This is our fourth update in relation to the ongoing legal dispute concerning Epic Games and Apple.
In this regard, you may refer to our previous articles accessible here, here and here respectively.
As the legal battle between Epic and Apple continues to unfold, Apple has taken the decision to file a countersuit against Epic. Apple is seeking legal redress by judicial actions on the basis of an alleged breach of contract which occurred when Epic initiated a direct in-app payment system within the popular videogame. As a result, Apple is seeking monetary damages to compensate for the loss of fees suffered as a consequence of Epic's actions.
In a statement Apple stated that "although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multibillion-dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store".
According to Apple, owing to Epic's claims, Apple has suffered greatly. Apple is striving to improve its image by fighting claims that the App Store is anti-competitive. Apple claims that the company is not anti-competitive in any means especially when considering that out of $140 billion App Store sales in 2019 upwards of $116 billion "went entirely into app developers' back pockets".
Through a separate new filing, Epic claims that Fortnite has been banned from the App Store for 1 year. Epic is insisting that this is a drastic decision which will result in iOS players being unable to access the game. Epic holds that such a decision will lead to "irreparable damage", this especially when considering that Fortnite has upwards of 350 million registered players, 116 million of which have registered through iOS.
This new filing follows a previous decision taken by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers as discussed in our previous article. "The current predicament appears of its own making", Judge Rogers stated, saying that Epic "strategically chose to breach its agreements with Apple". Consequently, daily active players that use Apple's iOS system have fallen by more than 60%.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has set a September 28 hearing on Epic's request for a preliminary injunction. In this regard, we will be providing updates on the progression of this case.
The information provided above is accurate as of 10th September 2020.
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