Apple's App Store Fee Fight Heads Back to Supreme Court

Apple has announced its intention to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a review of its ongoing legal dispute with Epic Games regarding App Store fees. This latest filing seeks to pause an appeals court decision that restricted Apple's practices for charging external payment fees.

The protracted legal conflict began in 2020 when Epic Games introduced an alternative payment method to bypass Apple's standard 30% App Store commission. Although a 2021 ruling determined Apple was not a monopoly, it mandated that developers could link to outside payment options.

Apple's subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court did not halt the Ninth Circuit's ruling. The company then implemented a 27% commission on these external transactions, a move Epic contested as non-compliant with the court's order and detrimental to developers.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found Apple in contempt, a decision upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2025. This court stated Apple's 27% fee undermined the intent of allowing external payments, returning the matter to a lower court for specific rate determination. Apple's request for a rehearing was denied in March 2026.

With no further recourse in the Ninth Circuit, Apple is now turning to the Supreme Court. If accepted, Apple is expected to challenge the legal standards used in its contempt ruling and argue against court limitations on its service fees, which it claims reflect the value of its App Store ecosystem. However, given the Supreme Court's prior refusal to hear a related appeal, this petition might also be rejected, leaving the issue of commission rates for external purchases to be settled in lower courts.