Apple’s bid to have Cydia creator Jay Freeman’s lawsuit dismissed was denied Thursday in California federal court.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple maintains an illegal App Store monopoly over app distribution on iPhones and iPads.
Amended lawsuit from Cydia creator within the statute of limitations
Freeman initially filed a lawsuit against Apple in 2020. However, it was dismissed at the beginning of this year by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, as the claims were outside the statute of limitations. Following this, the Cydia creator filed an amended lawsuit. As Reuters notes, Apple was again trying to get the new complaint dismissed by arguing the alleged activities fell outside the four-year window of federal antitrust law.
In the amended lawsuit, the plaintiff SaurikIT LLC argues that Apple carried out “millions of overt acts within the statute of limitations period.” This includes rolling out App Store changes between 2018 and 2021 that prevented third-party iOS app distributors like Cydia from providing “an app that was usable on iOS devices.”
The original complaint was against Apple’s actions in 2008 and 2009.
Cydia creator wants Apple to make iOS app distribution easier
In the new lawsuit, Cydia “seeks to open the markets for iOS app distribution and iOS app payment processing to those who wish to compete fairly with Apple, and to recover the enormous damages Apple caused Cydia.” The court ordered the Cupertino company to respond to Cydia’s allegations in the SaurikIT v. Apple lawsuit within 21 days.
Apple has come under intense scrutiny in recent times due to its monopolistic iOS app distribution practices. It is already the subject of multiple regulatory investigations because of its tight grip over the App Store. Epic Games sued Apple in 2020 for a similar reason. Both parties want the same thing from the iPhone-maker: to make app distribution easier on its devices.
