Apple has won an appeals court ruling for its App Stores policies against Epic Games Inc. The court rejected most of Epic's claims that Apple violated antitrust laws by prohibiting alternative app stores on its devices.
Winning Appeals Court Ruling
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Apple and upheld a 2021 ruling that supports the company's App Store policies. According to a report from Wall Street Journal, the panel of three judges rejected all (except one) of Epic's claims, declaring Apple not having monopolistic control over mobile game transactions.
The panel wrote in the decisions that there has been an ongoing debate about the role played in this economy and democracy by platforms related to the online transaction that comes with market power. However, their job as a federal court of appeals is not to resolve that issue. "Instead, in this decision, we faithfully applied existing precedent to the facts," they added.
While the court sided with Apple on the majority regarding Epic's claims, the judges agreed with the lower court that Apple violated California's Unfair Competiton Law by preventing app developers from directing their customers to payment methods outside the company's App Store, with a 30% charge. Apple suggested that it could appeal that ruling.
If the court decides to remain this stance, applications with subscription services or digital services on Apple's operating system could be allowed to have a transaction with their customers outside websites to complete purchases, avoiding the 30% charge Apple.
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This antitrust challenge was brought by Epic Games Inc., which believes that Apple's policies violated federal law by banning third-party marketplaces on its operating system. The New York Times reported that the two companies have been battling for years already to settle the question of how much power does Apple have over third-party developers in the App Store.
Apple's Response
Engadget reported that Apple declared this outcome as a "resounding victory" after having nine out of 10 claims decided by the court in its favor for the second time in two years since the battle between the two companies started. The company stated, "The App Store continues to promote competition, drive innovation, and expand opportunity."
Apple believes that the App Store contributed a lot to both its users and developers around the world. The company remained stance and disagreed with the court's ruling on the one remaining claim but suggested considering a further review.
Epic's Response
Meanwhile, Epic Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney stated after the ruling that while Apple prevailed, at least the appeals court kept one ruling to side with the company regarding Apple's anti-steering provisions that free iOS developers from sending consumers to the web. The CEO added that Epic is working on its next steps to win the battle against Apple.
