(Taken from Epic Games Facebook fan album)
Apple recently announced that it will request the suspension of the judge’s September ruling, and this statement has also sparked a lot of discussion.
Just last month, in mid-September, the antitrust lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple had a preliminary verdict.
The court rejected 9 of the 10 accusations brought by Epic Games, including “the Mac operating system has security problems,” and at the same time asked the plaintiff Epic Games to pay Apple at least US$4 million in damages.
However, according to California law, Apple does have anti-competitive behaviors, and will not prohibit app developers from explicitly mentioning other payment methods and providing corresponding links in the future.
The verdict clearly won Apple, but for Epic Games, as long as it can support third-party payment systems and bypass Apple’s in-app purchase payment system, it is a victory.
The court held that Apple’s mandatory use of the terms of the in-app purchase payment system was an anti-competitive act. Therefore, the court required Apple to make “controlled” changes to its terms and rules to allow App developers to direct users to a third-party payment system. , The decree will take effect in December this year.
Therefore, for developers, if users spend through third-party payment channels, they don’t have to give Apple 15-30% of the corresponding revenue.
Another appeal, according to Apple, to modify the App Store rules may cause irreparable harm to Apple and consumers.
“Any changes to this guide may generate complex and changeable legal, technical and economic issues. Therefore, Apple requires delaying the enforcement of the ban in order to have time to comprehensively study and resolve these issues in order to protect consumers and its own platform. “Apple’s lawyer said in a legal document.
In terms of Epic Games, it is also appealing against 9 losing cases last month. Therefore, the case may take several years to resolve. Apple will be forced to make changes to the iPhone operating system iOS. The two companies will proceed in court. appeal.
It is expected that the judge will make a ruling on Apple’s request for suspension of execution next month.
Prior to the September ruling, Apple also expressed its satisfaction. It described the judge’s ruling as a major legal victory for its App Store business model.
Now Apple’s move is indeed surprising. “We are very satisfied with the court’s ruling. We think this is a huge victory for Apple.” Apple’s lawyer Kate Adams said after the September ruling.
Apple said that the reason for filing an appeal is because it faces a legal deadline this month. If Apple does not appeal now, it will lose this option forever. If you appeal now, you can change your mind at any time and withdraw the appeal.
Apple also stated that the appeal is to avoid rushing commercial decisions before the case is completely closed.
Although Apple has always retained the possibility of appeals, the payment model in the App Store application has been criticized by technology competitors, international regulators and members of the United States Congress.
Apple’s appeal this time has aroused dissatisfaction from a large number of critics.
They pointed out that this move will prevent apps from using alternative payment systems, thereby protecting the profits of the Apple App Store. A company announced last week that they have been developing a cheaper, web-based payment method to replace Apple’s app payment.
Perhaps supporting third-party payment channels for apps will harm Apple’s interests. Although Apple did not disclose the profit margins of the App Store, its total sales in 2020 are approximately $64 billion.
If the judge approves Apple’s suspension of this order next month, this status quo will continue until Epic Games and Apple resolve the dispute.
This may take several years and help Apple resist more mandatory reforms to its App Store model.
At the same time, the Apple App Store also faces many other external legal threats. For example, a bipartisan bill in the Senate will force Apple to accept alternative in-app payments. In addition, Apple has been forced to comply with a regulatory decision in Japan to allow some applications to link to websites.
Apple may initially believe that the Epic Games case is a victory, but its appeal shows that it will continue to protect its lucrative App Store model until the case is finally over.
This article is published under the authorization of Leifeng. The original title is “Apple appeals to Epic again, App Store allows third-party payment to be stranded”