The judge in Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple over the removal of Fortnite from its app store has previously ruled for Apple in a similar case.
Oakland, California-based US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who took over the Epic case from another judge this week, found in favour of Apple in a 2013 case that also concerned the manufacturer’s 30% fee on subscriptions and in-app purchases through the App Store.
Rogers dismissed the 2013 antitrust case, brought by a group of consumers claiming Apple’s app monopoly and 30% fee had cost consumers millions of dollars in additional charges, saying that these overcharges were a result of the developers’ actions, not Apple’s.
“The Court cannot assume, as Plaintiffs do, that developers charging 99 cents for an App would necessarily have charged 70%, or 69 cents, if not for the agreement with Apple to pay them 30% of the purchase price.
“The Court finds that the 30% figure for which Plaintiffs complain is not a fixed fee, but a cost passed-on to consumers by independent software developers. As such, any injury to Plaintiffs is an indirect effect resulting from the software developers’ own costs,” she said in her ruling.
Epic is suing Apple after the iPhone manufacturer removed its popular game Fortnite from the App Store, due to the developer circumventing its 30% fee by offering direct in-app purchases.
