LApple is seeking permission to appeal the result of a billion-dollar lawsuit filed by UK app developers accusing the company of abusive commission levels, reports 9to5Mac.
The antitrust lawsuit — filed by more than 1,500 developers — says that Apple’s monopoly on the sale and distribution of iOS apps means that it is able to set its own commission levels, and that developers have no choice but to accept it.
In October Britain’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled against Apple after a trial of the lawsuit that accuses the tech giant of abusing its power. The London tribunal says Apple abused its dominant position by charging app developers unfair commissions, “in a blow which could leave the U.S. tech company on the hook for hundreds of millions of pounds in damages,” reports Reuters.
CAT ruled that the tech giant had abused its dominant position from October 2015 until the end of 2020 by shutting out competition in the app distribution market and by “charging excessive and unfair prices” as commission to developers.
Apple, not surprisingly, said it would appeal against the ruling, which it said “takes a flawed view of the thriving and competitive app economy.” The lawsuit alleges Apple’s 15-30% commission on App Store sales creates an anti-competitive tax on the UK technology industry. The case could potentially benefit up to 13,000 developers who have sold apps or in-app subscriptions to iOS users since July 2017.
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