• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, July 3, 2023

Apple plans to ask the Supreme Court to lift an order requiring the company to let developers add in-app links to payment options outside Apple's platform, the company revealed in court papers filed Monday.

Apple disclosed its intention in a motion asking the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to delay finalizing its April decision, which upheld the injunction.

“There is good cause for the stay because if the mandate issues, Apple will be required to change its business model to comply with the injunction before judicial review has been completed,” the company wrote.

Apple added that the injunction will limit the ability “to protect users from fraud, scams, malware, spyware, and objectionable content.”

The company's papers come in a battle between dating to the summer of 2020 between Fortnite developer Epic Games and Apple.

In August of that year, Epic began offering gamers the ability to make purchases directly from it, in violation of Apple's policies requiring developers to use its payment platform for in-app purchases. Apple charges a commission of up to 30% on those sales.

Apple responded to Epic's move by removing Fortnite from the iOS app store, after which Epic brought an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. Epic claimed Apple monopolized the iOS app distribution market, and unlawfully required developers to use its payment processing system.

U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, who presided over a 16-day trial in 2021, ruled that Epic failed to prove that Apple's app-store policies violated antitrust law. But Rogers also ruled that Apple's anti-steering policy -- which prohibited developers from offering in-app links to outside payment platforms -- violated California's unfair competition law.

She wrote that the anti-steering policies “hide critical information from consumers and illegally stifle consumer choice,” and issued an injunction requiring Apple to revise its policies.

Both Apple and Epic appealed to the 9th Circuit, which initially stayed Rogers' injunction. But in April, that court upheld Rogers' entire order.

The companies both sought a new hearing at that court. On Friday, the 9th Circuit rejected the request for a second hearing.

As of Monday, the injunction against Apple hadn't yet gone into effect, but the stay will lift as soon as the 9th Circuit finalizes its decision.

Apple wrote in its new filing that it will argue to the Supreme Court that the nationwide injunction is too broad because it affects all developers, not just Epic.

“Epic filed this lawsuit only on its own behalf and not a putative class,” Apple wrote.

The company added that Rogers never held a hearing to determine whether a nationwide injunction would be appropriate.

In 2021, Apple agreed to settle a separate antitrust lawsuit by allowing developers to notify app users by email or telephone about outside payment options. But that deal doesn't require Apple to also allow in-app notifications.