Apple asks London tribunal to toss lawsuit valued at about $1 billion

Apple has asked a London tribunal to throw out a mass lawsuit valued at around $1 billion brought on behalf of more than 1,500 app developers over its App Store fees. reports Reuters. The iPhone maker says the lawsuit is “unsustainable.”

In July a lawsuit was filed against the tech giant by more than 1,500 app developers in the UK. The lawsuit claims that Apple’s 15% to 30% fees for its app stores’ in-app payment system is unfair. 

The UK lawsuit at the Competition Appeal Tribunal was brought by Sean Ennis, a professor at the Centre for Competition Policy at the University of East Anglia and a former economist at the OECD, on behalf of 1,566 app developers.

“Apple’s charges to app developers are excessive, and only possible due to its monopoly on the distribution of apps onto iPhones and iPads,” Ennis said in a statement to Reuters. “The charges are unfair in their own right, and constitute abusive pricing. They harm app developers and also app buyers.”

In reply Apple claims that 85% of App Store developers don’t pay any commission. The tech giant also says that it helps European developers to access in markets and customers in 175 countries through its app store.