also filed documents in court on the 16th day January detailing the company's plans to adhere to the decision while saving much of their cost.

AP reported the court file of Apple indicates that they are planning to:

  • Developers are permitted to create hyperlinks on websites linking to external sites, but Apple charges 12% to 27 percent of the commission for payments made through links to other websites.
  • Informing consumers via the use of the use of a "scare screen" when they click the link that redirects them to a payment option that is different by advising users that Apple does not have any responsibility for those transactions involving security or privacy.
  • Institute the process of approval, which AP states is "potentially complicated" prior to allowing hyperlinks with external pointing or buttons to show up within iPhone or iPad applications. Apple's "effort to minimize the risk of fraud, scams and false information."

What Epic Games are Insisting

AP said that the report that outlined the plans "provoked accusations that Apple was acting in bad faith with good intentions, and set the stage for a further dispute on legal matters," apparently quoting Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney's X (formerly named Twitter) blog article in which he wrote "Apple submitted a 'compliance' in bad faith application' to the injunction court of the District Court."

Sweeney then outlined a list of "glaring concerns we've seen previously," concluding " Epic is going to challenge Apple's poor-faith conformity program in District Court" and by attaching an image of the "scare screens" Apple has included in the Developer Support update the external purchase link.

In the past, Sweeney had posted mixed views, pointing out that it's "unpleasant" that it was an appeals court, which needed been ruled out. Supreme Court choosing not to consider appeals in this case was "A terrible result for every developer" and also claiming " developers can begin applying their rights as specified by the court to advise US clients about cheaper prices on online purchases."

More Epic Games v. Apple Case Developments

On January 17th, Reuters stated that Apple had also asked the judge to order Epic Games pay them over $73 million in legal costs in addition to additional expenses. Reuters says that Apple's claim is based on "a lower court's ruling which determined that Epic Games had violated a developer agreement that it had was able to sign in 2010" that stated "Epic was required to pay the costs of the legal and financial damage in addition to other charges for redressing any violation."

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