Apple accuses Epic of deceiving it in new court filing

Apple returns Epic’s volley with its court filing

In its filing, Apple presented a clear argument in response to the one made by the game developer at the beginning of the week. Apple stated, “For years, Epic took advantage of everything Apple’s App Store has to offer. It availed itself of the tools, technology, software, marketing opportunities, and worldwide customer reach that Apple provided so that it could bring its creativity to iOS and games like Infinity Blade and Fortnite to the App Store. It enjoyed the tremendous resources that Apple pours into the App Store to constantly innovate to create new opportunities for developers and experiences for customers, as well as to review and approve every app, keeping the App Store safe and secure for customers and
developers alike.

Over time, in part because of the opportunities Apple made available, Epic grew to a multi-billion dollar enterprise with large investors like the Chinese tech giant Tencent pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the company. Now, having decided that it would rather enjoy the benefits of the App Store without paying for them, Epic has breached its contracts with Apple, using its own customers and Apple’s users as leverage. In the wake of its own voluntary actions, Epic now seeks emergency relief. But the “emergency” is entirely of Epic’s own making. Epic’s agreements with Apple expressly spell out that if an app developer violates the rules of the App Store or the license for development tools—both of which apply and are enforced equally to all developers large and small—Apple will stop working with that developer. Developers who work to deceive Apple, as Epic has done here, are terminated.”