Supreme Court Takes Up Apple Appeal in Epic Games Fight

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday (June 30) to hear Apple’s appeal of a lower court ruling that found the company in contempt in its legal battle with Epic Games, Reuters reported Tuesday (June 30).

The ruling that Apple was in contempt came because the judge found that the company violated a judicial order requiring it to make extensive changes to its app store after Epic Games brought an antitrust action against the company, according to the report.

PYMNTS reported in April that the court battle began in 2020 over whether Epic Games could add external payments in its app, enabling the company to bypass the fees charged by Apple’s App Store.

According to the Tuesday report, Apple has argued that it cannot be held in contempt for violating the “spirit” of a court injunction, as opposed to an express provision, and the company has denied that it violated any earlier court orders.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case during its term that begins in October, per the report.

Ars Technica reported Tuesday that when announcing it would hear the appeal, the Supreme Court said it would consider “whether a court may hold a party in civil contempt based on a violation of an injunction’s ‘spirit’ where the injunction is silent as to the conduct upon which contempt is based, as the Ninth Circuit holds; or, instead, whether a court must ground a finding of civil contempt on the violation of an order that clearly and unambiguously proscribes the precise conduct at issue, as other circuits hold.”

Apple told Reuters: “This is an important question of law, and we are pleased the Supreme Court will hear our case.”

Epic Games said in a Tuesday post on X: “We’re heading to the Supreme Court where we’ll continue our fight against junk fees Apple charges on third-party payments. Lower courts have rightly found Apple’s fees to be illegal and anticompetitive and we’ll continue to defend free markets.”