After months of cross-accusations, allegations and leaked documents, it seems that the macro-trial between the tech giants Apple and Epic Games reaches a point of no return. So much so, that this Friday, September 10, 2021 a court order in charge of the judge Yvonne González-Rogers in which it is determined that both companies will act based on the evidence provided so far. So much so, that Apple will be forced to enable external payment methods in the applications of the App Store, while Epic Games will have to pay up to $ 3.6 million for additional benefits and damages.
Judicial blow to Apple for the Fortnite case
Thus, the judge’s ruling obliges Apple to “include external links or other calls to action in their apps and in the metadata buttons to direct consumers to purchase mechanisms, in addition to In-App Purchases and communicate with consumers through contact points voluntarily obtained from consumers through account registration within the app ”.
In short, that from 90 days from the entry of the court decision (or what is the same, as of next December 9, 2021), Apple must allow third companies, if they deem it appropriate, to introduce links, redirects and purchase options to pages external to the App Store, something that led to the confrontation of both companies over the version of Fortnite on iOS and their veto for their external purchase options.
On the other hand, Epic Games does not get away with the confrontation, since it has been denied the monopoly charge against Apple: “The court cannot ultimately conclude that Apple is a monopoly under federal or state antitrust laws,” says the court order issued by Judge González-Rogers. In addition, the judge has imposed a payment to Apple of 30% of the revenue obtained by Epic Games between the months of August and October 2020, that is, the time between the months that the start of the confrontation between the two took place.
In total, Epic Games must pay a total of $ 3.6 million for the benefits obtained, in addition to compensating the additional damages. All in all, both companies have been winning and losing at the same time, although the fact that the possibility of third-party companies including external links in apps on the App Store opens opens up a whole new era in platform business de Apple.
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, has already reacted to the ruling, ensuring that Fortnite It will return to the App Store when Apple enables external purchase options on its platform.
Source | The Verge
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