Appeal lodged: Apple is fighting for its billions of commissions

Next round in the big dispute between Apple and Epic Games: On Monday, Apple made the appeal against the recent decision of a US court that had forced the group to radical changes in radicals in which Iphone’s central App Store (Epic vs. Apple, United States District Court of Northern California, file number 4: 20-cv-05640-YGR). The case should now go back to the responsible appellate court in San Francisco (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit). It remains to be seen how Apple specifically opposes the decision made last week.

US judge knocks Apple on her fingers

The case has long since been completed: Epic has lost the cartel procedure against Apple – in the first as in the second instance. The top US court did not want to deal with the matter afterwards. However, an almost four -year -old injunction was open, the Apple forces to allow apps to provide information about direct purchase options for digital content and also link it. This should ultimately enable competition. Apple implemented this on paper, but linked new rules and conditions to the link-and at the same time called for a commission on web purchases.

Instead of implementing the decision, Apple has always come up with new guidelines to secure his “illegal source of income” from commissions, the US judge now complained on May 1st. She decided that Apple must now follow the injunction without further delays. The group may no longer integrate so-called Scare Sheets into its operating systems that are supposed to deter users, and Apple must therefore not request a commission for such web purchases.

Dambreak in the US app store

The first provider of popular apps reacted immediately: Spotify has now integrated left into the streaming app in the USA to sell its subscriptions directly to Apple. Epic Games was obviously also prepared and has set up a backend for payments that game developers can use – for a lower commission. Indie developers were also pleased with the forced change. Service providers such as Stripe also offer iOS developers simple ways to accept payments.

For Apple, sales are at stake that could reach the billions. Business with service has been the group’s last major growth business for several years. The income from commissions is not only at stake in the United States, but also in other regions: The EU Commission recently imposed a penalty of 500 million euros against Apple because of these link restrictions and the commissions based on web purchases. In addition, the group must also change its rules for apps. The company also wants to appeal here.