Apple vs Epic Games: iPhone maker wants court to quell ‘Unfounded' Fortnite claims

Apple Inc. urged a federal appeals court to uphold a judge’s ruling that largely vindicated its business model which charges commissions on developers for App Store transactions.The iPhone maker on Thursday argued that Epic Games Inc., the maker of Fortnite, has failed to provide evidence backing its claim that Apple’s app distribution marketplace is a monopoly.

Apple said a judge in Oakland, California, was correct to conclude in September, following a trial, that App Store rules and regulations don’t violate federal antitrust law.

The battle between the two companies began in 2020 after Apple removed the Fortnite game from the App Store because Epic created a workaround to paying a 30% fee on customers’ in-app purchases.

The technology giant also asked the appeals court to reverse a part of the September ruling that didn’t go its way. Apple was found to have engaged in anticompetitive conduct under California law and ordered to allow app and game developers to steer consumers to outside payment methods on the web. The order is on hold while the appeal plays out.

The San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has previously ruled that “if conduct is not anticompetitive under the antitrust laws, it is not unfair under” California’s unfair competition law, Apple said in its filing.

Epic didn’t immediately respond to a request for a comment on Apple’s filing.

The case is Epic Games Inc. v. Apple Inc., 21-16695, U.S. Court Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (San Francisco).