Apple will not take advantage of the temporary opportunity to appeal a major antitrust ruling in the UK. In October, the country’s competition court ruled that Apple had “almost absolute market power” in app distribution and in-app payments and that it “abused its dominant market position by charging excessive and unfair prices” for developer fees. At the time, Apple planned to appeal, but today the court filed a lawsuit. refused let the company appeal the decision.
This means that Apple’s next legal action, unless it wants to pay more than a billion pounds in damages, will be to take the case directly to the UK Court of Appeal. The company has requested a period of 21 days to submit a request to this judicial body.
It’s been a challenging year for Apple, as the company faces increasing pressure from regulators over App Store rules and costs for mobile developers. Apple today announced a new affiliate program that aims to cut commissions on app transactions in half.