Federal judge prohibits Apple from exclusivity in App Store payments

Federal judge prohibits Apple from exclusivity in App Store payments

San Francisco, Sep 10 (EFENews) .- A federal judge issued a decision on Friday that prohibits Apple from the controversial exclusivity of payment systems in purchases through the App Store.

Judge Yvonne González Rogers estimated that when the iPhone signature prevents developers from informing their customers that there are cheaper alternatives to purchases through the App Store, there is a violation of antitrust laws.

The ruling, however, upholds the controversial 30% commission that Apple charges software developers, and supports the company’s right to offer only the App Store as an app store for its products.

This Friday’s verdict is the last episode in the legal battle between Apple and the video game company Epic Games, which in a three-week trial last May tried to prove to the judge that the Cupertino (California) firm acts as a monopolist.

At the center of the dispute is the question of whether the App Store is a monopoly and the Cupertino company is taking advantage of it and harming consumers, as they argue from Epic, or if on the contrary it competes freely with alternatives like Google Play, as the defense argues.

In this sense, Rogers’ ruling was closer to Apple’s interests than to those of Epic, since although it prohibits the company with the bitten apple from continuing to have exclusivity in payments, it makes it clear that Apple cannot be branded monopoly.

“The Court has confirmed today what we have always known: that the App Store does not violate antitrust laws. As the Court has said, ‘success is not illegal’”, they congratulated themselves from the company headed by Tim Cook in a statement after know the judicial decision.

The euphoria of the company is understood because, although not being able to maintain exclusivity in payments can mean a certain loss of business, if the judge had decided to knock down other key elements of the operation of the App Store such as the 30% commission, the consequences would have been devastating to the interests of the company.

(c) EFE Agency

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