Epic is trying to bring Fortnite back to the App Store with a temporary restraining order after Apple banned the game earlier this month. Apple responded immediately to Epic’s move, asking the presiding judge to block the case, NBC News reported.
The temporary restraining order, if allowed, would allow Fortnite to return to the App Store against Apple’s wishes, along with its controversial direct payment system, before the lawsuit itself is resolved. In a new legal battle, Apple claims that Epic has no basis for a temporary restraining order, and accuses Epic of incurring ‘all’ proven harm ‘- in particular citing Epic’s’ bilingual’ behavior with movements such as its #FreeFortnite campaign and parody of 1984 video riffing on an old Macintosh commercial.
Basically, Apple tells Epic you started it.
In the legal submission, Apple’s attorneys stated: “TROs [temporary restraining orders] exist to repair irreparable damage, not easily repair self-inflicted wounds. “
The submission continues, “Here, Epic carried out a carefully orchestrated, multi-faceted campaign, complete with a parody video, merchandise, hashtag, compelling tweets and now a pre-packaged TRO. All the injuries Epic inflicted on himself, game players, and developers “could have been avoided if Epic had filed a lawsuit without breaking its agreements. All those alleged injuries for which Epic was wrongly seeking emergency assistance could disappear tomorrow if Epic healed his divorce.”
Apple’s lawyers are claiming that Epic can “return to the status quo” and “be welcomed back into the App Store”, while still having the freedom to pursue its anti-trust lawsuit if the agreement is upheld. the Terms of Service of the App Store – that is, removing the third-party payment system that Apple would refuse its commission from microtransactions.
Fortnite’s direct payment system, which allows users to buy V-tubes directly from Epic – allowing Apple and Google to cut out of the process and deny both mobile giants their 30% cut in microtransactions – was introduced to direct controversy on 13 August. This led Apple and Google to ban Fortnite from their app stores and Epic to take revenge on lawsuits over what Epic claims were “anti-trust violations.” You can read about the technological issues of the case in our Fortnite, Apple, Google statement of lawsuits.
Whether Epic will return or not remains to be seen. In the meantime, Epic is set to release Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 4 later this month, an event that will not be available to iOS and Android players as this legal feud continues.
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