Epic Games failed to demonstrate that Apple is an “illegal monopolist,” California federal judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled Friday in the high-profile case brought by Epic Games.
Rogers, an Obama appointee, ruled that “the court does not find that it is impossible,” but rather that Epic failed to demonstrate that Apple is “an illegal monopolist.”
“Nonetheless, the trial did show that Apple is engaging in anti-competitive conduct under California’s competition laws,” the judge said in the decision.
Gonzalez Rogers also issued an injunction “permanently” restraining Apple from prohibiting developers from including external links directing customers to options to make purchases outside of the in-app payment system.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, this is akin to a judge issuing an injunction that forces Best Buy and Target to place signs next to each product that advertise lower prices for the same items at Walmart.
Apple should appeal Roger’s injunction and/or if developers like Epic Games want to advertise lower prices using Apple’s App Store, Apple should simply charge an in-store advertising fee. We suggest it be 15% for developers making under $1 million per year and 30% for those making $1 million or more annually. 🙂
“Today the Court has affirmed what we’ve known all along: the App Store is not in violation of antitrust law,” Apple said in a statement.
[Apple] is allowed to largely keep its App Store policies in place — including collecting commission fees and keeping the App Store as the sole download method on iPhones and iPads.
Epic is also ordered to pay Apple an amount equal to the 3 percent of the roughly $12 million in revenue Epic Games collected from users in the Fortnite app through direct payments…
Chamber of Progress, an industry group that names Apple and Google among its corporate partners, touted Gonzalez Rogers’s ruling as a warning to lawmakers to hold off on revamping antitrust laws.
“Antitrust law should focus on protecting consumers, but this case has always been about Epic Games trying to save a few million dollars. The judge’s rejection of most of Epic’s arguments should give policymakers pause in legislating to help some companies’ bottom line,” Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich said in a statement.
MacDailyNews Take: Once digested by the market, Apple will be seen as the clear winner in this case.
TGIF! Interns: Please perform your most sacred duty by tapping that keg! Prost, everyone!
