Abstract:
The British Competition Appeal Tribunal recently decided to resume the trial of an antitrust class action lawsuit against Apple and Amazon, bringing the legal dispute surrounding the commercial cooperation agreement between the two companies back into the public eye. The lawsuit was first filed in 2023 and focuses on a cooperation agreement reached by Apple and Amazon in 2018.
The plaintiff believes that the agreement restricts the qualifications of third-party retailers to sell Apple and Beats brand products on the Amazon platform, thereby weakening market competition and causing consumers to pay higher prices. The lawsuit alleges that the two companies engaged in anti-competitive market conduct.
In fact, this is not the first time Apple and Amazon have faced regulatory and legal scrutiny over this agreement. Previously, countries such as Germany, the United States, Spain and Italy have also launched investigations or related lawsuits on similar issues.
The UK case was initially led by consumer law scholar Christine Riefa. However, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has previously refused to allow the case to enter formal class action proceedings. The court held that Riefa failed to fully prove its ability to independently safeguard the interests of class members and also expressed concerns about the financing arrangements for the case.
One of the disputes is the revenue arrangement between Asertis, the litigation fund provider, and the case. According to the relevant agreement, if the lawsuit wins, Asertis may receive compensation first, and there is even a possibility that consumers will not receive compensation in the end. The court held that this arrangement could harm the interests of class action participants.
Subsequently, the case was replaced with a new class action representative and the application was resubmitted. Following a review, the Competition Appeal Tribunal decided to allow the case to move forward again.
However, the court only allowed some of the claims to enter the trial stage this time. Future lawsuits will mainly focus on Apple products sold through the Amazon platform, and will no longer cover claims related to consumers purchasing products directly from Apple’s official channels.
The court stated that the allegation regarding Apple's own sales channels was based on a "complex and speculative theory of damage" and there was insufficient basis at this stage to support its continued use as the core content of the lawsuit.
Both Apple and Amazon have clearly expressed their opposition to the relevant accusations. Apple insists that the purpose of reaching a relevant cooperation agreement with Amazon is to combat counterfeit and shoddy products and provide consumers with a safer and more reliable shopping environment, rather than to restrict market competition.
As the British court restarts the case, this important antitrust dispute involving two global technology giants is expected to continue to receive widespread attention from regulatory agencies, the legal community, and consumer groups in the next few years.
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