With the U.S. Supreme Court declining to hear the ongoing Epic Games v. Apple case over App Store rules, the lawsuit is effectively done after it started back in August 2020. However, Apple now wants Epic to cover $73.4 million USD (about $99.37 million CAD) in legal fees.
Apple submitted a request to the court to allow it to bill Epic for litigation expenses. X/Twitter account ‘gamesfray’ detailed how Apple arrived at the $73.4 million figure, writing that Apple says it spent $82,971,401 defending against the lawsuit. The company then adjusts that to $81,560,362 and deducts 10 percent since Epic won on one of ten counts, leaving a final figure of $73,404,326.
Apple bases this indemnification claim on Epic's breach of the developer agreement (DPLA) when Fortnite suddenly offered an in-app payment alternative.
Early into the litigation, Epic accepted that if it loses on its antitrust claims (as it did), it owes damages.
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— games fray (@games_fray) January 17, 2024
Moreover, Apple based the claim on Epic’s original violation of the company’s developer agreement. Prior to the lawsuit, Epic violated the agreement by launching an update to its popularĀ FortniteĀ game that included an alternative in-app payment system. Epic previously accepted that it would owe damages if it lost its antitrust claims against Apple and, well, now it has.
The court has set a date of March 5th, 2024 to hear Apple’s claim about the fees owed along with “additional amounts Apple is incurring during this ongoing litigation, under the indemnification provision of the Developer Program License Agreement.”
Source: @games_fray Via: MacRumors
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