Apple Seeks to Pause 'Extraordinary' App Store Ruling in Epic Games Battle

Apple has filed an emergency motion asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to pause key parts of a recent ruling that dramatically changes how the App Store operates, following a contempt finding in its long-running legal battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games.

iOS App Store General Feature Dock 2
In court documents filed Wednesday, Apple called the district court's order "extraordinary" and argued it unlawfully forces the company to permanently give up control over "core aspects of its business operations."

"A federal court cannot force Apple to permanently give away free access to its products and services, including intellectual property," Apple's lawyers wrote in the motion.

Apple is specifically seeking to halt two major provisions while its appeal moves forward: a ban on charging any commissions for purchases made through external links, and restrictions on Apple's ability to set conditions for how those links appear in iOS apps.

The emergency filing comes after Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in contempt last week for violating her 2021 injunction, which required the company to allow developers to include links to alternative payment methods. The judge determined that internal company documents showed Apple deliberately violated her earlier order.

Apple complied with the latest ruling immediately but is now asking for relief from what it describes as "punitive" measures that would cost it "hundreds of millions to billions" of dollars annually. The company wants the appeals court to issue a ruling by May 28.

"These new rules are not temporary sanctions for non-compliance that Apple can purge," the filing states. "Instead, the district court took the highly irregular step of imposing new, different, and permanent restrictions."

At the heart of the dispute is how Apple implemented the original 2021 injunction. After losing at trial, Apple created a new entitlement system that allowed developers to include links to external payment options, but imposed a 12-27% commission on purchases made through those links and restricted where the links could appear.

Epic Games argued this framework violated both the letter and spirit of the court's order, and Judge Gonzalez Rogers ultimately agreed, finding that Apple's approach "undermine[d] the spirit of the injunction by limiting competition."

In its emergency motion, Apple contends the judge exceeded her authority by essentially setting its prices at zero and taking control over how developers can present alternative payment options within apps.

Several major apps including Spotify, Kindle, and Patreon have already updated their iOS apps to include direct links to external payment methods since the ruling took effect.

Epic Games responded to Apple's emergency motion by calling it "a last ditch effort to block competition and extract massive junk fees at the expense of consumers and developers." The company added that it was "full speed ahead to bring Fortnite to iPhones and iPads in the U.S. this week."

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Top Rated Comments

jclardy Avatar
20 weeks ago

If I buy a game on a developers website can I link it to my Epic account and have Epic serve it to me as a download and store my saves? Or will Epic want a cut in order to do that for me?
If I bought an app from a developers website…oh wait. I can’t on iOS. Apple is the one who decided they want to host every app download, not developers. Hosting files is peanuts in 2025, it only matters for AAA games with 50GB downloads.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
UliBaer Avatar
20 weeks ago
Simply allowing install from anywhere (like on the Mac or Android!) would avoid all this hassle. Nobody would complain against the monopolistic AppStore, if alternatives existed. This is a self inflicted problem and Apple has to live with the consequences... ?
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
diddl14 Avatar
20 weeks ago
Apple created a closed eco system. You can love it or hate it, embrace it or steer away from it. What I don't get is why 3rd-parties, including other companies or governments should have any control over it? Consumers decide if they like Apple's choices or not. If not, they ultimately move on to something that better suits their needs.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iZac Avatar
20 weeks ago
Watch out, Apple will be coming after any payments over web services soon - I mean who's going to pay to keep Safari feeling snappier every year? ;)
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johnnytravels Avatar
20 weeks ago
Well if your business model is stifling competition, you will eventually lose billions of dollars from a healthily maintained market putting a stop to that practice. Boo hoo.

Regarding the fact that Apple now argue one-sidedly in regard to the value they provide for developers, I propose to consider the opposite, that Apple does not provide any way of developing for and publishing on iOS (i.e. an iPhone an iPad with just stock apps).
Would the products make them the same amount of money they would be making minus the money they are now not going to make anymore because they cannot continue their anti-competitive venture.

I highly doubt that and I think this shows clearly that Apple‘s arguments aiming at compensation for providing a market for others are just veiled attempts at protecting a bottom line they are not entitled to in a fair market.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aidler Avatar
20 weeks ago
This injunction can not be allowed.

1. The change Apple is required to make is a very minor change that only makes easier what many users are already doing to avoid the 30 % commission Apple takes for every purchase inside the App Store. Users who like to use the easy and safe payment system inside the App Store can continue to do so. This will have only a very minor effect on Apple's revenue stream. In this regard, what Apple writes in its injunction is just plain wrong.
2. Apple consciously tried not to satisfy the original ruling, and Apple officials were even caught lying under oath before the court.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)