09-09-2020, 02:34 AM
‘ Apple says Epic’s Fortnite payment scheme “is theft, period.” ‘
‘ Apple is going on the offensive in its continuing legal battles with Epic Games over the iOS version of Fortnite. In a wide-ranging motion filed Tuesday afternoon, Apple defended itself against Epic's legal charges while also accusing the Fortnite maker of breach of contract and outright theft in a countersuit.
"Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store," Apple writes. ‘
‘ Besides being a breach of contract, Apple says in its motion that Epic's addition of Direct Payments was a "Trojan Horse" that amounts to "little more than theft." By using a "hotfix" update method that was deliberately concealed from the usual App Store review process, Apple says Epic "sought to enjoy all of the benefits of Apple’s iOS platform and related services while [lining] Epic's pockets at Apple's expense."
Later in the motion, Apple says Epic's introduction of Direct Payments in the game "is theft, period."
Epic has happily agreed to Apple's contractual terms to access iOS development since 2008, Apple writes, earning over $600 million from App Store sales in that period. The fact that Epic no longer accepts that deal "does not provide cover for Epic to breach binding contracts, dupe a long-time business partner, pocket commissions that rightfully belong to Apple, and then ask this Court to take a judicial sledgehammer to one of the 21st Century’s most innovative business platforms simply because it does not maximize Epic's revenues," Apple writes.
The 30 percent iOS sales commission that Epic tried to get around is much more than a simple fee for processing payments, Apple adds. Instead, that fee "reflects the immense value of the App Store, which is more than the sum of its parts and includes Apple’s technology, tools, software for app development and testing, marketing efforts, platinum-level customer service, and distribution of developers’ apps and digital content." That includes over 150,000 APIs that Apple has created to ease iOS development, the company writes, as well the Metal graphics API that Epic itself has praised in the past.
"The App Store is not a public utility,” Apple wrote in a letter to Epic in July in response to Epic's request. Epic has no right to reap "all the benefits Apple and the App Store provide without having to pay a penny," the company said. ‘
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/09/a...-fortnite/
‘ Apple is going on the offensive in its continuing legal battles with Epic Games over the iOS version of Fortnite. In a wide-ranging motion filed Tuesday afternoon, Apple defended itself against Epic's legal charges while also accusing the Fortnite maker of breach of contract and outright theft in a countersuit.
"Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store," Apple writes. ‘
‘ Besides being a breach of contract, Apple says in its motion that Epic's addition of Direct Payments was a "Trojan Horse" that amounts to "little more than theft." By using a "hotfix" update method that was deliberately concealed from the usual App Store review process, Apple says Epic "sought to enjoy all of the benefits of Apple’s iOS platform and related services while [lining] Epic's pockets at Apple's expense."
Later in the motion, Apple says Epic's introduction of Direct Payments in the game "is theft, period."
Epic has happily agreed to Apple's contractual terms to access iOS development since 2008, Apple writes, earning over $600 million from App Store sales in that period. The fact that Epic no longer accepts that deal "does not provide cover for Epic to breach binding contracts, dupe a long-time business partner, pocket commissions that rightfully belong to Apple, and then ask this Court to take a judicial sledgehammer to one of the 21st Century’s most innovative business platforms simply because it does not maximize Epic's revenues," Apple writes.
The 30 percent iOS sales commission that Epic tried to get around is much more than a simple fee for processing payments, Apple adds. Instead, that fee "reflects the immense value of the App Store, which is more than the sum of its parts and includes Apple’s technology, tools, software for app development and testing, marketing efforts, platinum-level customer service, and distribution of developers’ apps and digital content." That includes over 150,000 APIs that Apple has created to ease iOS development, the company writes, as well the Metal graphics API that Epic itself has praised in the past.
"The App Store is not a public utility,” Apple wrote in a letter to Epic in July in response to Epic's request. Epic has no right to reap "all the benefits Apple and the App Store provide without having to pay a penny," the company said. ‘
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/09/a...-fortnite/