Apple and Epic Games are back in court

Apple and Epic Games are headed back to court next month after the Fortnite maker accused the tech giant of a bad faith attempt to open up App Store payments, according to a court order issued Tuesday. It’s the latest chapter in a bitter legal dispute that could change online life and have serious consequences for app developers.

KEY FACTS

• Epic asked U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to hold the iPhone maker in civil contempt for violating its 2021 ban ordering developers more freedom to connect with non-Apple payment methods in the company’s app ecosystem .
• After reviewing documents and arguments from both sides, Rogers said she came to a preliminary conclusion that Apple’s conduct, when “viewed holistically,” appeared to violate the decision to open payments on the App Store.
• “Big news in the Epic v. Apple injunction,” Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, linking to an injunction from Rogers in Oakland, California.
• “Apple’s changes in practice undermine the spirit of the order by restricting competition, impeding the free flow of information and limiting consumer choice,” Rogers said, ordering an evidentiary hearing to further examine the matter.
• The hearing will take place on Wednesday, May 8, with two more days scheduled for May 10 and May 17, if the proceedings are not allowed.
• Apple did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment, but previously denied violating the court order and accused Epic of trying to “micromanage” its business operations to increase its own profits.

KEY STORY

Judge Rogers’ order is the latest step in a long and bitter legal dispute between the two tech companies. The long-running saga between one of the world’s biggest companies and one of the world’s most successful gaming firms has been likened to a David vs. Goliath showdown and one of several key antitrust battles unfolding in the tech sector.

Epic filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in 2020, accusing the tech giant of illegal, anti-competitive behavior by forcing users to get apps and buy content through its App Store and then charging a 30% commission on in-app purchases. Epic claims the commission means the company can save money by allowing users to pay with methods outside Apple’s ecosystem.

While Rogers rejected that argument in a landmark case in 2021, she issued an injunction requiring Apple to allow app developers to connect users to alternative payment methods. To comply with the order, Apple updated its App Store policy to allow external payment methods, although it will still take a 27% commission on all transactions for large developers and 12% for small developers. Epic’s Sweeney criticized what he called Apple’s “bad faith” effort to comply with the order, and Epic argued that the fees — reduced from 30% and 15% respectively — were “essentially the same” as those using Apple’s system.