The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Apple following the 2021 decision on the Epic Games vs. Apple Inc. lawsuit. Despite the lawsuit being over for nearly two years, it continues to add to the ongoing legal tension between Apple and Epic Games which started in 2020.
These legal disputes were initially fueled when Fortnite was removed from Apple's App Store following Epic's disagreements with the App Store's policies, specifically the 30% cut that Apple takes of each transaction. Soon after, Epic filed antitrust lawsuits against both Apple and Google. The lawsuit against Apple was decided in 2021 with Epic's claims that Apple acted like a monopoly being rejected, though Apple was still thought to be engaging in anticompetitive behavior. This also led to Apple being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority, a U.K. competition regulator.
Apple appealed the decision on the Epic Games lawsuit the month after the ruling, and, as reported by Bloomberg, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Apple's favor, upholding that Apple did not violate antitrust law with its practice of banning third-party marketplaces. The appeals court also affirmed the lower court's rejection of Epic's claims that Apple had a monopoly on these transactions. The three-judge panel stated, "there is a lively and important debate about the role played in our economy and democracy by online transaction platforms with market power," but affirmed that it does not seek to come to a definitive conclusion on this discourse.
Nine out of ten claims judged by the court were determined in Apple's favor, something the company viewed as a "resounding victory." However, Apple maintained that it did not agree with the decision made on the remaining claim and that it is "considering further review." This could result in future legal developments as was previously seen with the unredacted lawsuit between Epic and Google which included allegations that Activision-Blizzard was paid by Google to not open its own app store, something that was denied by both parties.
Much of the dispute between Apple and Epic was fueled by the former company's stance on third-party marketplaces being banned on iOS devices. This was changed for European customers as the EU required Apple to allow third-party app stores on iOS devices. Although Apple has made other changes to its operations to make itself more open to third-party marketplaces, these have largely not been applied to gaming apps. With Fortnite still not being available on the App Store and the animosity between Apple and Epic still present, it remains to be seen whether fans will be able to download the game on Apple's storefront anytime soon.
Source: Bloomberg