Apple wins again in Epic Games appeal... Successfully defends App Store profitability

Allowing External Payment Links Inside the Daesin App

Apple has secured a victory in the appeals court against Epic Games, the maker of the game Fortnite. Epic Games filed a lawsuit claiming that Apple's App Store operations violated antitrust laws, but the court repeatedly ruled that there was no issue, allowing Apple to continue protecting its App Store revenue.

According to Bloomberg and other sources on the 24th (local time), the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Apple's policy of prohibiting competing app marketplaces on the iPhone is unlikely to be considered a violation of antitrust laws.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The court stated, "There is an active and important debate about the role that online transaction platforms with market dominance play in our economy and democracy," adding, "As a federal appeals court, our role is not to resolve the debate but to apply existing precedents."

Apple controls the App Store as the only way for consumers to purchase apps on the iPhone. It does not allow competing app marketplaces such as Google Play. Additionally, Apple requires that paid content payments use only the App Store's internal system, from which it has collected up to a 30% commission.

In response, Epic Games viewed this form of in-app payment as a violation of antitrust laws and filed a lawsuit in 2020. Epic Games also introduced its own payment system, bypassing Apple's in-app payment system.

CNBC reported on the ruling, stating, "Apple's strong control over the iPhone App Store and its practice of charging high commissions are unlikely to change significantly despite Epic Games' ongoing legal challenges." Apple generated $78.1 billion in revenue from its services segment last year, with a significant portion contributed by the App Store.

Apple issued a statement saying, "In the appeal trial conducted two years after the first trial, Apple prevailed in 9 out of 10 claims raised by Epic Games," and added, "This reaffirms that Apple complies with federal and state antitrust laws."

Previously, Apple also won the first trial in 2021. At that time, the Oakland Federal Court ruled that Epic Games' establishment of its own payment system in defiance of Apple's App Store policy was a breach of contract and ordered Epic to pay at least $4 million in damages, a portion of the revenue earned through its own payment system. The court stated, "Under federal and state antitrust laws, Apple cannot be concluded to be a monopoly."

However, the court at that time ruled that Apple must allow app developers to include external payment links within their apps to enable their own payment systems. This ruling to permit external payment links was not overturned in the current decision.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney emphasized the ruling on his Twitter immediately after the decision, stating, "The court confirmed that Apple's restrictive measures have a potential antitrust impact that harms consumers," and highlighted the court's maintenance of the judgment requiring Apple to allow app developers to include external payment links within their apps to enable their own payment systems.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.