Apple has secured a 24-hour extension from the US Supreme Court in its long-running legal fight with Epic Games, giving the company more time before it must propose what commission, if any, it should receive from purchases completed outside the App Store.
Justice Elena Kagan temporarily paused proceedings in the US District Court for the Northern District of California until 5:00 p.m. Washington time on Thursday, after Apple filed an emergency request asking the Supreme Court to stop the lower-court process while it reviews the company’s contempt ruling.
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The dispute traces back to an injunction requiring Apple to let developers direct users to alternative payment methods outside the App Store. Apple later allowed external payment links but imposed a 27% commission on purchases completed through those links, which Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found violated her earlier order.
Apple wants the lower-court fee proceedings paused
Judge Gonzalez Rogers rejected Apple’s request for a longer pause on Tuesday and ordered the company to submit its proposed commission and supporting evidence by Wednesday afternoon, although the Supreme Court’s temporary order has now pushed that deadline back by one day.
Bloomberg reported that Kagan issued the administrative stay so the Supreme Court has additional time to consider Apple’s broader request for a longer pause while the justices review the contempt case.
The Supreme Court agreed in June to review the contempt finding after the Ninth Circuit upheld it, while Apple argues that the original injunction never expressly prohibited the company from charging developers a commission on purchases made outside the App Store.
The Ninth Circuit also instructed Judge Gonzalez Rogers to determine what “appropriate” compensation Apple can receive from developers for use of its intellectual property, while making clear that the previous 27% commission cannot stand.
Apple now has until Thursday evening while the Supreme Court considers whether to extend the pause further, which would delay the lower-court proceedings until the justices resolve the company’s appeal in Apple v. Epic Games.
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