Apple Denied Request To Appeal Loss In Developer Lawsuit Over App Store Commissions: Report

• The case against Apple was brought by Rachael Kent, a British academic, who stated that the company made “exorbitant profits” by excluding competition from distributing apps and games.
• Apple has pushed back against the European Union’s Digital Markets Act antitrust legislation, which required it to allow alternative app stores.
• An Apple-funded study found little evidence of alternative app stores resulting in lower prices for users.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) was reportedly denied a request to appeal the outcome of a lawsuit in the U.K. on Thursday, which accused the iPhone maker of abusing its dominant position by charging unfair app store commissions to developers.

According to a Reuters report, the U.K.’s Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT) refused permission to Apple to challenge its ruling at the Court of Appeal.

Apple shares were up 1% in Thursday’s opening trade. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company trended in the ‘neutral’ territory at the time of writing.

In October, Apple lost a lawsuit valued at up to £1.5 billion ($2 billion), brought on behalf of nearly 20 million iPhone and iPad users.

What Is The Case About?

The case against Apple was brought by Rachael Kent, a British academic, who stated that the company made “exorbitant profits” by excluding competition from the distribution of apps and games to iPhone and iPad users.

The case also touched upon Apple’s exclusion of alternative methods for in-app purchases. “Apple is not just dominant ... it holds a 100% monopoly position,” Kent's lawyer said in court filings, according to a report by Reuters.

Apple’s Study On App Prices

Apple has pushed back against the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) antitrust legislation, which required it to allow users and developers to buy and sell apps, respectively, through alternative app stores.

The company funded a study by The Analysis Group to determine if allowing competing app stores would result in lower prices for users. However, the study found little evidence of this.

“This study therefore demonstrates that commission savings as a result of the DMA have not led to price decreases for customers and overwhelmingly flowed to developers outside the EU,” the study noted.

AAPL stock is up 9% year-to-date and 21% over the past 12 months.

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

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