Apple Inc & Anor v Epic Games, Inc

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Apple Inc and another entity brought a case against Epic Games, Inc and another party in the High Court of Australia. The dispute centred around the terms of service and in-app purchases made on Apple's App Store. The plaintiffs sought to prevent Epic Games from circumventing the App Store's payment system and charging users directly for in-app purchases. The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia had previously dismissed the case, and Apple Inc appealed to the High Court.

The legal issues the court was required to decide included whether the plaintiffs had standing to bring the case, whether the Full Court had jurisdiction to hear the case, and whether the decision of the Full Court was attended with sufficient doubt to warrant the grant of special leave to appeal. The court also had to consider whether the decision of the Full Court raised a question of law of general importance.

The court held that the application for special leave to appeal did not raise a question of law of general importance and that the decision of the Full Court was not attended with sufficient doubt to warrant the grant of special leave to appeal. The court found that the plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the case, and that the Full Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. The court also found that the Full Court's decision was not attended with sufficient doubt to warrant the grant of special leave to appeal.

The court dismissed the application for special leave to appeal and directed the Registrar to draw up, sign, and seal an order dismissing the application with costs. The case was therefore concluded, and no further appeal could be brought by the plaintiffs.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established

M.M. Gordon	J.J. Edelman
2 December 2021