Apple says Epic Games contempt ruling could cost ‘substantial sums’

Apple says Epic Games contempt ruling could cost ‘substantial sums’


An Apple store in Walnut Creek, California, U.S., on April 30, 2025.

Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Apple is asking a court to pause a recent decision in its case against Epic Games and allow the iPhone maker to once again charge a commission on in-app transactions that link out for payment.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland found that Apple had violated her original court order from the Epic trial, originally decided in 2021, that forced Apple to make limited changes to its linking out policy under California law.

Judge Rogers’ new ruling is more expansive, ordering Apple to immediately stop imposing its commissions on purchases made for iPhone apps through web links inside its apps, among other changes.

Apple is now looking to get a stay on that order, as well as another one from the case that prevents it from restricting app developers from choosing the language or placement of those links, until the entire decision can be appealed. Apple says that required changes in their current form will cost the company “substantial sums.”

“This is the latest chapter in Epic’s largely unsuccessful effort to use competition law to change how Apple runs the App Store,” Apple said in the emergency motion for a stay. The motion cites a previous order in the case that found that new linking policies would cost Apple “hundreds of millions to billions” of dollars annually.

If Apple succeeds, it will allow the company to roll back changes that have already started to shift the economics of app development. Developers including Amazon and Spotify have been able to update their apps to avoid Apple’s commissions and direct customers to their own website for payment.

Prior to the ruling, Amazon’s Kindle app told users they could not purchase a book in the iPhone app. After a recent update, the app now shows an orange “Get Book” button that links to Amazon’s website.

Epic also plans to introduce new software to allow app and game developers to easily link to their websites to take payments.  

“This forces Apple to compete,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said shortly after last month’s decision. “This is what we wanted all along.”

Apple said in the filing that “non-party developers are already seizing upon the Order to reduce consumer choice (and damage Apple’s business) by, among other things, impeding the use of” in-app purchases.

Rogers made a criminal referral in the case, saying that Apple misled the court and that a company vice president “outright lied” about when and why Apple decided to charge 27% for external payments. The real decision, the judge said, took place in meetings involving Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Wednesday’s filing from Apple doesn’t address Rogers’ accusations that the company misled the judge, but it does argue that the ruling was punitive. Apple’s lawyers also claimed that civil contempt sanctions can only coerce compliance with an existing order, not punish non-compliance.

Apple said earlier this week in a court filing it would appeal the contempt ruling.

“We’ve complied with the court’s order and we’re going to appeal,” Cook told investors on the company’s quarterly earnings call last week.

WATCH: Apple says it strongly disagrees with Epic Games decision

Apple on Epic Games decision: We strongly disagree and will appeal



Source

German inflation eases to hotter-than-expected 2.1% in May
World

German inflation eases to hotter-than-expected 2.1% in May

19 May 2025, Berlin: Apricots are sold at a greengrocer for 7.98 euros per kilogram. Grapes and papaya are also on offer. Photo by Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images Germany’s annual inflation hit 2.1% in May approaching the European Central Bank’s 2% target but coming in slightly hotter than analyst estimates, preliminary data from […]

Read More
Trump accuses China of violating preliminary trade deal
World

Trump accuses China of violating preliminary trade deal

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. Dan Kitwoodnicholas Kamm | Afp | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Friday accused China of violating a preliminary trade agreement with the United States. Trump made the claim in a social media post a day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that trade talks with […]

Read More
India’s economy grew by faster-than-expected 7.4% in the March quarter
World

India’s economy grew by faster-than-expected 7.4% in the March quarter

Indian tourists and Kashmiris walk near the clock tower (Ghanta Ghar) in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on May 28, 2025. Firdous Nazir | Nurphoto | Getty Images India’s economy expanded at a faster-than-expected annual rate of 7.4% in the quarter ended in March, despite mounting global economic uncertainty. The print for the gross domestic product […]

Read More