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Apple files 15% proposal
Apple has proposed App Store fees ranging from 5% to 15% for US purchases completed outside its In-App Purchase system, submitting the commission structure to the federal court overseeing the latest stage of its legal dispute with Epic Games.
“Apple has proposed App Store fees ranging from 5% to 15% for US purchases completed outside its In-App Purchase system”
The filing asks for 15% for standard apps when a customer follows an in-app link and completes the purchase elsewhere, while apps participating in the Video Partner Program, News Partner Program, or Mini Apps Partner Program would pay 10%.
Apple also proposed applying the same 10% rate to subscription renewals, compared with the 15% In-App Purchase commission Apple normally collects after a subscription’s first year.
For developers enrolled in the App Store Small Business Program, Apple proposed the lowest external-purchase rate at 5%, while stating that developers would remain responsible for payment processing, tax handling, customer service, fraud prevention, chargebacks, and refunds associated with their external systems.
Apple’s proposal is tied to a court process in which Chief US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers must determine whether the requested fees comply with the injunction governing external purchase links.
Epic says bounds exceeded
Epic has responded to Apple’s filing by saying the request “goes far beyond” the court’s instructions, according to The Verge’s account of Epic’s position.
The Verge reports that Apple’s proposal would allow it to collect fees on digital purchases made via external links that don’t use the company’s in-app purchase system, while Epic argues the request is “far outside of the bounds” of the court’s guidance.
Apple’s filing says its “necessary costs” to allow external purchases, as defined by the Ninth Circuit, “would be essentially zero,” and Apple admitted that under that definition it would charge 0% for purchases made via linkouts to the web.
Under Apple’s proposed structure as described by The Verge, Apple would collect 15 percent of fees from purchases in “standard apps,” 10 percent for apps in the Video Partner Program, the News Partner Program, the Mini Apps Partner Program, and subscription renewals, and 5 percent for apps in the Small Business Program.
The Verge also states that Epic believes it has “roughly 60 days to file our opposition supported by expert witnesses,” as the district court reviews Apple’s proffer alongside Epic’s response.
Court timeline and stakes
Apple’s proposal comes after the Supreme Court denied Apple’s request to pause the lower-court proceedings while it considered whether Apple violated court rules by charging a 27% commission on purchases outside the App Store.
“the Supreme Court denied the company’s request to pause the lower-court proceedings”
9to5Mac says Apple’s submission followed “several attempts to pause” the district court proceedings that would determine what fee, if any, Apple can charge for purchases made outside the App Store’s IAP system, and that the Supreme Court denied the pause request, allowing the lower-court proceedings to continue.
9to5Mac reports that Apple is expected to file its brief in the Supreme Court by September 14, while Epic will have a chance to respond to the proffer.
In its filing, Apple argued that “Based on expert analysis, it appears that large numbers of U.S. developers collectively accounting for the lion’s share of App Store revenue will be able to link out profitably at the proffered rates,” and that Apple can recover “at least some compensation” for the value of its IP-protected tools, technologies, and services.
The Verge frames the immediate next step as the district court reviewing Apple’s proposal and Epic’s response before setting the commission Apple can charge in the United States.
