By Ben Nsemo
The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected separate requests from Apple and Epic Games in their long-running lawsuit over App Store rules.
Apple filed a request in September 2023, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal regarding the portion of the legal dispute that Epic won. This involves Apple’s so-called “anti-bootstrap” rules, which prohibit iOS app developers from directing users to purchase methods other than the App Store, thereby bypassing Apple’s revenue share.
The U.S. Supreme Court also rejected Epic Games’ request to rule on the case. Before this, in April 2023, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals supported the lower court’s ruling and ruled that Apple’s App Store rules did not violate the Antitrust Law.
The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court also means that previous rulings are still valid. Apple can continue to ban the use of third-party payment processing in apps, but it must allow developers to inform users of other purchase options outside of the App Store.
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IT Home attaches a briefing note: The dispute between the two parties dates back to 2020. Epic is trying to overturn Apple’s App Store rules: in-app purchases in iOS apps must go through Apple, and Apple will take 15% to 30% of the revenue.
The court announced the results of the trial in 2021 and held that Apple did not violate antitrust laws and was not a monopoly. Epic Games refused to accept this and chose to appeal immediately, saying that the trial court “reached the wrong answer” and “made multiple legal errors.”