The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a 2021 ruling on Epic Games’ antitrust lawsuit against Apple, which both sides appealed.
Following the company’s decision to cancel Epic’s Fortnite developer account, Epic began its lawsuit against the iPhone maker in August 2020, preventing the battle royale game from being distributed on its devices. Apple made the move after Epic intentionally circumvented a contractually mandated App Store payment mechanism within its Fortnite iOS app, which would have allowed it to avoid Apple’s 30 percent platform fee.
The following year, California Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers ruled against Epic on nine of its 10 claims, determining that the company had failed to prove that Apple held a monopoly as defined by antitrust laws. Has gone. Although Gonzalez-Rogers sided with Epic in a case, the ruling could not prevent Apple developers from linking to alternative payment methods from within apps – a practice known as “anti-steering” – because it shall constitute “anti-competitive conduct”. State Law.
Both sides appealed that decision, but the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has now ruled to uphold the earlier lower court’s ruling, with the one exception being Epic is now required to pay Apple’s attorney fees. Can
“Today’s decision confirms a resounding victory for Apple in this case, with nine out of 10 claims decided in Apple’s favor,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement shared with the press. “For the second time in two years, a federal court has ruled that Apple complies with antitrust laws at the state and federal levels.”
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision on the one claim remaining under state law and are considering further review,” Apple said.
As for the future of Fortnite on iOS, that remains to be seen: Apple previously told Epic that it “will not consider any further requests for reinstallation”. [of its developer account] until the decision of the district court becomes final and appealable. However, Apple is widely expected to implement sideloading in this year’s iOS 17 in response to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which could provide an opportunity for Epic to push for Fortnite’s return.