Key Points
- Apple has been denied permission to appeal a UK tribunal’s ruling on its App Store fees.
- The tribunal found that Apple abused its dominant position by charging excessive and unfair commissions.
- Apple now faces a potential damages bill of over 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion).
- The company can still seek permission to appeal to a higher court.
Apple was denied permission on Thursday to appeal a ruling from a London tribunal that found it had abused its dominant position by charging app developers unfair commissions. While this initial appeal was rejected, the tech giant can still appeal to a higher court.
Last month, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled against Apple after a trial, stating that the company had abused its dominant market position by shutting out competition and “charging excessive and unfair prices” for its App Store commissions.
This decision means that Apple, which is already facing increasing pressure from regulators in the U.S. and Europe over its developer fees, could be on the hook for a bill of over 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion).
The CAT refused to allow Apple to challenge its ruling directly, but the company can still appeal to the Court of Appeal. Apple’s lawyers have asked for 21 days to file that application.
An Apple spokesperson said in a statement that the CAT’s ruling “takes a flawed view of the thriving and competitive app economy” and ignores the benefits for both developers and consumers.
Lawyers for Rachael Kent, the British academic who brought the case, said in court filings that they have calculated the damages, including interest, to be 1.2 billion pounds. “This case has been a marathon, not a sprint, but we are one step closer to App Store users finally seeing their money rightfully returned to their pockets,” Kent said.
The CAT’s ruling found that developers were overcharged by the difference between a fair commission (17.5%) and the commission Apple actually charged, which is usually 30%. The tribunal also concluded that app developers passed on half of this overcharge to consumers.
