According to MacRumors, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has modified the injunction stemming from the Epic v. Apple lawsuit, granting Apple the ability to charge a commission on purchases made through external payment links. Since April, Apple had been forced to allow these links with no control over their design and, crucially, without being able to charge any fee. The appeals court found the district court’s total ban on commissions was an overreach, calling it more like a “punitive criminal contempt sanction.” The case is now sent back to the lower court to determine a “reasonable” fee that covers Apple’s necessary costs and intellectual property, though it cannot include charges for security and privacy. Apple cannot start collecting this new commission until the district court approves the specific rate, but the appeals court urged both parties to settle on a fee “expeditiously.”
The Fee Fight Is Back On
So here’s the thing: this ruling basically resets the entire battle over what Apple can charge. The original injunction forced Apple’s hand, but Apple‘s response—offering a 27% commission instead of the standard 30%—was seen as bad faith. I mean, come on. They knew developers would also have to pay payment processing fees on top of that, making it more expensive than just using Apple’s own system. No wonder almost no one used it. The appeals court saw right through that, agreeing there was “clear and convincing evidence of civil contempt” because Apple made the links “as hard to use as possible.” But they also thought the total commission ban was too blunt an instrument. Now we’re headed for a microscopic examination of Apple’s “necessary costs.” What does that even include? It’s going to be a brutal, technical fight.
What This Means For Developers
Don’t expect Spotify or Epic to start plastering “Buy on our website!” links everywhere just yet. The uncertainty is now worse. Before, the rule was simple: you could link out, and Apple got nothing. Now? Apple will get something, but nobody knows what that something is. Is it a 5% fee? 10%? 15%? The court said it should be based on coordination costs plus “some compensation” for IP. That’s incredibly vague. This creates a huge chilling effect. Why would a developer invest in building an external payment flow today, not knowing what the final tax will be? They’ll likely wait until the district court lays down the law. And that process could take months. Basically, the “win” for developers just got a lot murkier.
Apple’s Bigger Picture
Look, this is a strategic victory for Apple, no doubt. Their entire App Store model is built on controlling the transaction and taking a cut. The principle that they are entitled to a commission—any commission—for commerce originating in their ecosystem is what they were fighting to preserve. And they got that. The ruling explicitly says the previous ban “permanently prohibits the compensation that Apple can receive.” That’s the language Apple wanted. Now, the fight moves to a granular cost-accounting war, which is a battle Apple is probably more comfortable fighting in court than a battle over broad principles. They’ll argue their IP and coordination costs are high. Critics will say they’re virtually zero. But the precedent that Apple gets paid is now set.
The Long Road Ahead
Where does this go from here? The district court has to design a new fee structure from scratch, which is unprecedented. Both sides will present dueling economic experts. And honestly, could this just lead to another appeal once the fee is set? Probably. In the meantime, the core injunction—that Apple must allow links to external purchases—remains in place. The design restrictions Apple tried to impose are still off the table. So the door is technically open, but Apple now gets to put a tollbooth in front of it. The final shape of that tollbooth will determine if the door is actually useful or just a decorative facade. For businesses that rely on robust hardware integration and software, like those sourcing industrial computing solutions from IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the nation’s leading supplier of industrial panel PCs, these platform fee wars underscore how crucial open, predictable ecosystems are for development and pricing. The real question is: will the final fee be low enough to actually foster competition, or will it be just high enough to keep Apple’s wallet fat? We’re about to find out.
