Apple won by most observers’ counts when the District Court of Northern California returned its verdict in the trial against Epic in September, and the company itself called it a “resounding victory”.
But on two points, the court sided with Epic. It stipulated that Apple must not stop developers from linking to purchases outside the App Store, and that it must not prevent developers from maintaining contact with users who voluntarily create in-app accounts.
The iPhone manufacturer appealed against the ruling and asked for the enforcement of those two injunctions to be postponed. And the company has got its own way: The Verge reports that the appeals court handling the case has approved Apple’s request regarding the first point.
The court ruled that Apple should not be forced to open up off-app purchases until the full appeal has been heard. However, the second point will apply as of today, meaning developers will now be allowed to contact users who have created accounts in an app, via email or other means.
“Apple has demonstrated, at minimum, that its appeal raises serious questions on the merits of the district court’s determination,” the ruling reads. “Therefore, we grant Apple’s motion to stay part (i) of paragraph (1) of the permanent injunction.”
A spokesperson for Apple told The Verge that the company was concerned that the requirement, if allowed to stand, “would have created new privacy and security risks, and disrupted the user experience customers love about the App Store”. Epic, meanwhile, declined to comment.
This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation (using DeepL) and additional reporting by David Price.
Author: Anders Lundberg, Contributing Editor
Anders has worked for Macworld Sweden for many years. He writes news, reviews and tutorials related to the Mac, iPhone and Apple Watch.