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Epic Games filed for a preliminary injunction that would put its
game back in the App Store and restore its developer account.
The filing was made in the United States District Court for the
Northern District of California.
It argued that Epic Games is "likely to suffer irreparable harm"
in the absence of a preliminary injunction and that "the balance
of harms tips sharply in Epic's favor".
The filing described the iPhone maker as a "monopolist" that
maintains its monopolies by "explicitly prohibiting any
competitive entry".
Late last week, Apple terminated Epic Games' account on its App
Store amid a legal battle over the iPhone maker's in-app payment
guidelines and accusations they constitute a monopoly.
Apple said last week its move will not affect Epic Games' Unreal
Engine, a software tool relied on by hundreds of other app
makers.
But the move meant iPhone users will not be able to download "Fortnite"
or other Epic titles through the Apple App Store.
"This was a clear warning to any other developer that would dare
challenge Apple's monopolies: follow our rules or we will cut
you off from a billion iOS consumers - challenge us and we will
destroy your business," Epic Games said in Friday's filing.
Apple pulled Epic Games after the popular games creator
implemented a feature to let iPhone users make in-app purchases
directly, rather than using Apple's in-app purchase system,
which charges commissions of 30%.
Apple had said it would allow "Fortnite" back into the store if
Epic removed the direct payment feature. But Epic refused to do
so, saying complying with Apple's request would be "to collude
with Apple to maintain their monopoly over in-app payments on
iOS."
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Ros
Russell)
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