The legal war between Epic Games and Apple continues due to the insistence of the owners of Fortnite, who seek to scrape some victory by appealing the sentence that the American court returned overwhelmingly in favor of those of Cupertino in 2021. This Epic appeal was again rejected.
Recall that the sentence wanted to settle the matter by saying that Apple has every right to close its ecosystem and leave the App Store as the only store present in it, but at the same time developers should be able to point out alternative payment methods within these Applications.
The 2021 sentence is still in effect
This resolution caused Epic to pay compensation to Apple, waving a fist in the air and swearing that we would never see Fortnite on the App Store again. And now again, a US federal court has insisted that the original 2021 sentence is still the correct one. And that although some errors were made there, they are “harmless” errors and do not affect the final conclusion. In the judgment’s own words:
“There is an active and important debate about the role our economy and our democracy play in online transaction platforms. However, our job as the Federal Court of Appeals is not to resolve this debate, and we couldn’t even try”
Tim Sweeney, owner of the Epic Games Store, has already reacted. admitted a twitter that they continued to lose the case, though he’s glad it also allows developers to direct their users to alternative payment methods. Also states that “they are working on the next steps”hinting that they still aren’t giving up completely.
On the Apple side, one of its spokespersons spoke to The Verge to express satisfaction with the resolution of this appeal and to add that he “respectfully disagrees” about requiring developers to offer links to alternative payment methods. They also end by saying that “will consider further consideration” of the matter in case there is an opportunity gap that allows them to win in this aspect as well. Thus, neither side considers this battle closed.
What Epic Can’t Do, Let iOS 17 Do
It’s impossible not to mention that iOS 17 is rumored to do exactly what Epic Games wants to achieve despite losing the case in the US: allowing alternative app stores. This will happen at least in the European Union, since that’s where the administration will force the App Store to stop being the exclusive store on iOS and iPadOS.
And therefore It will be in Europe where Epic Games can try its luck. We’ll see an ironic fact: as it loses in the US, in Europe we may see an Epic Games Store within iOS if those responsible for it are encouraged. Two worlds that can cause conflicts of interest on a global scale. Next stop to see this: WWDC 2023.
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