Epic Games has requested the US Supreme Court’s review of a 2021 ruling that cleared Apple of antitrust violations. Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, previously claimed that Apple violated California’s Unfair Competition law by prohibiting developers from directing users to other third-party payment systems on the App Store. While the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that Apple’s practices had an “anticompetitive effect,” it did not meet the requirements for an antitrust case. If Epic wins its appeal, Apple could potentially face a significant loss of revenue as it takes a percentage cut of all purchases made through its App Store.
This legal battle between Epic Games and Apple has drawn attention to the issue of Apple’s App Store policies, with other companies such as Spotify and Tile joining the Coalition for App Fairness to pressurize Apple for policy changes. While Epic and its peers have had successful outcomes outside of the US, such as in South Korea and the Netherlands, where authorities ruled that Apple must allow third-party payments, Apple continues to charge a transaction fee. Additionally, Apple is rumored to be preparing support for third-party app stores in response to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.
The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether it will take up the case before the end of the year. In the meantime, Fortnite remains unavailable on the App Store since August 2020 when Apple banned the game after Epic introduced alternative payment methods to bypass the App Store’s cut. Epic Games is also engaged in a similar legal battle with Google over its practices of unfair fees and requirements for in-app purchases through the Play Store. The trial for the lawsuit against Google, which also involves the Match Group, is set to begin in the next few weeks.
