Apple dealt blow by Supreme Court in long-running antitrust feud against Fortnite maker | Latest Tech News
The US Supreme Court rejected on Wednesday Apple’s request to briefly block a judicial order that discovered the iPhone maker in violation of sweeping court-mandated adjustments to its profitable App Store as half of an antitrust lawsuit by “Fortnite” maker Epic Games.
Justice Elena Kagan, on behalf of the court, declined to pause a ruling by the San Francisco-based ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals that deemed Apple in contempt in the Epic lawsuit contesting App Store charges. Apple had sought the delay to give it time to file a full Supreme Court appeal of the ninth Circuit determination.
The Supreme Court’s motion means Apple will return to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, to quarrel over what commission the company can lawfully charge for sure app-related transactions. Apple’s bid at the Supreme Court had been aimed at staving off returning to the trial court while it pursued its legal problem before the justices.
Apple’s request to briefly block a judicial order that discovered the iPhone maker in violation of sweeping court-mandated adjustments to its profitable App Store was rejected. The antitrust lawsuit was filed by “Fortnite” maker Epic Games. REUTERS
Apple and Epic have clashed for years over the foundations governing Apple’s App Store. The contempt ruling and the scope of Apple’s court-ordered obligations are the latest points in the dispute to attain the Supreme Court. Apple has said the ninth Circuit determination would have an effect on how hundreds of thousands of app purchases are made.
Epic Games gained the contempt order last yr as half of litigation it introduced in 2020 in search of to loosen Apple’s control over transactions in functions that use the company’s iOS working system and its restrictions on how apps are distributed to customers.
Apple principally defeated Epic’s lawsuit, but was required in a 2021 court injunction to let builders embrace hyperlinks in their apps directing customers to non-Apple fee strategies.
Apple allowed the hyperlinks but adopted new restrictions, including a 27% commission on builders for purchases made on fee systems outdoors the App Store within seven days of clicking a hyperlink. Apple prices builders a 30% commission for purchases within the App Store.
Epic argued that the new 27% commission flouted the earlier injunction. In 2025, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers discovered Apple in civil contempt for violating the injunction.
Apple principally defeated Epic’s lawsuit, but was required in a 2021 court injunction to let builders embrace hyperlinks in their apps directing customers to non-Apple fee strategies. Apple CEO Tim Cook, above. AP
The ninth Circuit in December upheld the decide’s contempt discovering but allowed Apple to make new arguments about what commission it needs to be allowed to charge for digital items purchased in apps distributed through the App Store but paid for utilizing third-party fee systems.
Apple has denied violating the decide’s order and has argued that the injunction shouldn’t be utilized to hundreds of thousands of builders past Epic Games.
“Regulators around the world are watching this case to determine what commission rate Apple may charge on covered purchases in huge markets outside the United States,” Apple told the Supreme Court in a submitting.
Apple has denied violating the decide’s order and has argued that the injunction shouldn’t be utilized to hundreds of thousands of builders past Epic Games. AP
Epic has argued that Apple shouldn’t be allowed to sidestep the decide’s unique injunction, saying this would “give Apple more time to continue unfairly profiting at the expense of consumers and app developers.”
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