Apple appeals to Supreme Court in Epic Games case

Apple wants to appeal the ruling in Epic Games’ lawsuit to the Supreme Court. It determined that Apple had to allow payment links in apps from the App Store. Apple did not agree with this and previously appealed without success.

Apple writes in its request to the Supreme Court that it was never argued during the previous lawsuit why the court order to allow payment links applies not only to Epic, but to all American app developers. Apple calls Epic a “universal, non-representative plaintiff” and believes it is not within the federal court’s authority to rule in this case that also extends to third parties because it is not a class action lawsuit. The tech giant writes that the Supreme Court must now answer the “important legal question” of whether a court may issue a universal injunction outside a class action case.

The dispute between Epic Games and Apple has been going on for two years now. Epic sued Apple in 2021, saying the latter had a monopoly on app stores by not opening iOS to alternative app stores. The judge largely did not agree; In the ruling, the judge said that Apple is not a monopolist and that the company does not have to comply with most of Epic’s demands, such as opening up iOS. The judge did order Apple to allow external links for payments in apps from now on, so that customers can also see links that allow them to subscribe or make a purchase outside the App Store.

Both Apple and Epic Games appealed that ruling. Last April, the federal Ninth Circuit Appeals Court handed down the exact same ruling as the initial lawsuit. Once again, Epic lost on nine out of ten claims, but the previous ruling on links to payments was upheld. Both sides requested that the ruling be reconsidered, but those requests were denied.

Apple’s decision to appeal to the Supreme Court is its last chance to overturn the ruling. This does not concern substantive facts, but errors that were allegedly made by the lower judges during the case. Moreover, the judges of the Supreme Court in the US may dismiss cases in advance if they believe that they are not of sufficient importance. It is therefore not yet clear whether Apple’s request will also be processed.