An image taken from an Epic Games video mocking the 1984 Apple ad – Image credit: Epic Games
Ahead of returning to district court for further appeals in the Apple-Epic legal battle, the two companies set a schedule to discuss a change to the App Store fees for outbound links.
The Supreme Court’s May 6 decision to reject Apple’s request to suspend the mandate to meet with Epic Games to negotiate a new commission rate means more legal action will be taken in the coming months. In preparation, both sides agreed on some ground rules for this meeting.
In a joint filing filed May 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, there is a multi-point schedule of actions and activities for both companies.
The list begins with Apple having 45 days to file an “offer” with the court, meaning a good faith offer of evidence, testimony, documents, or some form of proof to the court. This offer will offer commissions for any “related purchases”, accompanied by supporting evidence, in a document of up to 30 pages.
Up to ten days after the offering, Apple will deliver to Epic all non-privileged documents relating to the decision-making process to create the offering proposal. This includes fee proposals and a lien log.
Within five days of this action, Apple will meet with Epic to discuss the privilege log and whether Epic requires additional material to evaluate Apple’s proposal. Epic may then designate up to 10% of the documents in this privilege log for further third-party review.
Within 60 days after Apple’s offer is filed or Apple completes production of the document, Epic will then file its own response to Apple’s offer in court. This can also be up to 30 pages, and if Epic objects, it must include evidence to support that decision.
Once filed, Apple has an additional 30 days to file its response, but with a limit of 15 pages. After all of this, the court can then hold a status conference or decide how to proceed further.
If all parties take the last possible moments to complete each step of the schedule, it could be 150 days or five months before the court schedules another meeting.
How Apple got here
Apple and Epic have endured a six-year legal battle that began with “Fortnite” allowing players to make in-app purchases using a third-party payment processor. Epic also made requests including allowing alternative app storefronts in iOS and changing the commission structure.
For the most part, Apple won its case against Epic, but the court ruled against Apple’s anti-steering measures, which prevented developers from directing users to other payment methods. Apple was ordered to make changes, and it claimed to have done so.
Epic responded, arguing that Apple had not followed the spirit of the law, convincing a court in April 2025 of its view. The court considered Apple’s steps to be a “serious miscalculation” of acceptability.