Apple's Reasonable Fee Request Accepted
Drama
15 December 2025 17:27
Apple has won a small victory in its long-running legal battle with Epic Games after a recent appeal ruling in the United States.
According to Reuters, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Apple that it can charge a “reasonable fee” on payments developers make outside of the App Store. These are payments handled through external systems instead of Apple’s own in-app payment option.
However, the court said that any fee Apple charges must be based on the “actual costs to ensure user security and privacy.” What counts as a reasonable fee has not been decided yet and will be discussed further between Apple and the district court.
While Apple had some success, most of its appeal was rejected. The court ruled that Apple’s suggested 27% fee for developers using outside payment methods broke an earlier court order. Judges also said Apple went too far by limiting how developers could promote external payment options compared to Apple’s own system. Apple must now make sure both payment options are shown in similar ways.
The appeals court also denied Apple’s request to remove the full injunction against the company.
Epic Games responded positively to the ruling. CEO Tim Sweeney shared his reaction on social media, saying: “After years of Apple obstruction, we're finally going to see large-scale change happening.”
This decision follows an earlier ruling from a US District Court in April. That ruling enforced an injunction that stops Apple from collecting fees on purchases made using external payment systems.
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Drama
15 December 2025 17:27
Apple has won a small victory in its long-running legal battle with Epic Games after a recent appeal ruling in the United States.
According to Reuters, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Apple that it can charge a “reasonable fee” on payments developers make outside of the App Store. These are payments handled through external systems instead of Apple’s own in-app payment option.
However, the court said that any fee Apple charges must be based on the “actual costs to ensure user security and privacy.” What counts as a reasonable fee has not been decided yet and will be discussed further between Apple and the district court.
While Apple had some success, most of its appeal was rejected. The court ruled that Apple’s suggested 27% fee for developers using outside payment methods broke an earlier court order. Judges also said Apple went too far by limiting how developers could promote external payment options compared to Apple’s own system. Apple must now make sure both payment options are shown in similar ways.
The appeals court also denied Apple’s request to remove the full injunction against the company.
Epic Games responded positively to the ruling. CEO Tim Sweeney shared his reaction on social media, saying: “After years of Apple obstruction, we're finally going to see large-scale change happening.”
This decision follows an earlier ruling from a US District Court in April. That ruling enforced an injunction that stops Apple from collecting fees on purchases made using external payment systems.
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Oct 14, 2025
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