Apple Fights Back Against Epic's Bid to Kill Supreme Court Appeal

Apple has filed a 12-page effect to Epic Games' effort to person its Supreme Court petition dismissed, arguing that Epic's ain filing "confirms the request for review."


Epic filed a 35-page opposition connected June 4, 2026, urging the Supreme Court to cull Apple's appeal. Apple's effect takes purpose astatine 2 cardinal arguments Epic made successful that filing.

On the question of anti-steering, Apple says Epic is mischaracterizing the scope of the injunction against it. According to Apple, the bid lone restricted circumstantial anti-steering practices and did not code App Store commissions, making Epic's framing an effort to rewrite the ruling alternatively than an close statement of it.

The 2nd quality involves a 2025 Supreme Court precedent, "Trump v. CASA, Inc." Epic says Apple is wrongly claiming an exemption from it. Apple responds that the earlier ruling explicitly states CASA "has nary bearing" connected antitrust cases, which this is, making Epic's statement moot.

The filing is the latest speech successful a quality dating backmost to 2020, erstwhile Epic deliberately triggered a struggle with Apple implicit ‌App Store‌ outgo rules. Apple won the immense bulk of the archetypal lawsuit successful 2021, but mislaid connected anti-steering, with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordering Apple to let developers to nexus to outer outgo options. Apple complied, but charged a 27% committee connected link-out transactions, starring fewer developers to follow it.

In April 2025, Gonzalez Rogers recovered Apple successful willful usurpation and barred it from charging immoderate committee connected outer links. The justice besides accused Apple VP of concern Alex Roman of giving grounds "replete with misdirection and outright lies" astir erstwhile Apple decided connected the 27% fee, and referred some Roman and Apple to national prosecutors for a imaginable transgression contempt investigation. Apple dropped nexus fees and appealed.

In December 2025, the Ninth Circuit agreed Apple had violated the injunction but sent the lawsuit backmost to territory tribunal to find a tenable committee rate. Apple petitioned the Supreme Court successful May, questioning whether the contempt uncovering was due and whether the injunction should use to each developers nationwide alternatively than conscionable Epic.

An effort to pause interest proceedings during that process was later reversed aft Epic challenged it. Fortnite besides returned to the App Store worldwide successful May, with Epic CEO Tim Sweeney declaring the commencement of the "final battle" of the dispute.

The Supreme Court has indicated it could determine whether to judge Apple's entreaty arsenic aboriginal arsenic June, though a last ruling remains galore months distant regardless.
This article, "Apple Fights Back Against Epic's Bid to Kill Supreme Court Appeal" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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