Apple Inc’s App Store has long been touted as a growth engine. Now, the world’s most valuable company is fighting in US court to not reveal in public just how lucrative it is.
In a trial scheduled to start May 3, Epic Games Inc is alleging that the iPhone maker’s 30% commission on app sales is a violation of antitrust law, cheating developers and consumers. Epic’s long-odds gambit to gain free access to the App Store, which has garnered support from mom-and-pop developers and giants like Microsoft Corp, comes amid increasing global regulatory scrutiny of Apple’s domination of software on its ubiquitous phones. On April 30, the European Union issued a warning over the App store, saying it thinks Apple abused its power.