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Ninth Circuit Lifts Stay in Epic v. Apple, Returning App Store Fee Dispute to Judge Gonzalez Rogers

Hearings will set what, if any, commission Apple can take on purchases made through external links.

Overview

  • The Ninth Circuit, which reversed its own stay Tuesday after Epic sought reconsideration, ordered its mandate enforced and sent the case back to the district court.
  • The panel said Apple failed to show the Supreme Court is likely to take the case or that remand hearings would cause irreparable harm under Rule 41(d).
  • Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will now decide what fee Apple can charge when apps direct users to pay on the web instead of inside the app, a decision that affects what developers keep from those sales.
  • Apple can still ask the Supreme Court to review the case even as the lower court work goes on.
  • The fight traces to a 2021 order striking Apple’s anti‑steering rules that blocked links to outside payments, followed by contempt findings and appeals over whether and how Apple can collect a commission on those purchases.