Apple Asks the US Supreme Court to Overturn the Verdict in the Case With Epic Games
The company asked the US Supreme Court to review the verdict handed down by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Apple petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review Judge Rogers’ decision. She ruled that the company can no longer prohibit iOS developers from selling content in their apps using third-party payment systems.
In 2020, Apple removed the Fortnite action from the App Store due to the fact that developer Epic Games introduced its own payment system into the game, which allowed it to bypass the 30% Apple fee required for all transactions in the App Store. Epic Games sued Apple, but Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers in 2021 did not see antitrust violations in Apple’s actions, although it ordered the company to allow developers to place links to alternative payment methods in applications.
This decision did not suit both parties: Epic Games and Apple tried to appeal it several times in different instances. Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refused to review its own April decision on motions from both parties. Lawyers for Apple said the court did not have the power to issue a nationwide injunction against the company, so its decision will be challenged in the country’s Supreme Court. In the lawsuit, Apple representatives promised to raise “far-reaching and important” questions about the powers of local judges. The right to apply to the Supreme Court was also retained by the lawyers of Epic Games, who could not prove the illegal nature of the closed App Store and the payment system of the app store.
