Apple Plans Supreme Court Appeal In Epic Games App Store Battle — Again

Apple is preparing to return its App Store conflict pinch Epic Games backmost to nan Supreme Court. In a caller filing, nan iPhone shaper said it plans to inquire nan U.S. Supreme Court to reappraisal different facet of this long-running lawsuit complete App Store fees.

In nan meantime, Apple is seeking to region nan appeals court’s ruling limiting really it tin complaint for outer payments.

As a refresher, Apple has been successful a multi-year ineligible conflict against Fortnite shaper Epic Games aft nan crippled shaper added outer payments successful its app to bypass Apple’s App Store fees successful 2020. Apple mostly won nan lawsuit successful 2021 arsenic nan tribunal ruled that Apple was not a monopoly. However, nan judge specified that Apple had to let developers to nexus to outer costs options.

The tech elephantine appealed that determination up to nan Supreme Court, which declined to perceive nan case, allowing nan Ninth Circuit Court’s original ruling to stand. As a result, Apple began allowing outer payments, but it charged developers utilizing their ain costs systems a 27% committee connected those purchases — only a flimsy discount from Apple’s accustomed 30% fee. (Meanwhile, Google, facing a akin case, settled pinch Epic Games past month, and dropped its Play Store commissions to 20%.)

Epic Games based on that specified a interest was not compliant pinch nan tribunal order; they and different developers besides weren’t redeeming immoderate money, arsenic costs processing has fees of its own.

The U.S. District Court for nan Northern District of California agreed pinch Epic, uncovering Apple successful contempt. That determination was upheld by nan U.S. Court of Appeals for nan Ninth Circuit successful December 2025. The appeals tribunal said that Apple’s 27% interest connected outer payments efficaciously defeated nan intent of allowing them, but it didn’t propose a caller rate. That determination is headed backmost to a little tribunal to decide. (Apple asked for a rehearing connected this decision, but its petition was denied successful March 2026.)

As Apple now has nary much options wrong nan Ninth Circuit, it plans to return its lawsuit to nan Supreme Court.

If nan Supreme Court agrees to perceive nan case, Apple is expected to situation nan ineligible standards that were utilized to clasp it successful contempt, and it would effort to person nan judges that courts should not beryllium allowed to limit nan fees it tin complaint for its services. The institution has agelong based on that nan 27% interest is not for costs processing, but for different services, for illustration hosting, discovery, and its package and developer tools. Essentially, it’s a interest that Apple believes reflects nan worth of its App Store ecosystem.

However, since nan Supreme Court refused to perceive Apple’s anterior appeal, which focused connected a different facet of nan case, it could very good cull this 1 arsenic well. This rumor now heads backmost to a little tribunal to determine what, if any, committee Apple tin complaint connected purchases made extracurricular nan App Store.

When this conflict yet wraps, nan court’s determination could effect really overmuch money Apple makes from its App Store, arsenic consumers progressively move to AI chatbots and agents to get things done.