Update: Apple has responded to the ruling with a statement provided to 9to5Mac, saying it “strongly disagrees” with the court’s opinion. You can find the full statement below.
Apple has just taken yet another hit in its ongoing legal standoff with Epic Games. As reported by Reuters, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Apple’s emergency request to pause key parts of a lower court order that forces the company to immediately open its App Store to greater competition.
It never ends
Apple had asked the appeals court to halt enforcement of a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who found Apple in contempt this April for effectively dodging her original injunction. Convoluted, right? Exactly.
The judge observed several violations, including Apple’s imposition of a 27% fee on out-of-app transactions and overall attempts to continue making it unappealing for developers to direct users to external payment options.
As Reuters noted:
“In its emergency appeal, Apple said the ruling blocked the company from ‘exercising control over core aspects of its business operations’ and forced it to give away free access to its services.”
In rejecting Apple’s motion, the court is letting those new compliance requirements stand while the company appeals the decision. Apple had hoped to halt the enforcement until the decision was final, which would grant the company the right to roll back the changes it was recently compelled to implement.
Apple’s next move? All signs point to continuing the appeals process. But for now, developers are free to enjoy fewer Apple-imposed barriers. We have asked Apple for a statement on today’s decision, and will update this post if we hear back.
Update: in a statement provided to 9to5Mac, an Apple spokesperson said:
“We are disappointed with the decision not to stay the district court’s order, and we’ll continue to argue our case during the appeals process. As we’ve said before, we strongly disagree with the district court’s opinion. Our goal is to ensure the App Store remains an incredible opportunity for developers and a safe and trusted experience for our users.”
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