Back in April 2025, the Northern District Court of California issued a ruling against Apple, directing them to stop enforcing extra fees on purchases made outside of apps. The court also found Apple in willful violation of its 2021 Injunction which was issued to restrain and prohibit Apple’s anticompetitive conduct and anticompetitive pricing.
In response to this ruling, Apple filed an emergency motion last month seeking a stay on the court’s ruling while the company also filed an appeal against the ruling around the same time. Well, there is bad news for Apple, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has denied Apple’s Emergency Motion Under Circuit Rule 27-3 for a Partial Stay Pending Appeal.
In the ruling the court has said, “Apple bears the burden of showing that the circumstances justify an exercise of [our] discretion. After reviewing the relevant factors, we are not persuaded that a stay is appropriate.” Epic Games head Tim Sweeney has also applauded the court’s ruling on X platform.
Apple’s stay is denied by the 9th Circuit Court. The long national nightmare of the Apple tax is ended.
May next week’s WWDC be the Apple-led celebration of freedom that developers and users have long deserved. pic.twitter.com/f0A3IAVKNC
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) June 4, 2025
Last year, Apple began allowing other apps to link out and use non-Apple payment mechanisms, but it still took a 27% fee. With the new ruling, these practices will be eliminated.
In related news, Epic Games has also recently filed a second Motion to Enforce the April 2025 Injunction with the US District Court for the Northern District of California. In the filing, Epic Games mentioned that the company seeks an order enforcing the Injunction, and requiring Apple to promptly accept any compliant Epic app, including Fortnite, for distribution on the US storefront of the App Store.
