Apple (AAPL.O) urged a London tribunal on Tuesday to dismiss a mass lawsuit valued at around $1 billion, filed by more than 1,500 app developers, concerning its App Store fees.
The case, with a potential worth of £785 million ($998 million), is one of several legal challenges faced by the tech giant in the United Kingdom. It alleges that Apple imposed unfair commissions, up to 30%, on third-party developers for app and content purchases.
Sean Ennis, a competition law professor and former OECD economist, is leading the case filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) last year.
Ennis’s legal team argues that Apple abused its dominant market position in app distribution, seeking damages for UK-based developers. However, Apple contends that 85% of developers on its App Store pay no commission and requests the CAT to dismiss the case, deeming it “unsustainable.”
Daniel Piccinin, Apple’s lawyer, asserts that developers in the UK can only claim if charged on purchases through the UK App Store—a situation applicable to a small minority of claimants.
In response, Ennis’s lawyer, Paul Stanley, argues that Apple “has come to the UK to offer services to UK businesses on a UK market and has abused its position by overcharging them.” Stanley contends that UK law applies to the entire case, making it eligible to proceed.
Apple is currently confronting another mass lawsuit related to App Store commissions, approved for around 20 million UK users in 2022.
Additionally, the company faces a separate case concerning allegedly defective iPhone batteries, certified in the prior year. Both lawsuits, involving millions of users, are anticipated to reach trial no sooner than 2025.
