LegalNews

Apple asks judge to toss or narrow a decision in its eternal legal battle with Epic Games

In an apparently never-ending legal brouhaha, Apple has asked a U.S. judge to throw out or narrow a decision governing the App Store.

In an apparently never-ending legal brouhaha, Apple has asked a U.S. judge to throw out or narrow a decision governing the App Store, saying new legal developments undermine a court order that “Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games won in its lawsuit against the tech giant, reports Reuters.

The tech giant made its request on Monday in a to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California. In Monday’s filing, Apple said new decisions by California state courts and the U.S. Supreme Court in two unrelated cases bolster the company’s legal arguments against the injunction.

This is all part of an ongoing global legal battle between Apple and Epic. On Aug. 13, 2020, Epic Games announced that it had introduced a new direct payment option in the Fortnite app for iPhone and iPad, allowing players to purchase 1000 V-Bucks for US$7.99 rather than $9.99 through Apple’s in-app purchase mechanism. Shortly thereafter, Apple removed the gamer from the App Store for violating store polices and followed up by shutting down the company’s developer account.  

Epic immediately filed a lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.In September 2020 Apple filed a countersuit to stop the game maker from using its own payment system for Fortnite. Apple also accused Epic of theft and sought extra monetary damages beyond breach of contract. 

The legal battle has bounced back and forth with lawsuits and counter-lawsuits ever since.

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Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.