Apple and Epic set pre-court schedule

Apple Inc. and Epic Games have agreed on a timetable for the next phase of their App Store fight, laying out how a federal judge should handle a dispute over commissions tied to purchases made outside Apple’s in-app payment system. The joint stipulation was filed on May 15 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, according to reports by iClarified and AppleInsider. The filing comes days after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to pause a lower-court order that sent the case back to district court. The remand will focus on what commission, if any, Apple may charge when developers steer users to outside payment options. ### Why are Apple and Epic back in district court now? The U.S. Supreme Court on May 6 rejected Apple’s request to temporarily block the lower-court process while it pursued further review. Justice Elena Kagan, acting for the court, declined to pause a Ninth Circuit ruling that upheld findings that Apple violated an earlier injunction in the Epic case. Reuters reported that the denial means Apple must return to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, for proceedings over what commission it can lawfully charge for certain app-related transactions. (iclarified.com) The Ninth Circuit on Dec. 11, 2025 said Apple could not impose a commission structure that had a “prohibitive effect” on developers’ use of external links. The appeals court said Apple’s 27% commission on linked-out purchases violated the injunction and sent the fee question back to the district court for further proceedings. (usnews.com) ### What does the new schedule require Apple to do first? The May 15 stipulation gives Apple 45 days from the court’s order to file a formal proposal for a new commission structure on linked-out purchases. iClarified reported that Apple’s filing would be limited to 30 pages and must include the evidence it relies on to justify the proposed fees. (cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov) Within 10 days after that filing, Apple must produce non-privileged documents tied to the internal decision-making behind the proposed fee structure, according to the same report. Apple must also provide a privilege log identifying documents it is withholding. ### What chance will Epic get to challenge Apple’s proposal? (iclarified.com) Epic Games would get 60 days after Apple completes document production to file its response objecting to the proposed commissions and to submit its own evidence, iClarified reported. The filing also gives the two sides five days after Apple’s production to meet and discuss Apple’s privilege log. (iclarified.com) Epic also would be allowed to designate up to 10% of the withheld documents for review by a third party, according to iClarified’s account of the stipulation. That process would give Epic a route to challenge Apple’s privilege claims before the court decides whether further proceedings are needed. (iclarified.com) ### What is the fight actually about at this stage? The dispute now centers on outbound links from apps — the buttons or links that send users to a developer’s website to complete a purchase outside Apple’s App Store payment system. The Ninth Circuit said Apple had violated the injunction by charging a 27% commission on those purchases and by limiting how developers could design the links. (iclarified.com) Reuters reported on May 6 that the district court will now determine what commission Apple can lawfully charge for those linked-out transactions. That question follows years of litigation over Apple’s App Store rules and Epic’s challenge to restrictions on steering users to alternative payment methods. (cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov) ### What happens after the briefs are in? Apple would have 30 days after Epic’s response to file a final reply, and that reply would be limited to 15 pages, iClarified reported. After that, Judge Gonzalez Rogers may hold a status conference or decide whether additional proceedings are necessary. (usnews.com) The next concrete milestone in the case is the court’s action on the joint stipulation and, if it is adopted, Apple’s opening proposal under the 45-day clock. Judge Gonzalez Rogers, Apple and Epic are the named participants in that next step in Oakland federal court. (iclarified.com)