The US Federal Court has ruled on the side of the digital giant in its legal battle against the video game publisher Epic Games, the origin of the online game Fortnite.
A new disappointment for the video game publisher Epic Games in the legal battle between him and Apple. After a trial started in 2021 against the digital giant, the studio behind Fortnite failed to convince the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals “for the Ninth Circuit” (which deals with cases related to the Courts of fifteen districts), which largely rallied to his opponent, reports the American channel CNN on Monday April 24.
The Court of Appeal thus concluded that Apple was creating “a heterogeneous market for application transaction platforms, which, therefore, benefits competition”. However, she admitted that the company had failed to comply with the law by failing to inform iOS users that they could use payment methods other than those offered on the App Store.
In addition, she said Apple was in a position to ask Epic Games to cover its legal costs arising from the appeal, thereby reversing the previous decision of another court.
“For the second time in two years, a U.S. Federal Court has affirmed that Apple is in good compliance with anti-competition laws at a state and federal level. The App Store continues to promote competition, innovation, and open opportunities, and we are proud of this contribution to users and developers around the world,” Apple said in a statement.
“Not the necessary arguments”
“Although the court upheld the decision that Apple’s restrictions have an anti-competitive effect which harms consumers, they concluded that we did not have the necessary arguments for the Sherman Act (the first anti-competitive law established in the United States, editor’s note), Epic Games responded following the decision.
This court decision could, in the future, make it more complex to impose on Apple a relaxation of its rules concerning the App Store, at the heart of the discord between the two companies.
The tax in question
Indeed, at the origin of this trial is the 30% tax imposed by Apple on purchases made through its App Store, its application store. To counter this measure, Epic Games, at the origin of the very popular online game Fortnite, in 2020 offered its players to go directly through its own payment system in order to limit costs and circumvent the tax.
A situation that prompted Apple to take a radical decision, that of removing – at least temporarily – Fortnite from the App Store until Epic Games complies with its terms of use.
At the end of a first agreement, in September 2021, the Court had affirmed that the digital giant was not in a monopoly situation on the market for mobile game transactions, but that its conditions of use should even evolve. From now on, the two parties have a few weeks to choose between a new hearing before the Court of Appeal, or an appeal to the Supreme Court.
