U.S. tech company Apple has appealed a federal judge’s verdict in its legal battle with video game and software developer Epic Games for control of the App Store.
He is seeking to overturn a decision directing him to release control over his in-store payment options.
Last month, Epic filed an appeal against the finding that it failed to prove Apple’s antitrust violations.
“We will fight,” tweeted Epic chief executive Tim Sweeney when the company confirmed its intention to challenge the verdict.
Apple said in the days following the 185-page San Francisco Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that it was “very happy” with the ruling but left the door open to an appeal.
The companies had opted for a so-called court trial in which a judge rather than a jury hears the evidence and rules on a verdict.
Epic launched the case to break Apple’s grip on the App Store, accusing the iPhone maker of acting as a monopoly on its store of digital goods or services.
Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said after the verdict: “For me, this is a victory for Apple as the judge made it clear that they were not engaging in monopolistic behavior.
“I don’t think that’s a problem for Apple from a revenue perspective.”
The judge banned Apple from prohibiting developers from including in their applications “external links or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms.”
Apple can still require its payment systems to be used for in-app transactions.
