The U.S. Supreme Court denied Epic Games’ appeal against Apple on Wednesday, which would have required the iPhone maker change its App Store’s payment options. Epic Games, the owner of the popular video game “Fortnite,” filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in 2020 accusing the company of holding a monopoly over apps by requiring consumers to purchase through its app store. A judge dismissed the antitrust claims in 2021 but ruled that Apple could not prevent developers from “steering” customers to links to make purchases because of California anti-competitive laws. Apple takes a 30% cut of any App Store or in-app purchases. Epic is fighting to be able to establish its own app store and circumvent the so-called “App Store tax.”
The U.S. Appeals Court told Apple it had 90 days to file a petition and pause on the Supreme Court’s ruling last month, even as the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals criticized Apple’s arguments, saying they “may not be technically frivolous” but doesn’t acknowledge the rulings and factual records represented in the case, Reuters reported.
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Epic requested to lift the 9th Circuit’s decision to delay the injunction but was denied in what may be a major setback for the video game developer.
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