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A major decision has been made in the Epic vs Apple lawsuit that could have huge ramifications for the App Store in the future.
An injunction issued as part of the long Epic lawsuit against Apple would prevent Apple from requiring developers to use their own payment methods in games and apps on the App Store – a landmark move that could make the once-enclosed garden of the App Store much more competitive.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued the injunction today, September 10, and it is expected to take effect in 90 days on December 9. He specifies that Apple is “hereby permanently restricted and directed to prohibit developers (i) from including in their applications and their metadata buttons, external links or other calls to action that direct customers towards purchasing mechanisms, in addition to in-app purchases and (ii) communication with customers via touchpoints obtained voluntarily from customers via account registration in the app. “
To analyze this legal jargon, the court essentially ruled that app and game developers can now use third-party payment methods for apps and games hosted on the App Store, allowing them to bypass transaction fees. of 30% of Apple.
The lawsuit took place because Epic updated the Fortnite mobile with a direct purchase option that bypassed restrictions from Apple, which saw the game removed from the iOS store. On all sides of the matter, Apple’s allegedly monopolistic monetization policies have always been at the center of Epic’s lawsuit.
In a series of tweets, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney asserted that “Fortnite will return to the iOS App Store when and where Epic can offer in-app payment in fair competition with payment through the Apple app, passing on the savings. carried out on consumers “. He also stressed that “Today’s decision is not a victory for developers or for consumers. Epic is fighting for fair competition between integrated payment methods and billion-dollar app stores. consumers. ”
Today’s decision is not a victory for developers or for consumers. Epic is fighting for fair competition between in-app payment methods and app stores for a billion consumers. https://t.co/cGTBxThnsPSeptember 10, 2021
This injunction will reinforce and add to changes Apple recently announced in response to another lawsuit. The company said it would allow developers to share information about third-party payment methods with players via external communication, but it must now allow developers to directly integrate these methods.
It should be noted that the full judgment is less clear than this injunction suggests. While the court ruled “that Apple’s conduct in enforcing anti-management restrictions is anti-competitive”, it did not find “Apple is an antitrust monopoly in the mobile game transactions submarket. “. And while Epic is undeniably the winner today, and is far from the only developer who will benefit from these changes on the App Store, it will still be forced to pay Apple 30% of the 12,167,719. $ in revenue he received during the brief window Fortnite allowed. direct payments on iOS, in addition to additional damages.
Of course, that won’t be the end of the Epic vs Apple trial. As the injunction notes, either party can seek to change that decision, and Apple should appeal their case and take it to a higher court.
Thank you to everyone who has devoted so much time and effort to the battle for fair competition on digital platforms, and in particular thank you to the court for handling a very complex case in a timely manner. We will continue to fight.September 10, 2021
Apple assigned Steam, who was also criticized for his store fees at various points, for supporting information when the trial was relatively young.
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