Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers at the Federal District Court in Northern California has now ruled in the high-profile case between Apple and Epic Games, reports Appleinsider.
Apple has no monopoly and therefore does not violate federal competition law, but locking into its own payment system violates California’s competition law. The company is therefore required not to prevent developers from 1) paying attention to users in different ways in alternative ways to buy digital goods and 2) communicating directly with users who have voluntarily registered in the app.
The company now has 90 days to introduce the necessary rule changes, if no higher court stops the verdict.
But the judge followed Apple’s line regarding Epic’s claim that the agreement between the companies should be considered invalid. The company has thus committed a breach of contract and is required to pay 30 percent of the revenue from the period that Fortnite on iOS offered direct purchases from Epic. That is at least SEK 31 million.
The judge further writes that Apple has every right to close Epic’s developer account (s) and believes that Epic wanted to force Apple to give the company more control over the broader gaming market and not just the market for digital mobile gaming transactions.
Apple calls the ruling a “resounding victory” while Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says the company will appeal and that there is no profit for either developers or consumers.
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