Epic Games Asks Supreme Court to Review Apple’s Anti-Trust Ruling

comingsoon.net:

In the latest escalation of the ongoing legal battle between and tech giant Apple, the Fortnite developer has asked the Supreme Court to review an earlier ruling from a lower court. The lower court ruling, which cleared Apple of violating antitrust laws with the terms of its iOS App Store, is now being disputed by Epic’s legal team.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the appeal by Epic seeks to urge the Supreme Court to issue a broader ruling on antitrust issues that have led to a years-long dispute between it and Apple. As part of the appeal, the Fortnite developer wants the court to determine whether Apple’s rules limiting iOS users to only making app purchases through its official App Store violate the Sherman Antitrust Act. According to a report by Bloomberg, this latest legal effort comes after the Supreme Court rejected a previous request from Epic to allow developers to direct iOS users to purchasing options outside of Apple’s official App Store.

At the center of this latest appeal is whether restraints, or lack thereof, on Apple’s ability to limit users’ ability to purchase apps from outside the App Store runs afoul of the Sherman Act. According to an analysis by GamesBeat, Epic contends that restraints on business which “have both pro- and anticompetitive effects is unlawful if a ‘less-restrictive alternative’ will achieve the same benefits while harming competition less.” The Unreal Engine publisher wants the court to determine whether a “less-restrictive alternative” must be free from costs to Apple and, if no such alternative exists, whether such restraints are invalid “if the harm to competition substantially outweighs” any procompetitive justifications.

The high-profile legal dispute between the two tech