Apple on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling. The ruling found the iPhone maker in civil contempt for charging its App Store users fees for certain third-party purchases made within its apps.
The petition to the Supreme Court escalates a years-long legal dispute between Apple and Fortnite developer Epic Games. Epic Games sued Apple in 2020 in an effort to loosen Apple's control over transactions using apps for its iOS operating system and restrictions on how apps are distributed to consumers.
Although a judge basically dismissed Epic's lawsuit, he issued an injunction in 2021 requiring Apple to allow developers to include links in apps to guide users to use non-Apple payment methods.
Although Apple allows such links to be set up, it has also implemented new restrictions, including charging developers a 27% commission - which applies to purchases made through payment systems other than the App Store within seven days after a user clicks on the link.
Epic contends that this new 27% commission violates the previous ban. In 2025, the judge found that Apple was in civil contempt for violating the ban. Apple on Thursday urged the justices to consider two legal issues. The company said the ban should not apply to millions of developers because Epic is the only plaintiff and the case is not a class action. Apple also argued that it could not be held in contempt of court for allegedly violating the "spirit" of the injunction because the injunction did not specifically prohibit the conduct.
Apple denies any wrongdoing and says it is complying with the court order.
Related articles:
Apple finance exec found in contempt of court for 'outright lies' in Epic Games ruling