On Friday, a federal judge ordered Apple to allow
app developers to steer their customers off their iPhone apps to pay for their
goods or services, which Apple had banned. That is big news for developers,
because sales completed outside Apple’s payment systems are not subject to its
commission of up to 30 percent.
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The ruling in
Apple’s yearlong legal fight with Epic Games,
maker of the popular video game Fortnite, set off celebrations among app
developers. From one-person startups to Fortune 500 companies, they have long
complained about paying hefty cuts of their businesses to Apple. The impact of
the decision will be most felt by the smallest developers.
“It’s a very big deal,” said Denys Zhadanov, a board member at
Readdle, which makes five productivity apps. The change could save his company
millions of dollars each year, he said.
The court fight has often been framed as a battle between
industry heavyweights: Apple, which is worth $2.5 trillion,
versus Epic, a far
smaller company but still one of the few app makers capable of taking on the
Silicon Valley titan.
Friday’s verdict is not expected to be a big hit to Apple’s
bottom line. In fact, the company declared victory, since U.S. District Court
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Epic had failed to prove that Apple had
a monopoly in the mobile gaming market — which would have had a much more
serious consequence.
The decision appeared to disappoint Epic. Tim Sweeney, its CEO, said
the ruling wasn’t a “win for developers or for consumers.”
There could be a number of barriers to the mandated App Store
changes. Apple could ask another judge to temporarily block the order. And both
companies could appeal the ruling.
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