Latest news with #YvonneGonzalezRogers'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US judge finds Apple to be in violation of antitrust order
A federal judge found Apple (AAPL) in violation of a 2021 court order demanding the tech giant to enable broader competition for app developers and payment methods on its App Store. Yahoo Finance senior legal correspondent Alexis Keenan explains US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' ruling stemming from a 2021 antitrust case brought forth against Apple by Epic Games. She goes into detail on the judge's original injunction and accusations of an Apple executive lying under oath. Catch Yahoo Finance break down Apple's fiscal second quarter earnings results. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination Overtime here. Apple shares under pressure after reported second-quarter earnings and aside from trade headwinds, the company also facing a recent legal setback. Apple's App store in the hot seat for its alleged anti-competitive conduct. Yahoo finances Alexis Keenan joins us with more, and just this week, before the earnings report, there was a judge's strong words to Apple. Very strong words. Now the judge in California district court, a federal judge, she held Apple in contempt and ordered it to comply with an injunction that she issued back in 2021, but it became effective in January because the Supreme Court on appeal from the case which stemmed from Epic Games's accusations against Apple that they were using anti-competitive tactics. The Supreme Court decided not to take up and review that case, so that put the injunction into effect, and in essence, the judge has said based on a response to epics complaints that Apple is not complying with the injunction and what the injunction said is that Apple must allow app developers to allow its customers to go outside the App store and link out to pay for in-app purchases. The judge and Epic said Apple did not do that, and so that ruling that judgment, that it actually largely favored Apple, but this part, this injunction really is a threat to Apple's App Store revenues totaling in 2024, $92 billion. Now part of that comes from those fees that Apple collects every time a customer makes an in-app purchase, 15 to 30%, depending on how large the business is. Now Apple did respond to the injunction, but the way they responded is they allowed the developers to go in and put those apps in, but then they assess a 27% fee for those out of app store purchases and the judge said, no, that does not comply with the spirit of this injunction, holding Apple in contempt saying that one of its executives lied under oath, said Tim Cook made bad decisions in ignoring this injunction, and said effective immediately, Apple will no longer be able to impede their customers in this way. And so Alexis, so in terms of timeline with this, what happens next? What happens next is Apple has to hop to, immediately are the judge's words. They must now have these links, and so what that does is theoretically, right? It reduces Apple's revenues in the App store. Now Apple does not give us data. They don't parse out exactly line items for how much these commissions, these 15 to 30% commissions make for the company, but we know that they're a substantial part of that revenue chunk. Uh Apple here uh not responding to Yahoo finances request for comment on this, maybe they will in the future. Um, but right now, they're going to have to get compliant with this order. It says immediate. And they're also going to have to potentially face some a criminal investigation. The judge has referred it over to California's prosecutors to look into whether they should be held in criminal contempt. This is a civil contempt. Uh, so there can be fines. There can be other consequences down the road. So certainly not a good day for Apple. All right, Alexis. Thank you. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Apple hit with app developer class action after US judge's contempt ruling
Apple should return hundreds of millions of dollars to developers who claim the iPhone maker defied a US judge's order governing its lucrative App Store, causing them to pay inflated commissions for more than a year, a new lawsuit said. App developer Pure Sweat Basketball filed the proposed class action on Friday in the Oakland, California, federal court, after a judge ruled last week that Apple defied her order in a lawsuit brought by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games. The 2021 injunction in that lawsuit was supposed to give developers more freedom to steer consumers outside Apple's App Store for potentially cheaper purchases. Pure Sweat's lawsuit was filed on behalf of as many as 100,000 developers. The lawsuit estimated that Apple's conduct cost them "hundreds of millions or even billions" of dollars in damages. "Apple should be made to disgorge its wrongful profit, and developers are entitled to be made whole," the complaint said. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Steve Berman, a lead attorney for Pure Sweat, said they were focused on "obtaining justice" against Apple. The lawsuit follows U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' April 30 ruling that said Apple willfully violated her injunction in the Epic Games case, including by charging developers a new 27% fee when Apple customers complete an app purchase outside the App Store. The injunction became effective in January 2024. Gonzalez Rogers referred Apple and one of its executives to federal prosecutors for a possible criminal contempt investigation. Apple denied violating Rogers' order, and the company on Monday filed its notice of appeal. Pure Sweat said Apple blocked the developer in 2023 from publishing an app for education videos and workouts that contained links to purchase content outside of the app. "Apple schemed to maintain the status quo, as if no Injunction had entered, retaining its billion dollar in-app payments revenue stream while depriving developers of the intended fruits of the Injunction," the lawsuit said. Apple faces other consumer and government lawsuits challenging its business practices. In one such case, Hagens Berman is representing consumers accusing Apple of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple Appeals After App Store Order Violation
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) pivots to the appellate courts after shares slid 2.63% when a U.S. judge ruled it flouted an App Store order in the Epic Games case. Apple last week asked the Ninth Circuit to overturn Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' injunction that forced the iPhone maker to drop its 27% commission on external payments and remove a warning screen scaring users away from link-outs. In her Northern District of California opinion, Rogers wrote, This is an injunction, not a negotiation, warning that there are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order. Apple said it will comply but strongly disagrees and will press its appeal. The original Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit, filed in 2020, largely upheld Apple's App Store rules but mandated support for third-party payment methods. Apple introduced a secondary checklist and continued to collect its full commission on redirected purchases. Bank of America analysts warned that if Rogers' remedy stands, billions of dollars in high-margin Services revenue could be at risk, underscoring how crucial App Store fees are to Apple's $87 billion annual Services segment. Investors should care because the App Store generates more than $70 billion in revenue each year, with Services now the company's second-largest business behind the iPhone. A reversal on appeal could force Apple to relinquish its most lucrative digital toll booth, denting near-term earnings forecasts and accelerating margin pressure across its ecosystem. The appellate court's decisionexpected by year-endwill be a critical inflection point for Apple's legal strategy and its Services growth outlook, and investors will be eyeing any hints in Apple's quarterly update in late July for revised guidance on App Store economics. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
05-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Apple hit with app developer class action after US judge's contempt ruling
May 5 (Reuters) - Apple should return hundreds of millions of dollars to developers who claim the iPhone maker defied a U.S. judge's order governing its lucrative App Store, causing them to pay inflated commissions for more than a year, a new lawsuit said. App developer Pure Sweat Basketball filed the proposed class action on Friday in the Oakland, California, federal court, after a judge ruled last week that Apple defied her order in a lawsuit brought by 'Fortnite' maker Epic Games. The 2021 injunction in that lawsuit was supposed to give developers more freedom to steer consumers outside Apple's App Store for potentially cheaper purchases. Pure Sweat's lawsuit, opens new tab was filed on behalf of as many as 100,000 developers. The lawsuit estimated that Apple's conduct cost them "hundreds of millions or even billions" of dollars in damages. 'Apple should be made to disgorge its wrongful profit, and developers are entitled to be made whole,' the complaint said. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Steve Berman, a lead attorney for Pure Sweat, said they were focused on 'obtaining justice' against Apple. The lawsuit follows U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' April 30 ruling that said Apple willfully violated her injunction in the Epic Games case, including by charging developers a new 27% fee when Apple customers complete an app purchase outside the App Store. The injunction became effective in January 2024. Gonzalez Rogers referred Apple and one of its executives to federal prosecutors for a possible criminal contempt investigation. Apple denied violating Rogers' order, and the company on Monday filed its notice of appeal. Pure Sweat said Apple blocked the developer in 2023 from publishing an app for education videos and workouts that contained links to purchase content outside of the app. 'Apple schemed to maintain the status quo, as if no Injunction had entered, retaining its billion dollar in-app payments revenue stream while depriving developers of the intended fruits of the Injunction,' the lawsuit said. Apple faces other consumer and government lawsuits challenging its business practices. In one such case, Hagens Berman is representing consumers accusing Apple of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market. The case is Pure Sweat Basketball Inc v. Apple Inc, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 4:25-cv-03858. For plaintiff: Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro; and Eamon Kelly of Sperling Kenny Nachwalter For Apple: No appearance yet
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Apple hit with app developer class action after US judge's contempt ruling
Apple is facing a class action lawsuit accusing it of defying a 2021 court order meant to loosen App Store restrictions, costing developers potentially billions. Filed by Pure Sweat Basketball, the suit claims Apple imposed inflated commissions and ignored the injunction, prompting calls for financial restitution and possible criminal investigation. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Apple should return hundreds of millions of dollars to developers who claim the iPhone maker defied a US judge's order governing its lucrative App Store, causing them to pay inflated commissions for more than a year, a new lawsuit developer Pure Sweat Basketball filed the proposed class action on Friday in the Oakland, California, federal court, after a judge ruled last week that Apple defied her order in a lawsuit brought by "Fortnite" maker Epic 2021 injunction in that lawsuit was supposed to give developers more freedom to steer consumers outside Apple's App Store for potentially cheaper purchases. Pure Sweat's lawsuit was filed on behalf of as many as 100,000 lawsuit estimated that Apple's conduct cost them "hundreds of millions or even billions" of dollars in damages."Apple should be made to disgorge its wrongful profit, and developers are entitled to be made whole," the complaint did not immediately respond to a request for a statement, Steve Berman, a lead attorney for Pure Sweat, said they were focused on "obtaining justice" against lawsuit follows U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' April 30 ruling that said Apple willfully violated her injunction in the Epic Games case, including by charging developers a new 27% fee when Apple customers complete an app purchase outside the App Store. The injunction became effective in January Rogers referred Apple and one of its executives to federal prosecutors for a possible criminal contempt denied violating Rogers' order, and the company on Monday filed its notice of Sweat said Apple blocked the developer in 2023 from publishing an app for education videos and workouts that contained links to purchase content outside of the app."Apple schemed to maintain the status quo, as if no Injunction had entered, retaining its billion dollar in-app payments revenue stream while depriving developers of the intended fruits of the Injunction," the lawsuit faces other consumer and government lawsuits challenging its business practices. In one such case, Hagens Berman is representing consumers accusing Apple of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market.
