A federal judge is asking Apple to either approve Fortnite’s filing in the US app store or return to court to explain legal grounds as to why it has not done so.
In a new submission, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers confirms that the court has received the latest moves in the epic game, where Apple demands that Fortnite be approved for distribution in the App Store.
The clearly annoyed judge asks Apple to show the court “the legal authority to assert that Apple can ignore this court’s order.” Gonzalez Rogers also suggests that Apple will need to return to court to explain whether it is not dealing with the situation.
“Apple can fully resolve this issue without further explanation or hearing,” Gonzalez Rogers reminds us of the Tech giant, adding that Apple will name officials from the company that are responsible for ensuring compliance with court decisions.
Reading between the lines, the request for the name of Apple officials in the new submission suggests that Gonzalez Rogers has not considered a light empty charge for failing to violate the court’s injunction.
This follows her previous ruling, where a judge skewed Apple for trying to cross court orders and denounced high-tech companies under oath.
After gaining the right to include a link to an external payment mechanism in the app, Epic Games resubmitted Fortnite to the US app store. However, Apple told the game makers it had decided not to take action against Epic Games submissions until after the 9th Circuit rules regarding the pending request for partial stay of Apple’s partial injunction. (In other words, Apple said it doesn’t need to approve the app until the legal process for appeal is fully undertaken.)
Friday’s epic game filed an appeal to the court to force the injunction to enforce the injunction, taking into account Apple’s decision.
The latest legal threat follows a long-standing court battle over Apple’s App Store policy, which has long denied app developers the right to link to external payment options without paying Apple A’s fees. Apple originally complied with court decisions in the litigation by allowing US developers to file an exception to the App Store rules, but it collected a 27% fee for alternative purchases that fell from the usual 30%. Apple also requested that developers use “scary screens” to warn consumers that they click to buy outside the app store.
In a big victory for the developer, Gonzalez Rogers found Apple “intentionally breached” the court’s injunction on anti-competitive pricing and the committee. However, Apple instead sat on a week’s submission and did not approve or reject the game’s publication, but its lawyers created a response.
What’s important is that what happens next for Apple could stimulate similar legal action and regulations in other global markets.
Apple was the winner of the first antitrust antitrust lawsuit against Epic’s tech giant as the court declared it was not a monopoly. However, Epic Games won in one area when Gonzalez Rogers agreed that iPhone users could access alternative payment options if developers wanted to use their own website for in-app purchases like virtual products or subscriptions.
Following the decision, Apple updated its App Store policy for the US, with apps like Spotify, Amazon Kindle and Patreon quickly deploying new versions of their apps to take advantage of the new features.
The epic game declined to comment. Apple did not respond to requests for comment.