Epic appeals ruling in lawsuit against Apple over App Store rules

Epic may have scored a notable victory in its lawsuit against Apple, but it’s dissatisfied enough to keep the legal battle going. The Verge reports Epic has filed an appeal against the ruling. The initial notice didn’t explain how the Fortnite developer was challenging the decision, but there were a number of areas that left the company unhappy.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ ruling determined Epic had to pay $3.65 million in damages for violating Apple’s rules barring third-party in-app payment systems, plus 30 percent of whatever Epic earned through its in-house payment system from November 2020 onward.
More importantly, Rogers found Epic’s monopoly allegations didn’t hold up under scrutiny. While Epic did succeed in forcing Apple to allow links to third-party purchasing systems, it didn’t receive concessions on allowing third-party app stores or obtaining “fair competition” for in-app purchasing. Apple largely gets to preserve its existing business model, preventing access to the Epic Games Store or similar App Store alternatives.

Apple isn’t completely satisfied, either, and is expected to appeal Epic’s one win in the case. This fight isn’t likely to end any time soon, regardless of how courts rule in the near future.