Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple has come to a conclusion. In a two pages judgment, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has held Epic Games in violation of its contract but also found Apple’s anti-steering policy anti-competitive.
After a long trial, the high-profile Epic vs. Apple case was adjourned in May this year and after three months of deliberation, Judge Rogers has given her verdict.
The court finds Epic Games in violation of its contract and orders it to pay damages to Apple
The court ruled in favor of Epic on the count of California’s Unfair Competition Law that Apple’s anti-steering policy is anti-competitive. But ruled in Apple’s favor on all other counts.
For breach of contract, Epic is ordered to pay damages to Apple.
Epic Games shall pay damages in an amount equal to (i) 30% of the $12,167,719 in revenue EpicGames collected from users in the Fortnite app on iOS through Epic Direct Payment between August and October 2020, plus (ii) 30% of any such revenue Epic Games collected from November 1, 2020 through the date of judgment, and interest according to law.
Apple Inc. and its officers, agents, servants, employees, and any person in active concert or participation with them (“Apple”), are hereby permanently restrained and enjoinedfrom prohibiting developers from (i) including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to In-AppPurchasing and (ii) communicating with customers through points of contact, obtained voluntarily from customers through account registration within the app.
