Ahead of the return to District Court for the continued appeals process in the Apple-Epic legal fight, the two companies have made a schedule to discuss a change in App Store fees for outbound links.
The May 6 decision by the Supreme Court to decline Apple's request for a stay on a mandate to meet Epic Games to negotiate a new commission rate means more legal action in the coming months. In preparation, the two sides have agreed on a few ground rules for that meeting.
In a joint filing to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on May 15, there is a multi-point schedule of actions and activities for the two companies.
The list starts with Apple being given 45 days to file with the court a "proffer," namely a good-faith offer of evidence, testimony, documents, or some form of evidence to the court. This proffer will propose commissions for any "linked-out purchases," along with supportive evidence, in a document that's up to 30 pages long.
Up to ten days after the proffer, Apple will hand Epic all non-privileged documents about the decision-making process to create the proffer's proposal. This includes fee proposals and a privilege log.
Within five days of that action, Apple will meet with Epic to discuss the privilege log and whether Epic needs any extra material to evaluate the Apple proposal. Epic can then designate up to 10% of the documents on that privilege log for further review by a third party.
Within 60 days from the latter of Apple's proffer filing or Apple's completion of document production, Epic will then file its own response to Apple's proffer to the court. This too can be up to 30 pages in length, and if Epic makes an objection, it must include evidence supporting that move.
Once that has been filed, Apple has another 30 days to file its reply, though with a 15-page limit. After all that, the court can then hold a status conference or decide any further proceedings.
Based on all parties taking the last possible moments to complete each stage in the schedule, it could be 150 days or five months before the court schedules another meeting.
How Apple got here
Apple and Epic have endured a six-year legal battle that started with "Fortnite" allowing players to make in-app purchases using a third-party payment processor. Epic also made demands, including allowing alternate app storefronts in iOS and a change in the commission structure.
For the most part, Apple succeeded against Epic, but the court found against Apple's anti-steering measures, which prevented developers from directing users to other ways to pay. Apple was ordered to make changes, and it claimed it did.
Epic responded, arguing Apple didn't follow the spirit of the law, convincing a court in April 2025 to its viewpoint. The court viewed Apple's moves as a "gross miscalculation" of acceptability.
