Epic Games says court 'led astray' by Apple in App Store trial

Fornite on iOS
Fornite on iOS (Image credit: Epic Games)

What you need to know

  • Epic Games has filed another brief in its appeal against the Apple App Store trial ruling.
  • It says the court was led astray by Apple and wrong to rule in Cupertino's favor.
  • It also says that claims Epic's demand will compromise the security of the iPhone are "untrue."

Epic Games has told the appeals court in its fierce legal battle with Apple that the district court was "led astray" by Apple and was wrong to rule against it.

In the filing, as reported by FOSS Patents, Epic is answering a brief submitted by Apple in response to Epic's appeal and Apple's own appeal against the one count in which the court ruled against Apple.

The briefing says that Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rodgers was "led astray" by Apple and reached "the wrong answer to all of these questions" in regard to the lawsuit it filed against Apple.

Epic Games says that Apple's restraint on its App Store is "contractually imposed and enforced" and that the court demonstrated this design was to serve Apple's policy choices, rather than the other way around.

It also says that Apple's claim Epic's demands would compromise iPhone security is untrue, citing Apple's own promotion of the security of macOS, which does allow alternative payment options and installing software outwit the App Store.

Epic also hit back at Apple's plan to appeal the measure passed down by the courts that would not allow it to prevent developers from communicating with App Store customers about alternative ways to purchase products.

Apple now has around three weeks to reply to Epic's brief, before the 9th circuit schedules a hearing on the appeal. A decision may arrive before the end of 2022, however, 2023 is just as likely.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9