iPhone maker Apple denies violating a court order governing its App Store and urged a California federal judge to deny “Fortnite” developer Epic Games’ request to hold it in contempt.
Apple made the argument in a filing with U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, who presided over Epic’s 2020 lawsuit accusing Apple of violating antitrust laws with its strict controls on how users consumers download the app and pay for transactions therein.
Apple’s filing criticizes what it calls Epic’s efforts to make “Apple tools and technology available to developers for free.”
Epic said it wants the court to “micromanage Apple’s business practices in a way that would increase Epic’s profits.”
Epic declined to comment. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the dispute, part of a long-running battle between the two companies.
Epic largely lost its case against Apple, but Rogers in 2021 ordered Apple to give developers more freedom to guide app users to alternative payment methods for digital goods .
The US Supreme Court in January declined to hear Apple’s appeal of the ban.
Epic said in court filings last month that Cupertino, California-based Apple “flagrantly violated” the court order. It points to Apple imposing a 27% fee on developers for some purchases, which the video game maker said creates links for alternative payment options” commercially unusable”.
Epic also accused Apple of banning certain apps from notifying users about alternative ways to pay for goods.
Meta Platforms, Microsoft, X and Elon Musk’s Match Group last month echoed Epic’s argument, telling Rogers that Apple had “clearly violated” the court order.
In a similar case that pits Epic against Alphabet’s Google, a judge in San Francisco is expected this year to issue a separate order affecting the Google Play Store.
The case is Epic Games Inc v Apple Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-05640.
