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iPhone Users Could Sue Apple Over App Store “Monopoly”

A US appeals court has ruled that iPhone users may sue Apple for allegedly holding a monopoly on selling apps for the device.

The decision was made in response to a group of iPhone users who filed a suit against Apple in 2012. They claimed the App Store “monopoly” was anticompetitive and led to higher prices.

In December 2013, a lower court sided with Apple, who denied the claims and said that users could not sue it because apps on the App Store are purchased from developers, not Apple. The company lets developers publish their app on the App Store in return for a 30 per cent cut of revenue.

Judge William A. Fletcher of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the iPhone users were “direct purchasers of iPhone apps from Apple” giving them “standing to sue.”

“The obvious solution is to compel Apple to let people shop for applications wherever they want, which would open the market and help lower prices,” Mark C. Rifkin, an attorney for the law firm representing the group of iPhone users, told Reuters.

Allegations in regards to the App Store “monopoly” have yet to be heard by the courts, with the suit now able to proceed.

 

 

 



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