Federal judge dismisses lawsuit claiming App Store is a monopoly

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Another win for Apple.
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A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday that claimed Apple has a monopoly over app distribution on iOS.

The makers of Coronavirus Reporter sued Cupertino for rejecting their title from the App Store. But U.S. District Judge Edward Chen published a 34-page ruling that says the developers’ arguments “failed to pass muster.”

Apple wins case against App Store’s apparent monopoly

Coronavirus Reporter, a third-party contact-tracing app, was denied App Store approval last year after Apple decided it would only allow COVID-19 apps from trusted government organizations and medical or educational institutions.

After lodging an appeal, the app’s developers were told by Apple that Coronavirus Reporter was prohibited because its “user-generated data has not been vetted for accuracy by a reputable source.”

But the app’s creators, along with other developers who were brought into the lawsuit, contend Apple was simply using its power over the App Store to benefit itself and its own partners for anticompetitive reasons.

The lawsuit called for a preliminary injunction that would temporarily block Apple from rejecting certain apps — and prevent the company from charging developers a $99-per-year App Store submission fee.

But Chen wasn’t buying it.

There is no case

“Chen denied the motion for an injunction as moot after dismissing the lawsuit,” reports Courthouse News. “Chen found the developers failed to adequately identify a market over which Apple exerts monopolistic control.”

The developers tried to assert that Apple dominates two markets — the “U.S. smartphone market” and “U.S. iOS smartphone market” — but Chen said their market definitions were unclear and “failed to pass muster.” He also said the developers failed to provide evidence of how App Store rankings had suppressed certain apps, and offered no facts that would justify an antitrust claim.

“Plaintiffs fail to define that area of effective competition in which they compete,” the ruling reads. “They are not smartphone manufacturers. Nor do they provide any other basis for the court to find that the market of U.S. Smartphones is the ‘area of effective competition’ for plaintiffs’ claims.”

A big win for Apple

Keith Matthews, the lawyer representing the developers of Coronavirus Reporter, said they intend to appeal the decision. But as things stand, it’s a massive win for Apple that could have implications in other cases.

This isn’t the first time Apple has been accused of monopolizing the App Store. Fortnite developer Epic Games famously accused it of the same. Cupertino can now use this federal ruling in other cases as support.

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