It seems incredible, but more than two and a half years have passed since Apple will deal a heavy blow to Epic Games by removing Fortnite from the iOS App Store. It was a tough punishment, but expected, since the developer of Fortnite had introduced the option to use an alternative means of payment in the game, contravening the rules established by Apple for the publication of games and applications in its app store for the iPhone. Google took the same measure, and for the same reason, but since Google’s operating system does allow sideloading and third-party app stores, the focus of the conflict was between Apple and Epic.
Obviously, Epic decided to go to court, the trial hearings began on May 4, 2021 and, just four months later, the expected judicial ruling was produced, with a sentence that was interpreted as a success by both parties, or at least that is what we must understand of the public communiqués in this regard that they issued at that time and, despite said satisfaction… both parties decided to prolong the judicial confrontation. In other words, actually neither party was really satisfied with the result Which, personally, I thought was pretty accurate.
Let us remember that that judgment was critical of Epic Games for breaking the rules binding of the App Store, and forced the company to indemnify Apple for the lost profits that had been produced by the authorization of the alternative means of payment. But, on the other hand, also imposed an obligation on Apple to allow app developers to include third-party payment methods.
Epic Games filed an appeal that we have been waiting for to resolve. And, to the (relative) joy of those in Cupertino, Apple has renewed its victory against the accusation of monopolistic techniques. In this way, Epic Games will have to satisfy the penalty imposed by the room in which the 2021 trial was held. However, it is also established that Apple will have to allow the inclusion of third-party payment methods. In other words, everything remains exactly the same as with the September 2021 ruling, although the end of the process is not good news for Apple, since until now it had escaped having to allow third-party payment methods. Speaking to MacRumors, the company has stated the following:
«Today’s decision reaffirms Apple’s overwhelming victory in this case, as nine out of ten claims have been decided 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 foster competition, drive innovation, and expand opportunity, and we’re proud of its profound contributions to both users and developers around the world. We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling on the only remaining claim under state law and are considering further review.»
As you may have already imagined, the last sentence of the statement refers to the obligation established in the previous ruling, which was as follows:
«Apple Inc. and its directors, agents, officers, employees, and any person in concert or active participation with them (“Apple”), are permanently prohibited from prohibiting developers from (i) including in their applications and in their buttons, links external or other calls-to-action that direct customers to purchase mechanisms, in addition to in-app purchase, and (ii) communicate with customers through touchpoints voluntarily obtained from customers through application registration. account within the application.»
Thus, it seems that they have decided to continue fighting this point in court. Because? Most likely the end result, no matter how long the judicial journey is, it will be the one we already know. However, in this way Apple gains time in which it will not have to apply this measure. Months years? It is impossible to know, but since, at least in Europe, they are already preparing for very important changes, we can guess that similar measures on the other side of the pond should not be delayed too long either.
