Apple continues to fight against the Epic Games injunction and has told a court it has already complied with part of it, regarding out-of-app communications between users and developers, reports iMore.
In a court filing seen by iMore filed on Friday, Apple told the court:
Apple has already complied with one-half of the Court’s injunction by striking the Guidelines restricting targeted out-of-app communications. Apple has moved to stay the other half of the injunction, which precludes Apple from enforcing the Guidelines’ prohibition on in-app “buttons, external links, or other calls to action,” because the immediate implementation of that aspect of the injunction would upset the integrity of the iOS ecosystem
On Oct. 8, Apple appealed a ruling by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Epic Games vs. Apple lawsuit back in September. On Friday, the tech giant filed a notice of appeal with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.Here’s part of the body of the appeal: Apple asks the Court to suspend the requirements of its injunction until the appeals filed by both Epic and Apple have been resolved. The company understands and respects the Court’s concerns regarding communications between developers and consumers. Apple is carefully working through many complex issues across a global landscape, seeking to enhance information flow while protecting both the efficient functioning of the App Store and the security and privacy of Apple’s customers. Striking the right balance may solve the Court’s concerns making the injunction (and perhaps even Apple’s appeal itself) unnecessary. A stay is warranted in these circumstances.
In a 185-page ruling in September Judge Rogers said “the Court cannot ultimately conclude that Apple is a monopolist under either federal or state antitrust laws,” but she said the trial “did show that Apple is engaging in anticompetitive conduct under California’s competition laws.” Rogers concluded that “Apple’s anti-steering provisions hide critical information from consumers and illegally stifle consumer choice.”
She ruled that Epic Games shall pay damages equal to 30% of the $12,167,719 in revenue that it collected from users in the Fortnite app on iOS through the direct payment option between August 2020 and October 2020, plus 30% of any such revenue Epic Games collected from November 1, 2020 through the date of judgment, plus interest.
