US judgment: Apple has no participation in web purchases from apps

Last Wednesday, the US judge, who decided in 2021 in the sense of Apple, changed her opinion: The company has no right to a share of sales that developers achieved through apps that had been obtained from Apple’s app store. The verdict is a new turn in the legal dispute between Epic Games and Apple, which has been held since 2020.

Four years ago, judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers judged that Apple can also charge fees from third -party developers if their apps are completed by other paths – such as a browser. From a very pointed point, it is not about in-app purchases, because the conclusion is not handled through the app itself or its payment mechanisms. In this case, Apple has been raising 27 percent so far, for direct in-app purchases it is usually 30 percent.

Judge: “Apple lied to me”

Before that, the judge writes in her 80-page justification (PDF), Apple did not require any participation for these so-called off-app purchases. The new procedure is undermined the meaning of the agreement of 2021, and Rogers also indicates that he was simply lied to in court when it comes to hearing in 2024. At the time, Apple’s CFO Alex Roman stated that the costs for alternative payment options were not to be checked, but the 27 percent commission was the evidence that this was done.

According to Rogers, it was not the goal that Apple allows off-app purchases, but then that what goes through the in-app fees to get in another way. The off-app commissions were also controversial-they were apparently considered legally risky right from the start. The judge now also wants to initiate criminal measures against Apple. She writes: “In stark contrast to Apple’s initial statement in court, current business documents show that Apple knew exactly what it was doing and decided on every opportunity for the most competitive option.” This allegation goes beyond that of the “Malicious Compliance”, which the EU raised last year because of the practices of the app store.

Fortnite comes back to the US app store

How Bloomberg reportsApple wants to bow to the new arrangement for the time being and go to appeal. A public opinion of the company is still pending. Not so on the other side: Epic co-founder Tim Sweeney celebrated the judgment on X And announced that the game “Fortnite” wanted to pass Apple’s app store in the United States next week.

Sweeney also literally makes a “peace offer”: If the iPhone group implements the new regulation of the court worldwide, Epic Fortnite wants to bring again to all app stores and refrain from further legal disputes. Among others in the EU and Brazil, Apple and Epic argue in the same thing. Incidentally, Epic is a direct competitor of Apple, who has been selling software itself since 2018 via his Epic Games Store. Fortnite is, above all, driven by his purchases via the app, the most important sales bringer for Epic.