Apple Declares 'Resounding Victory' In Legal Battle Against Fortnite Maker

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) scored success on Monday in a lawsuit brought by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games.

What Happened: The ongoing legal battle involves the Tim Cook-led company's control over its mobile application store.

"Today's decision reaffirms Apple's resounding victory in this case, with nine of 10 claims having been decided in Apple's favor," said an Apple spokesperson, reported CNBC.

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"For the second time in two years, a federal court has ruled that Apple abides by antitrust laws at the state and federal levels."

The Ninth Circuit Court decision on Monday reportedly backed the earlier decision that Apple did not violate antitrust law by not allowing competing app markets on its platform.

However, the appeals court upheld the decision that Apple will have to allow developers to place links that let users make payments outside the App Store.

"Apple prevailed at the 9th Circuit Court," said Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney. He said Epic Games was "working on next steps," according to CNBC.

Why It Matters: Both Apple and Epic moved to appeal a 2022 court ruling that said the iPhone-maker was not an antitrust monopolist.  

At the time, the judge in the case had found that Apple's "anti-steering" provisions were illegal.

Epic filed the lawsuit after Apple removed Fortnite from its App Store over in-app payments. The game maker had sought to bypass the iPhone-maker's app market where in-app payments attracted a 30% cut.

Price Action: Apple shares were largely unchanged in the after-hours trading at $165.26 after closing 0.2% higher at $165.33 in the regular session, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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