Shortly, developers will be able to offer links with which you can make payment operations outside App Store.
Source: Pixabay.com
The US Court of Appeals left unchanged the previously approved court ruling on the fact of the proceedings, which was based on Apple’s illegal practice of banning links that help the developer avoid paying sales commissions to the technology giant.
But for the company, this trial was not an absolute legal defeat. The court supported the position of the technology giant that it is not involved in the commission of actions that violate the norms of antimonopoly legislation. The dispute over this circumstance was in the case initiated by Epic Games against Apple.
In a message posted on Twitter, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said that the tech giant won in the court of appeal, and his company failed to prove its antitrust rightness. He also noted as a positive result of the proceedings that iOS developers now do not have to send consumers to the Internet to do business with them directly there.
Apple, commenting on the court’s decision, says that for the second time in two years, the fact of compliance by the technology giant with antimonopoly legislation at the state and federal levels was officially recognized. The company also stated its disagreement with the court’s decision on one remaining claim following state law and is considering the possibility of further consideration.
The legal war between Apple and Epic began in 2020. The reason for this was the removal of the Epic Fortnite game from the App Store. The tech giant made the appropriate decision because the game developers came up with a workaround to avoid paying a commission of 30% for customer purchases in the app.
The case was brought to court in May 2021. Back then, the companies debated whether the App Store’s policy hindered competition.
In the appeals court, Epic was making efforts to overturn a ruling that dismissed most of its antitrust lawsuit against Apple.
After the announced decision regarding links to payments outside the App Store, the tech giant mentioned the possibility of appealing this ruling, which is probably evidence of the relevant intentions. An appeal can be filed within 14 days.
As we have reported earlier, UK Antitrust Investigation of Apple Stops After Appeal Win.
