The U.S. 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 bit of background
Back in 2020, Epic Games sued Apple after Fortnite was removed from the App Store for introducing an alternative in-app payment system through a remotely activated update.
The following year, despite ruling in Apple’s favor on nine of Epic’s ten claims, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple could no longer prevent developers from directing users to alternative payment options outside the App Store.
As a result, Apple changed its rules to allow external purchase links, but imposed a commission of up to 27% on transactions completed through them, along with restrictions on how those 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 commissions on purchases made outside the App Store, finding 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 a commission, while continuing to challenge the contempt ruling.
After unsuccessful attempts before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Apple eventually took its case to the Supreme Court, which agreed in June 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 the App Store. That issue is being handled separately by the district court, after the Ninth Circuit overturned the blanket ban on commissions in December.
SCOTUS sets hearing date
Earlier today, the Supreme Court’s official docket for the case was updated with a date for oral arguments.
According to the filing, Apple and Epic Games will present their arguments before the Supreme Court on Monday, January 11, 2027, though both sides have already outlined many of their arguments in recent filings.
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 it from charging commissions on purchases made outside the App Store.
In its brief, Apple cited multiple 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’s filing, the US Department of Justice and several legal and business groups also submitted briefs supporting at least part of the company’s argument.
The DOJ, however, also argued that the lower courts were right to hold Apple in contempt over some of its restrictions on external purchase links, including a requirement that developers use what Apple called “plain buttons,” which could not have contrasting backgrounds.
With the hearing now scheduled, the case is one step closer to a final decision from the Supreme Court. However, both sides still have some paperwork to submit before then, as Epic Games has until November 13 to file its brief responding to Apple’s arguments, while Apple’s reply is due December 14.
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