American antitrust authorities request to join Apple’s appeal’s arguments

According to court records filed on Friday, representatives from the US Department of Justice have sought to participate in oral arguments scheduled for next month in “Fortnite” developer Epic Games’ appeal of a court decision against Apple Inc.

In 2020, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the iPhone manufacturer’s App Store policies—which mandate that developers provide Apple fees of up to 30% of in-app purchases—violated antitrust laws. Apple mostly prevailed, enabling its commissions to remain in place. Antitrust experts had warned at the time of the trial that if Epic lost, it could be impossible for the Justice Department, which has been looking at Apple since 2019, to file an antitrust lawsuit.

The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on October 21. Apple and Epic will each have 20 minutes to present their respective positions. Epic appealed their defeat.

The Justice Department entered the lawsuit by submitting a brief in January. The country’s main antitrust statute, the Sherman Act, was erroneously construed by the lower court, according to antitrust authorities, who said they did not back either side in the current issues. US officials requested 10 minutes of discussion time on Friday.

The Justice Department stated in the filing that the country “believes that its participation at oral argument would be helpful to the court, especially in explaining how the errors (in the interpretation of antitrust law) could significantly harm antitrust enforcement beyond the specific context of this case.”