[ad_1]
Apple and Epic have been fighting in court over payments processes for the App Store since 2020.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Apple in a legal filing Thursday argued that appeals filings by Epic Games do not point to legal errors made by a US District Court Judge last year, when she ruled the iPhone maker had not violated antitrust laws with its App Store. Instead, Apple cited the many times the judge said Epic had “failed to demonstrate,” “failed to show” and “failed to prove” the facts of its case.
“On the facts and the law, the court correctly decided every issue presented in Epic’s appeal,” Apple lawyers wrote in the company’s filing. It repeated earlier arguments that Epic is attempting to fundamentally change the App Store. “While these appeals are both important and complex, resolving the issues should not be difficult: Applying settled precedent to the adjudicated facts requires ruling for Apple across the board.”
Apple’s 135-page filing is the latest in the ongoing legal battle it’s been fighting with Epic since August of 2020. On the surface, the two companies are battling over who gets how much money when we spend money on the App Store. At its heart, Apple’s fighting to maintain control of its App Store, which has become such a key feature of its iPhones that the company’s ads saying “there’s an app for that” are referenced in word cross puzzles and on the trivia TV show Jeopardy.
Over the past couple years, though, Apple’s runaway success with its App Store has been challenged. Epic, which makes the hit online battle game Fortnite, argued that Apple should loosen its control. In emails, court filings and public statements, Epic has said Apple should allow alternative app stores onto the iPhone and iPad, something that it currently does not allow. Epic also says Apple should free developers to use alternative payment processors in their apps, rather than Apple’s current rule requiring they only use its app store, through which Apple takes a cut of in-app purchases on its devices.
Read more: Apple scores legal win over Epic in Fortnite lawsuit: What you need to know
In September last year, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers largely ruled in Apple’s favor, saying Epic had failed to make its case. She did criticize Apple’s business practices though, saying, “Common threads run through Apple’s practices which unreasonably restrain competition and harm consumers.” She also required Apple change its App Store to allow developers slightly more freedom in how they communicate pricing to customers, a ruling Apple is also appealing.
Meanwhile, Apple hasn’t allowed Fortnite back into its App Store because it argues Epic violated its developer policies.
In its filing, Apple argued Epic had “failed to prove any less restrictive alternatives” for app distribution or in-app purchasing requirements. Apple had argued that Epic’s proposed alternative app store models would require it to “either add human review” or “leave app review to third-party app stores.”
Read more: Apple mostly wins in Epic Games Fortnite trial, but must ease payment rules
Near the end of its filing, Apple also argued Epic should pay its attorneys’ fees, citing the developer licensing program agreement Epic agreed to when it joined the App Store. “The court ruled that Epic breached its contractual obligations to Apple,” the company argued. “Epic has to pay the price for its decisions under the plain language of the very contract that it elected to disregard.”
The appeals process, which is ongoing, is expected to continue into next year.
[ad_2]
Source link
