On 10 September 2021, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued an injunction in the Epic v Apple case. Apps cannot be restricted from directing users to other payment options, in addition to the ones offered by Apple. The injunction will take effect on 9 December 2021. The injunction reads as follows:
“Apple Inc. and its officers, agents, servants, employees, and any person in active concert or participation with them (“Apple”), are hereby permanently restrained and enjoined from prohibiting developers from (i) including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to In-App Purchasing and (ii) communicating with customers through points of contact obtained voluntarily from customers through account registration within the app.“
The judgment did not render Apple’s business model as broadly monopolistic under Californian law, however it did find that Apple was engaging in anti-competitive behaviour.
Epic was found in breach of its contract with Apple when it implemented an alternative payment system in the Fortnite app. Epic must now pay Apple 30% of all revenue collected through the alternative system since it was implemented, totalling at around $3.5 million.
The Epic v Apple judgment can be found here.
Please contact Tim Cowen if you have any questions regarding the above.