Apple today filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the calculation of App Store fees while it waits to hear whether the Supreme Court will rule on the latest developments in its legal battle with Epic Games.
Apple claims that without a suspension, it would suffer irreparable harm. Apple says it will have to challenge the fundamental tenets of its business model with “the highly prejudicial risk of having acted (wrongly) in defiance of the original court order” in full view of the world, and the case would require it to disclose confidential business information, which cannot be undone.
Regulators around the world are monitoring this case to determine the commission rate Apple can charge on covered purchases in huge markets outside the United States. No proceeding setting the commission that Apple can charge – an undertaking which in itself is fraught with pitfalls and raises the possibility that the courts will engage in improper rate-fixing – should be allowed to proceed under the false and damaging auspices that Apple acted in contempt by charging a commission based on an injunction that did not even mention commissions.
The Supreme Court’s decision could also affect the scope of the case, as one of Apple’s arguments is that the injunction should only apply to “Epic Games”, and not all developers who distribute apps in the United States.
As a reminder, in 2021, the US Court for the Northern District of California ordered Apple to relax its anti-steering rules as part of the ruling in the Epic Games v. Apple case. Apple has been asked to allow developers to link to other payment options in apps. Apple complied, but still charged high fees (three percent less than its standard fees), leading the court to find Apple in contempt of court for willfully violating the injunction.
As of April 2025, Apple is no longer allowed to charge fees for links in apps in the US App Store, a change Apple implemented that same month. Apple appealed, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that Apple had violated the injunction, but said the company should be able to receive compensation for its technology. The appeals court then ordered the district court to calculate reasonable fees, and that’s what Apple wants to pause on.
Apple plans to challenge the district court’s contempt of court decision and the scope of the injunction, and it does not want to go to court for the calculation of costs when there is a chance that the Supreme Court will overturn the decision completely.
All Apple is asking for here is a stay of the warrant so that this Court can consider Apple’s petition before it is subject to remand proceedings that could reshape the global app market based on the false premise that Apple has engaged in civil contempt.
Apple asked the appeals court to suspend the fee calculation phase until it gets a response from the Supreme Court. The appeals court initially agreed, but then reversed course after Epic Games challenged the decision. Apple is now asking the Supreme Court for the same reprieve that was refused by the appeals court.
Apple wants to keep its current no-fee linking fee structure while it appeals to the Supreme Court, meaning developers in the United States would continue to pay no fees for purchases made using third-party payment options in their apps while the case plays out.
If the Supreme Court grants Apple’s request for a stay, the no-fee setup will remain in place while Apple awaits a decision from the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court does not grant the stay or refuses to hear the case, Apple and Epic Games will return to the district court to determine what reasonable fees Apple can collect.
While Apple is asking the Supreme Court for a stay while it prepares a full filing, Apple also suggested its filing could be used as a petition for certiorari, so we may soon find out if the Supreme Court will decide to hear the Epic Games case against Apple. Apple will not be able to submit a petition for certiorari which will be considered before the summer break.
The warrant that will send Apple to the district court for the calculation of fees takes effect on May 5.