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posted by martyb on Tuesday May 14 2019, @08:37AM   Printer-friendly
from the competition++ dept.

https://www.engadget.com/2019/05/13/supreme-court-apple-app-store-price-fixing-lawsuit/

The Supreme Court has ruled against Apple in a long-standing case over price fixing in the App Store, in a decision that allows iPhone owners to proceed with a lawsuit against the company. The court heard arguments in the case in November, and the decision was expected sometime this spring.

The plaintiffs claim Apple has a monopoly over iOS app distribution, which it uses unfairly to pass along its 30 percent cut of app sales to consumers. Apple claimed it was a middleman for app distribution, and that developers set the price. Since developers are the ones who pay Apple's commission, and not consumers, only they should be able to file a lawsuit on the issue, the company said.

The case hinged on the question of whether people who buy iOS apps do so directly from Apple. Following a 1977 decision on the case of Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, only direct purchasers of products can file federal antitrust lawsuits.

Those behind the suit say that because payments go to Apple directly, and not the developers, consumers have a direct relationship with the company, and as such that makes this an antitrust case. They also claim that if consumers had other options for apps beyond the App Store, they'd pay less for them, while Apple would be under "considerable pressure" to lower its "pure profit" commission rate.


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  • (Score: 2) by BenJeremy on Tuesday May 14 2019, @07:08PM (3 children)

    by BenJeremy (6392) on Tuesday May 14 2019, @07:08PM (#843538)

    ...but it will give us developers more money.

    Seriously, I charge about what I can for the apps I have on the App Store, Amazon's app store and Google Play. What sucks is that Apple, Google and Amazon take a 30% cut on apps and in-app purchases. If that changed to 10%, that doesn't mean we'd suddenly change our app pricing down by that amount.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 15 2019, @08:56AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 15 2019, @08:56AM (#843740)

    But if you did, you would have more customers.

  • (Score: 2) by Spamalope on Wednesday May 15 2019, @01:41PM (1 child)

    by Spamalope (5233) on Wednesday May 15 2019, @01:41PM (#843817) Homepage

    I'd be economically viable to add more features, more complex features, or produce one that'll attract a smaller audience. That's still a consumer win.

    • (Score: 2) by Spamalope on Wednesday May 15 2019, @01:43PM

      by Spamalope (5233) on Wednesday May 15 2019, @01:43PM (#843818) Homepage

      It'd not I'd. Sigh. Not enough caffeine...