Apple has filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review limits placed on the commission fees it can charge when users make purchases through third-party payment systems. It is the second time Apple has sought Supreme Court intervention in its long-running legal dispute with Epic Games.
The petition requests a stay on a lower court ruling that restricts how Apple sets commission rates on transactions processed outside its own payment infrastructure. The request is limited in scope: it addresses commission rates on external payment links, not the underlying question of whether developers must be permitted to include such links in their apps. That issue was settled in earlier proceedings, and the Supreme Court declined to hear Apple’s appeal on it.
The current dispute
Apple‘s App Store has long required in-app purchases to be processed through Apple’s payment system at a standard commission of 30%, reduced to 15% for qualifying smaller developers. Epic Games challenged this arrangement in 2020 by integrating its own payment system into Fortnite on iOS without Apple’s approval. Apple removed the app from the store, and Epic filed suit.
Subsequent court orders required Apple to allow developers to include links to external payment options within their apps. Apple has sought to charge a commission on purchases made through those external links as well. A lower court ruled against Apple’s proposed rate structure, prompting the current petition.
The Supreme Court declined to take up Apple’s previous petition in this case. Should it decline again, the lower court’s ruling on commission rates would remain in effect.
Epic’s situation
Epic reached a separate agreement with Google in March, under which Fortnite returned to the Google Play Store globally. The terms of that settlement reportedly prohibit Epic’s CEO from publicly discussing Google’s app store fees until 2032.
Epic laid off more than 1,000 employees last month as part of a company restructuring. The company has characterised its legal efforts against both Apple and Google as having implications for app developers more broadly.
For developers who have already added external payment links to their apps, the outcome of Apple’s petition will determine whether Apple can collect a commission on transactions processed through those links, and at what rate.