The US Supreme Court has officially scheduled oral arguments in Apple’s appeal in its long-running legal battle with Epic Games. Here are the details.
A little background
In 2020, Epic Games sued Apple after Fortnite was removed from the App Store for introducing an alternative in-app payment system via a remotely triggered update.
The following year, despite ruling in Apple’s favor on nine of Epic’s ten requests, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple could no longer prevent developers from directing users to alternative payment options outside of the App Store.
As a result, Apple changed its rules to allow external shopping links, but imposed a commission of up to 27% on transactions completed through them, along with restrictions on how such links could be presented.
Epic challenged Apple’s implementation, and the district court agreed. In April 2025, Judge Rogers ordered Apple to remove those restrictions and stop charging fees on purchases made outside of the App Store, holding the company in civil contempt for violating the original injunction.
Since then, Apple has allowed developers to direct users to external payment options in the US App Store without charging any fees, while continuing to challenge the contempt ruling.
After unsuccessful attempts before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Apple eventually took the case to the Supreme Court, which in June agreed to review whether Apple could be held in contempt for violating the “spirit” of an injunction, even when its text did not specifically prohibit the conduct in question.
Importantly, the Supreme Court will only review the civil contempt ruling, not how much, if anything, Apple can charge developers for purchases made outside of the App Store. The matter is being handled separately in the district court, after the Ninth Circuit struck down a blanket ban on commissions in December.
SCOTUS sets hearing date
This morning the official record of the Supreme Court case was updated with the date for oral arguments.
According to the statement, Apple and Epic Games will present their arguments before the Supreme Court on Monday, January 11, 2027, although both sides have already outlined many of their arguments in recent statements.
In September, Apple filed its opening brief with the Supreme Court, arguing that the contempt ruling should be overturned because the original injunction did not explicitly prohibit charging fees on purchases made outside of the App Store.
In its brief, Apple cited numerous court decisions to support its argument that a party cannot be held in civil contempt unless an injunction clearly prohibits the conduct in question.
A few days after Apple filed its complaint, the US Department of Justice and several legal and business groups also filed briefs supporting at least part of the company’s arguments.
The Justice Department, however, also argued that lower courts were right to hold Apple in contempt for some of its restrictions on external shopping links, including the requirement that developers use what Apple called “plain buttons,” which could not have contrasting backgrounds.
With a hearing now set, the case is one step closer to a final Supreme Court decision. However, both sides still have some documents to submit before then, as Epic Games has until November 13th to file its brief in response to Apple’s arguments, while Apple’s response is due on December 14th.
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