Legal staff representing Epic Games carry documents for trial at the United States District Court on May 21, 2021 in Oakland, California. Epic Games, the maker of popular video game Fortnite, is accusing Apple of antitrust behavior through Apples business practice of restricting in-app payments outside of options offered through its own App Store.
Epic Games has requested a writ of certiorari from the US Supreme Court to examine a lower court's antitrust case judgment after multiple legal conflicts with Apple.
Epic claims that Apple's iOS and in-app payment mechanisms have monopolized the mobile app industry, resulting in large commission gains. The game developer seeks Supreme Court review to resolve antitrust law issues that affected the April Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, according to The Verge.
Back-and-Forth Legal Battle
In 2020, Fortnite maker Epic Games sued Apple for violating US antitrust laws by charging up to 30% fees for in-app sales on iPhones and other Apple devices. Epic's lawsuit was dismissed in 2021, but a US District Court judge found that Apple's ban on software developers alerting users about alternate payment methods violated California's unfair competition statute.
Following this decision, the judge of the trial court ordered Apple to change these guidelines for all developers in the US App Store. The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld these directives, suspended until the Supreme Court determines or rejects an appeal.
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Apple Wants US Supreme Court to Dismiss Epic Case
On Thursday, Apple petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn Epic Games' antitrust case-related request for App Store regulation changes.
Apple claims that the lower court's directives, which go beyond the scope of a federal judge, are unconstitutional. Apple's position is based on the assertion that the trial judge used a case brought by a single developer to justify a broad prohibition without establishing that the harm Epic claimed to have experienced required such a restriction.
Reuters reported that in its Supreme Court filing, Apple stated: "that approach eviscerates the constitutional limitations on federal courts' authority and, unless corrected by this Court, would render universal injunctions the default remedy in single-plaintiff cases challenging a generally applicable policy."
The US Supreme Court will determine whether to hear the case by the end of 2023, according to its customary schedule.
In August, Epic Games' petition to allow developers to direct iPhone users to alternate payment methods was denied by the US Supreme Court, enabling Apple to retain its present payment procedures, according to Bloomberg. Epic pleaded with the US Supreme Court in its petition to consider several strategies for assisting consumers and developers without jeopardizing either company.
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