Latest in Epic battle sees Apple slapped with a permanent injunction

Epic has won a significant battle in their ongoing war against Apple and its Apple Tax, with Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers granting a permanent injunction against Apple from removing the Unreal Engine from the Apple iOS platform.

The decision bars Apple from revoking Epic’s developer tools in a way that could have harmed its broader business.

Epic, however, lost another skirmish. Judge Gonzales Rogers declined to force Apple to re-instate Fortnite, saying:

“Epic Games and Apple are at liberty to litigate this action for the future of the digital frontier, but their dispute should not create havoc to bystanders. Thus, the public interest weighs overwhelmingly in favor of Unreal Engine and the Epic Affiliates,” said the judge, keeping Epic’s Unreal Engine business from being harmed.

The judge was not impressed by Epic underplaying the security concerns from bypassing Apple’s walled garden but suggested a trail in front of a jury may clear up the significance of the issue.

“It is important enough to understand what real people think,” said Rogers. “Do these security issues concern people or not?”

That trail may happen as soon as July 2021, but is likely to be followed by a series of appeals, with Rogers noting “I know I’m just a stepping stone for all of you.”

via the Verge