Apple Files Appeal to Delay App Store Changes After Epic Games Lawsuit Ruling

Apple filed a notice of appeal in the Epic Games case on Friday, requesting a delay in the introduction of alternative payment methods to the App Store.

The iPhone maker has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit a stay on an injunction that would temporarily prevent developers from adding links to alternative payment systems within app.

The injunction, which is currently scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 9, was put in place last month by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who in her ruling ordered the company to allow app developers to direct consumers to third-party payment methods outside Apple’s App Store.

“Apple asks the Court to suspend the requirements of its injunction until the appeals filed by both Epic and Apple have been resolved,” the company wrote in its notice of appeal. “Apple is carefully working through many complex issues across a global landscape, seeking to enhance information flow while protecting both the efficient functioning of the App Store and the security and privacy of Apple’s customers.”

Apple continued, “Striking the right balance may solve the Court’s concerns making the injunction (and perhaps even Apple’s appeal itself) unnecessary. A stay is warranted in these circumstances.”

As reported in September, under the new rule Apple is “permanently restrained and enjoined from prohibiting developers from including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to In-App Purchasing and communicating with customers through points of contact obtained voluntarily from customers through account registration within the app.”