The saga between Epic Games and Apple continues, with a new court filing in which Epic Games levied its latest claim against the iPhone manufacturer.
Epic Games indicated that Apple “has no rights to the fruits of Epic’s labor” as part of its latest attempt to keep Apple from seeking damages against the Fortnite developer.
This is the latest move in the months-long battle between Epic Games and Apple after Epic introduced a new direct-payment system in Fortnite in a bid to bypass Apple’s 30 percent fee. In retaliation for breaking its rules, Apple removed Fortnite from the App Store. Since then, a civil lawsuit has been raging on between both parties. Previously, Apple stated that it would be seeking damages against Epic for breaching the contract the developer had signed to the tune of tortious interference with Apple’s customer relationship as well as “unjust enrichment.”
“At all times, [Apple’s] conduct was reasonable and … its actions were undertaken in good faith to advance legitimate business interests and had the effect of promoting, encouraging, and increasing competition,” Apple stated. “Epic’s flagrant disregard for its contractual commitments and other misconduct has caused significant harm to Apple.”
Epic’s latest filing read much differently. The developer said its actions were “a far cry” from being tortious or criminal, and that Epic Games did not “steal” anything from Apple.
“Apple’s repeated assertions of theft boil down to the extraordinary assertion that Epic’s collection of payments by players of Epic’s game to enjoy the work of Epic’s artists, designers, and engineers is the taking of something that belongs to Apple,” wrote Epic Games.
Apple has yet to respond to Epic Games’ latest comment. It’s unclear whether this dispute will continue to trial if these back-and-forth discussions continue, but it’s safe to say the dispute will continue to last for the foreseeable future.
