Apple Accuses Epic Games of 'Willful, Brazen, and Unlawful Conduct' in Countersuit Asking for Breach of Contract Damages

[MacRumors]

As Apple and Epic Games prepare for a hearing on a preliminary injunction to decide whether Fortnite will be allowed back on the App Store as the legal battle between the two companies plays out, Apple has filed a countersuit against Epic requesting damages for breach of contract.

In a court filing today, Apple says that Epic's lawsuit is "nothing more than a basic disagreement over money," highlighting the revenue that Epic Games has earned through the Fortnite iOS app and Apple's developer tools.

Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store. Epic's demands for special treatment and cries of "retaliation" cannot be reconciled with its flagrant breach of contract and its own business practices, as it rakes in billions by taking commissions on game developers' sales and charging consumers up to $99.99 for bundles of "V-Bucks."

For years, Epic took advantage of everything the App Store had to offer. It availed itself of the tools, technology, software, marketing opportunities, and customer reach that Apple provided so that it could bring games like Infinity Blade and Fortnite to Apple customers all over the world. It enjoyed the tremendous resources that Apple pours into its App Store to constantly innovate and create new opportunities for developers and experiences for customers, as well as to review and approve every app, keeping the App Store safe and secure for customers and developers alike.

Epic, says Apple, has used more than 400 of Apple's APIs and frameworks, five versions of the Apple SDK, has had its apps reviewed more than 200 times, and has pushed more than 140 updates to Apple customers. Apple says that it also provided advertising each time Epic released a new season for Fortnite, offering "free promotion and favorable tweets" to more than 500 million end users.

Apple goes on to explain the current Epic vs. Apple situation, and how Epic blindsided Apple with a "hotfix" to add the direct payment option and then the ensuing legal assault after Fortnite was pulled from the App Store.

Apple says that Epic's "willful, brazen, and unlawful conduct" can't be left unchecked, asking the court for damages and an order that prevents Epic from furthering its unfair business practices.

Neither Mr. Sweeney's self-righteous (and self-interested) demands nor the scale of Epic's business can justify Epic's deliberate contractual breaches, its tortious conduct, or its unfair business practices. This court should hold Epic to its contractual promises, award Apple compensatory and punitive damages, and enjoin Epic from engaging in further unfair business practices.

Apple also has a point-by-point rebuttal for all of Epic's claims, denying all allegations in the complaint. The full court filing is embedded below, and for a court document, it offers an interesting and comprehensive look into Apple's perspective on the whole Epic situation.

Apple Counterclaims Against... by MacRumors​

Epic over the weekend filed its documentation for the preliminary injunction, claiming that it challenged Apple because "it was the right thing to do" and that it was "better positioned than many other companies to weather the storm."

Epic has claimed that it will "suffer irreparable harm" if Fortnite is not allowed back in the App Store, but at the same time, Epic Games has refused to remove the direct payment option that's in violation of Apple's App Store policies. Epic wants the court to rule in its favor, allowing the app to stay in the store with the direct payment option that defies the rules, but that did not happen during the hearing for a temporary restraining order, and it's not clear if the court will rule differently after hearing new arguments from both Apple and Epic Games.

The preliminary injunction hearing is set to take place on Monday, September 28.

Article Link: Apple Accuses Epic Games of 'Willful, Brazen, and Unlawful Conduct' in Countersuit Asking for Breach of Contract Damages

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Here we go again! Really EPIC. You have no shame. Leave the App Store alone.

NO EPIC! You can’t have Apple’s 💰

 

[tRYSIS3]

Shouldn't have bitten more than they can chew

 

[_Refurbished_]

They should just settle this in Fortnite. Tim, Phil, and Craig vs. Sweeney. Just Sweeney. Winner gets a chicken dinner at KFC.

 

[WiseAJ]

Epic backlash against Epic. They really wanted to bite the hand that fed them, (several times too).

 

[nordique]

Was wondering if Apple would launch a counter suit

Apple is right about one thing: it boils down to money

 

[macfacts]

Here we go again! Really EPIC. You have no shame. Leave the App Store alone.

This story is about apple suing Epic.

 

[zorinlynx]

Two companies being ******. At first I was team Epic in this mess... now I'm not really rooting for either of them.

 

[G5isAlive]

Have to admit these multi-billion dollar companies willing to go high on the hyperbole in court cases is a break from the normal overly formal patent law talk. Just saying it is amusing to watch, if only it wasn't a reflection on our society's acceptance of greed.

 

[dguisinger]

Apple: If you don't want to make APIs, get out of the OS business
Sick and tired of this excuse that the App Store exists to pay for the OS, which I subsidized with the purchase of a $1200 phone.

If the App Store pays for everything Apple does, then stop charging me sky-high prices for the devices I buy.

 

[matt_and_187_like_this]

Wow, this official statement sounds like any rant in macrumor's comment section.

 

[ArPe]

Epic likes to portray itself as an underdog and Robin Hood figure and appeals to writers of yellow journalism to attack Apple. But let’s take a look at the facts.

Apple is owned by thousands upon thousands of shareholders round the world, many of them moms and pops waiting to retire. Tim Apple is worth only about $1 billion and is one of the most frugal CEOs in the world.

Epic is largely owned by giant monopoly Tencent that is only answerable to the CCP. It’s CEO Tim Swiney is said to be worth about $30 billion. That’s 30 times more than the best CEO on the planet.

So who is the bad guy here? Apple who created a platform and SDK that revolutionized the global economy or this game developer who only created a game engine and are trying to get a free ride so that Tim Swiney and Tencent can fill their pockets and help China circumvent bans on spyware apps like WeChat and TikTok?

 

[kazmac]

Not surprised by Apple’s countersuit or the legal speak.

 

[bobbie424242]

Enjoy the Apple mafia run by a few execs showing its true nature. You're going to have a realty check this decade by law in various countries, Apple !

 

[Cosmosent]

I've said it before & will say it again, it comes down to Marketing !

If AAPL has ever promoted an App, then AAPL is entitled to their just cut !

However, if AAPL has NEVER promoted an App, then, IMO, AAPL should NOT get any more than a 10% cut of Revenue !

Epic has benefited significantly from AAPL's marketing, & as such, I side with AAPL on this one !

And, I agree with AAPL that it is ALL-about money, nothing else !!

App Discovery is the other, more important problem, with the existing App Store ... hopefully, it too will soon have its Day in the Sun !

 

[farewelwilliams]

Epic playing Fortnite while Apple is playing Counter-Strike

 

[dguisinger]

I've said it before & will say it again, it comes down to Marketing !

If AAPL has ever promoted an App, then AAPL is entitled to their just cut !

However, if AAPL has NEVER promoted an App, then, IMO, AAPL should NOT get any more than a 10% cut of Revenue !

Epic has benefited significantly from AAPL's marketing, & as such, I side with AAPL on this one !

And, I agree with AAPL that it is ALL-about money, nothing else !!

App Discovery is the other, more important problem, with the existing App Store ... hopefully, it too will soon have its Day in the Sun !

So.... how much of a cut is AAPL entitled to for Halo: Combat Evolved?

 

[jlocker]

This is what Steve Jobs, Steve Woz and Apple learned in 1995. What is the most important people that you have in your company? Good corporate lawyers. Microsoft had better ones and they lost the case to Bill Gates over Windows. Apple almost went out of business in 1998. So they now have had the best corporate lawyers money can buy for the last 20 years. One thing Apple learns is to fix mistakes and try not to repeat it. It's not the engineers in your company it is the lawyers that keep you company out of solvency.

 

[nordique]

Epic likes to portray itself as an underdog and Robin Hood figure and appeals to writers of yellow journalism to attack Apple. But let’s take a look at the facts.

Apple is owned by thousands upon thousands of shareholders round the world, many of them moms and pops waiting to retire. Tim Apple is worth only about $1 billion and is one of the most frugal CEOs in the world.

Epic is largely owned by giant monopoly Tencent that is only answerable to the CCP. It’s CEO Tim Swiney is said to be worth about $30 billion. That’s 30 times more than the best CEO on the planet.

So who is the bad guy here? Apple who created a platform and SDK that revolutionized the global economy or this game developer who only created a game engine and are trying to get a free ride so that Tim Swiney and Tencent can fill their pockets and help China circumvent bans on spyware apps like WeChat and TikTok?

I don’t know if there is a “bad” guy.

This is a philosophical disagreement that is being worked out by multi billion dollar corporations in the law courts

Apple is facing multiple anti-trust inquiries around the world so this anti trust argument clearly goes beyond just Epic games. But it’s not my place to judge; that’s for the lawyers to duke it out and the courts to decide

Apple’s counter-suit today makes a lot of valid points from their perspective. Am looking forward to the Hoegg Law breakdown!

 

[bobmans]

Epic’s lawsuit is nothing more than a basic disagreement over money. Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store. Epic’s demands for special treatment and cries of “retaliation” cannot be reconciled with its flagrant breach of contract and its own business practices, as it rakes in billions by taking commissions on game developers’ sales and charging consumers up to $99.99 for bundles of “V-Bucks.”

This really reads like the start of a very good book 😅

 

[Scipster]

Lol it's funny how Apple conveniently left out the fact that they used Infinity Blade for their own shameless self promotion of the iPhone's prowess over Samsung Galaxy way back in 2010:

To quote Jobs, "Wow, it's all on a phone!"

 

[dguisinger]

This is what Steve Jobs, Steve Woz and Apple learned in 1995. What is the most important people that you have in your company? Good corporate lawyers. Microsoft had better ones and they lost the case to Bill Gates over Windows. Apple almost went out of business in 1998. So they now have had the best corporate lawyers money can buy for the last 20 years. One thing Apple learn is to fix mistakes and try not to repeat it. It's not the engineers in your company it is the lawyers that keep you company of of solvency.

What? Apple almost went out of business because they had no idea what their mission was. They didn't need to win lawsuits against Microsoft. Don't put a beverage CEO in charge of a computer company during the start of the computer revolution.

 

[kanki1985]

Apple did what it does, wait and knock it off the park..

 

[kuwxman]

lol. This has turned in to a giant 💩show and isn't anywhere near being over. Any facet of Apple being the 'better person' in this whole charade has gone out the window now. Gotta pay those expensive Apple lawyers somehow!

 

[Salvor Hardin]

Epic will respond to these claims of unfair business practices after they buy exclusively for another Kickstarter funded game that promised Steam keys.