Epic Games has asked the US Supreme Court to uphold a contempt ruling against Apple in their fight over links to purchases outside the App Store. Epic filed its response brief on November 13, ahead of arguments scheduled for January 11, 2027.

The case could shape whether iPhone developers in the US can direct customers to pay on their own websites without Apple taking a fee. But the justices are not being asked to decide directly whether Apple’s 27% rate is reasonable.

A narrow question for the justices

The Supreme Court agreed to hear Apple’s appeal on a specific issue: whether a company can be held in contempt for violating the purpose, or “spirit,” of an injunction, rather than only its exact wording. The court declined to take up Apple’s broader argument about whether the injunction should apply across all developers.

Apple says the original injunction did not expressly forbid it from charging commissions, and argues it should not have been found in contempt. Epic’s response says that reading would allow companies to replace a prohibited practice with new restrictions that produce the same result.

How the fee dispute developed

The dispute centres on Apple’s rules for external purchases. Apple introduced a 27% commission for purchases made on the web within seven days of a user following a link from an iPhone app. Developers also faced rules on the design and placement of links, dynamic URLs, approved wording and a full-page warning before users left an app.

Epic argues that a developer using an outside payment provider would owe Apple 27% and separately pay more than 3% in processing costs. That combination, Epic says, could cost more than Apple’s standard in-app commission, which can reach 30%, and make external payment systems uneconomical.

In April 2025, District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in willful violation of an earlier injunction and barred it from charging commissions on off-app purchases. The Ninth Circuit upheld the contempt finding but ruled that banning every possible fee went too far. It sent the fee issue back to the district court to determine what would be reasonable. Apple cannot currently charge a commission on those purchases unless the district court approves a fee.

From Fortnite to the Supreme Court

The legal battle began in 2020, after Epic bypassed Apple’s payment system in Fortnite. Apple removed the game from the App Store, and Epic sued. Epic lost most of its antitrust claims, but courts ruled that Apple could not stop developers from telling customers about other ways to pay. The 2025 ruling helped clear the way for Fortnite to return to the US App Store after an absence of nearly five years.

The Supreme Court’s decision will address the contempt ruling, while the district court’s work on a reasonable fee remains unresolved. The justices are due to hear arguments on January 11, 2027.