A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of Epic Games in its long-running dispute with Apple, upholding a lower court’s ruling for contempt of the iPhone maker and ordering a judge to decide how much commission the company can charge developers for transactions made outside the App Store.
In a 54-page ruling released Thursday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco found that Apple violated a lower court’s injunction by imposing a 27% tax on those transactions and upheld U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ decision to hold the company in contempt.
However, the three-judge panel said Gonzalez Rogers should reassess the fee Apple can charge developers for using its intellectual property.
“Apple is entitled to certain compensation for the use of its intellectual property that is directly used to enable Epic and others to make purchases through external links,” the court said.
The companies have been battling this dispute for more than five years, ever since Epic accused Apple of illegally blocking competition from its App Store. In April, Rogers concluded that Apple deliberately violated its 2021 order that required the company to allow developers to direct consumers to cheaper online payment options.
Apple keeps 15-30% of most in-app purchases, which has long irritated developers.
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