The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that iPhone app purchasers may sue Apple over allegations that the company monopolized the market for iPhone apps by not allowing users to purchase them outside the Apple App Store, leading to higher prices, reports Reuters.
A group of iPhone users sued, saying the Cupertino, California-based company’s practice was anticompetitive. Apple argued that users didn’t have standing to sue it because they purchased apps from developers, with Apple simply renting out space to those developers.
Developers pay a cut of their revenues to Apple in exchange for the right to sell in the App Store. Reuters notes that a lower court sided with Apple, but Judge William A. Fletcher ruled that iPhone users purchase apps directly from Apple, which gives them the right to bring a legal challenge against the company.
