Apple suffered a significant setback in its lawsuit against Epic Games today, as the Ninth Circuit denied both of its rehearing petitions. Here are the details.
Very compressed context
Epic Games filed a 10-count lawsuit against Apple after it was removed from the App Store in August 2020.
Apple took action after Epic changed Fortnite’s in-app purchase system to bypass App Store rules, a move later confirmed to be intentional.
After a lengthy legal battle, Apple was found to be violating California’s Unfair Competition Law by limiting developers’ ability to direct users to alternative payment methods.
This was the only victory for Epic, the court dismissed the other nine claims.
But it was a significant victory, especially after last year, judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers It found that it broke Apple of his original 2021 resolution and ordered the company to allow developers to connect to alternative payment methods without restrictions.
Apple, for its part, argued that the order properly expanded the original ruling (which applied only to Epic) and He appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The appeals court then heard Apple’s case with a three-judge panel and largely upheld the lower court’s decision.
This prompted Apple to file two motions: one requesting a hearing before the same three judges who heard the case. Second, it asks to practice on the benchThe full Ninth Circuit will reconsider its decision.
Apple’s main argument was that the ruling created confusion about what would be allowed to be paid for purchases made outside the App Store.
In short, Apple pointed to two possible interpretations: one that would limit it to only charging direct costs to support foreign purchases, and the other that would allow it to collect a broader commission tied to the value of the App Store and its ecosystem.
Which brings us to today.
The court denies both motions
Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States announced its decision. unanimously denies Apple’s petition for a three-judge panel hearing. This means that all three judges rejected Apple’s proposal.
When it comes to exercise on the benchJudge M. Smith voted to dismiss the motion, while Judge SR Thomas and Judge McShane recommended it. But as the document says:
The full court was briefed on the petition and no judge of the court called for a vote. (…) Petition for panel hearing and petition for en banc rehearing
REPEAT.
With that decision now on the books, Apple has a very limited set of options, including trying to take the case back to the Supreme Court.
For the first time, both Apple and Epic sought to appeal the earlier Ninth Circuit decision to the Supreme Court, but the justices declined to hear the case.
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