A recent ruling by a US judge against Apple and its App Store was meant to be a significant win for developers. It would free these developers from the shackles of the Apple App Store and give them more freedom and control over their earnings, without having to hand over a considerable portion to Apple. However, Apple did not comply with the judge’s ruling on the App Store, which brought a class action lawsuit against the company.
Class action lawsuit against Apple
Several developers filed this class action lawsuit against Apple and the App Store. They claim that Apple’s refusal to comply with the court order has led to a revenue loss. According to the law firm Hagens Berman, Apple’s failure to comply with the order prevented developers like Pure Sweat Basketball from selling subscriptions to their customers directly.
Now the law firm is looking to recover lost revenue for as many as 100,000 developers. These developers were “forced” to pay Apple commissions they shouldn’t have to. Hagens Berman had previously obtained a $100 million settlement for iOS developers in a previous lawsuit, so they could be successful again.
It was meant to be a win for developers
For those who are missing a bit of context and backstory, in 2021, a court ruling forced Apple to allow iOS developers to direct users to other payment systems. Previously, users had to make all payments through the App Store. This allowed Apple to take a cut. This ruling meant that developers could point users to alternate payment systems. It includes websites where users could sign up for subscriptions and bypass paying Apple a commission.
Unsurprisingly, Apple didn’t take the ruling well. This is because it would mean a significant loss of revenue for the company. To put it in perspective, games like Epic’s Fortnite raked in a staggering $300 million in the first 200 days. However, Epic had to pay Apple a 30% cut of its proceeds. That’s not chump change. And we’re talking about a single developer here. Imagine the revenue generated by the hundreds of thousands of other developers out there.
Apple recently filed an appeal against the ruling, but it is unclear whether it will be successful.
2025-05-07 15:06:25