Apple has won an appeals court-focused antitrust battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games over its App Store policies, according to an opinion released today by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court upheld the district court’s previous ruling on Epic Games subsidiary Epic Games’ antitrust claims in favor of Apple, but also upheld the lower court’s ruling in favor of Epic under California’s Unfair Competition Act.
The mobile game maker had hoped to prove to its appeal that Apple had acted illegally by restricting app distribution to iOS devices to Apple’s App Store, requiring payments through its own processor while preventing developers from communicating with customers about alternative payment methods. .
The court ruling was first reported by Bloomberg.
Apple issued the following statement:
Today’s decision reaffirms Apple’s resounding victory in this case, as nine out of ten claims were made in Apple’s favor. For the second time in two years, a federal court has ruled that Apple complies with state and federal antitrust laws. The App Store continues to promote “To compete, drive innovation and expand opportunity, and we are proud of its profound contributions to both users and developers around the world. We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling on the remaining claim under state law and consider further review.”
The ruling is a major setback for Epic Games and other developers who had hoped the ruling would set a precedent for more antitrust claims and force Apple to open iOS devices to third-party app stores and payment systems.
Epic sued Apple in 2020, after Apple was forced to remove Fortnite from the App Store after it knowingly violated the App Store’s terms on in-app purchases. Although Apple largely won the lawsuit when the judge declared that Apple was not a monopoly, the court sided with the Fortnite maker on Apple’s anti-directive policies regarding restrictions on in-app purchases. It said Apple would no longer be able to prevent developers from directing users to other means of payment.
Apple and Epic have appealed the judgment – Apple required changes to the App Store’s policies regarding external links.
In today’s decision, the appeals court affirmed the district court’s denial of antitrust liability and its corresponding denial of Epic’s unlawful defense to Apple’s breach of contract anti-contract litigation. However, it ruled that the district court erred in identifying the relevant antitrust market and in its assertion that the DPLA (Developer Software License Agreement) fell outside the scope of the antitrust law known as the Sherman Act.
But she said those errors were “harmless” and that, regardless, Epic “failed to demonstrate, as a matter of fact, its proposed definition of market, the existence of any alternative, vastly less restrictive means for Apple to accomplish the pro-competitive justifications supporting a walled-out iOS.” Garden ecosystem.
The panel also upheld the district court’s ruling in favor of Epic Games within the scope of California’s Unfair Competition Act.
“The district court was not manifestly wrong in finding that Epic was injured, misjudged as a matter of law when applying California’s flexible liability standards, or misjudged when formulating equitable relief,” the ruling read.
Epic Games Suspension Requested.