Epic move: Judge says Apple can't revoke Unreal Engine dev tools, asks 'Where does the 30 per cent come from?'
- Reference: 1598359128
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/08/25/epic_vs_apple/
- Source link:
In the [1]eight-page order [PDF] , Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, the Northern California district judge yesterday said that Unreal – used by hundreds of third-party devs for both console and mobile games inside and out of Apple's App Store and [2]dubbed by Microsoft at the weekend as a "critical technology " – was governed by a separate contract between the parties, the "Xcode and Apple [software development kits] Agreement".
Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders
She said it was "relevant" that this was distinct from "Apple's agreements with developers and the App Store guidelines", which do not generally permit third-party developers to circumvent the IAP [in-app purchases] system".
The move on 13 August that kicked this all off – the activation of "allegedly hidden code in Fortnite allowing Epic Games to collect in-app purchases directly" via its "Fortnite Mega Drop" – was described as "calculated" by the Northern California court judge.
Making that move, [3]as we've previosuly mentioned , precluded Apple from taking its traditional 30 per cent cut and saw the developer booted out of the store, prompting it to fling an almost certainly [4]pre-prepared sueball at Cupertino as the boot hit its face.
Epic's original complaint alleged Apple is abusing its dominant position by seeking to "control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation".
The split order was handed down late last night after some oral wrangling with Apple's counsel over Zoom – dodging an [5]authentication issue on the platform earlier that day .
The judge [6]reportedly asked Apple lawyer Richard Doren at the Zoom hearing yesterday: "The question is, without competition: where does the 30 per cent (App Store commission) come from? Why isn't it 10? 20? How is the consumer benefiting?"
To the last question, Doren, a partner at LA law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, replied that consumers could choose when deciding to buy an Android device or an iPhone.
In the written order filed late yesterday, the judge noted:
While the Court anticipates experts will opine that Apple's 30 percent take is anti-competitive, the Court doubts that an expert would suggest a zero per cent alternative. Not even Epic Games gives away its products for free.
The order will be a relief to Epic in that it won't be cut off from Unreal Engine development on Apple's operating systems; and the judge noted the court had to weigh up whether an "injunction is in the public interest".
She spoke of the "potential significant damage to both the Unreal Engine platform itself, and to the gaming industry generally, including on both third-party developers and gamers", adding that "not only has the underlying [SDK] agreement not been breached, but the economy is in dire need of increasing avenues for creativity and innovation, not eliminating them. Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate against each other, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders."
However, that second part of the order – that Epic may not return to the iOS platform – does mean that locked-down iPhone users won't be able to go to the dev's Fortnite tournament.
The judge had little consolation for afflicted gamers, saying that the court "recognizes that during these coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) times, virtual escapes may assist in connecting people and providing a space that is otherwise unavailable. However, the showing is not sufficient to conclude that these considerations outweigh the general public interest in requiring private parties to adhere to their contractual agreements."
The [7]judge set the next hearing on the preliminary injunction motion for 29 September 2020 at 9:30 PDT via Zoom. ®
The case is Epic Games Inc vs Apple Inc, 4:20-cv-05640-YGR , in the district court for the Northern district of California.
Get our [8]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/08/25/order_for_motion_on_hearing.pdf
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/24/microsoft_sides_with_epic_over/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/14/epic_games_apple/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/22/apple_epic_lawsuit/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/24/zoom_outage/
[6] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-epic-games/judge-inclined-to-block-apples-move-to-hamper-epics-unreal-engine-idUSKBN25K2JT
[7] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/08/25/motion_hearing_dates_epic_apple.pdf
[8] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
To be fair though, the "free updates for life" model is one that was pioneered by shareware authors and was quite common when the app store came out, it's not necessarily even a deliberate decision by Apple at the time, even if it turned out to be useful for them in the long run.
Apple actively discourage versions, and they deliberately built in no mechanism for license upgrades. It was a deliberate decision on their part.
Just because shareware authors were doing it doesn't make it standard practice -- none of the major commercial houses were doing it.
Switching to Android
might be considered by some as 'out of the frying pan and into the fire'.
I've considered switching to Android but Google's insatiable desire to snoop on our lives is what gets in the way of me taking the plunge.
Yes, there are Android loads that are pretty well google slurp free but that requires searching them out and then sideloading it onto my phone and chucking the warranty into the bin.
Apple has a walled garden but for many users who just want a phone that has some pretence of user security and works OOTB for them.
Try explaining rooting and sideloading to the non techie user. All they want is a phone with the apps that they use and with the minimum of effort on their part.
Apple Walled Garden and their 30%
OR
Google Slurp Fest and their 30%
Oh what a hard decision?
Re: Switching to Android
And you assume (incorrectly, I might add) that Apple doesn't snoop on you?
Re: Switching to Android
As far as we know, snooping is not their main business - People pay a very large amount of cash to Apple for their iPhondlers - Who pays Google? Advertisers and snoopers...
I was looking to tinker with a new programming language and your mention of Pythonista made me check it out. It's exactly what I want, so thank you for mentioning it! It gives you a great programming environment and loads of examples. Cheers!
The android equivalents of those apps you've bought are most likely free. Certainly the most popular Python IDE is.
Unrelated to the rest of the thread, thanks for the Pythonista recommendation. At least, I'm assuming it's a recommendation because you called the app out by name.
Cheers
If there really were free updates for life, there would have been no 32-bit apps problem because they would have all been 64-bit by now anyway.
Free updates for the life of the app, not for the life of the phone's owner.
Big Bowl
Popcorn, waiting... Interesting times!
A pox on both their houses etc
Whilst 30% is a fair chunk of change, it's not as if Epic didn't know what they were getting into with both Apple and Google's walled app flogging garden.
But what it ultimately comes down to is that such companies are not happy with some of the the money, they want ALL of the money.
Re: A pox on both their houses etc
You come close to blaming the victim for the crime here.
Apple and Google are a duopoly in mobile phones. Both suspiciously charge exactly the same rate to sell software from their app stores.
In Apple's case you can't load apps in other ways. In Google's it is possible, but the mechanism for doing it is buried in a sub-menu somewhere.
If you wish to sell to the mobile gaming market therefore your choices are extremely limited. Either build your self a mobile device (like Nintendo) or sell into the app stores of the monopoly providers.
Re: A pox on both their houses etc
Neither is a "victim". They're both obscenely rich organizations greedily battling over the pennies 'cause they're not satisfied with the $100 bills they already collect.
A pox upon them both for their greed.
Hmmm
The judge seemed quite reasonable there. Epic broke the Appstore rules, so they are kicked out of there. All fair. Epic did not break the Xcode rules, so they should NOT have been kicked out of there.
A decidedly balanced and sane judgement. Who is this woman and how did she get into that courtroom??? Quick arrest her for impersonating a judge!!!! Fair and balanced judgements!?! In the USA!?!?! Not on my watch...
Re: Hmmm
Hmmmmmmmmmmm indeed
Re: Hmmm
At federal court level, sane and balanced judges have been the norm until the current WH occupant. Remember that the Republicans deliberately refused to work with Obama to fill federal judicial vacancies in the hope that they would get to stack the benches with right -wing judges under a Republican Prez. They got their wish, and those judges will be causing damage for a few decades .
They should have let Apple block Unreal Engine and deal with the plethora of lawsuits from App developers who aren't affiliated with Epic.
Only with that kind of repercussions or a court order will Apple ever change their ways.
Is it 30% across the board?
To my mind small dev shops should pay less tax, is is the case with [1]progressive tax regimes – a flat tax is quite unfair, no?
[icon is Apple relieving you of a chunk of your earnings]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_tax
" consumers could choose when deciding to buy an Android device or an iPhone "
Ah, that hoary old chestnut. The thing is, Apple went out of their way to push app developers to adopt a free-updates-for-life model, which doesn't benefit devs in any way whatsoever... Who benefits...? Well, Apple would say the consumer, but in the end it's Apple, because all of us with iOS devices are then actively discouraged from ever switching to Apple.
I was given an iPad as a gift, bought some video and audio apps, and Pythonista, and then when I went to (finally) buy a smartphone, I bought the one I already owned the apps I wanted on... i.e. an iPhone.
Switching to Android would be an expensive proposition, as suddenly I've got to reinvest in all of that.