Last week, we reported that the United States Supreme Court made a decision against Apple (which has been going on since 2011). American justice has given the green light for users to sue the Cupertino giant for monopoly, since the App Store it is the only way to purchase third party apps and services on the iOS platform – even though Apple has stated that it is not responsible for the amount charged for the apps.
Now, a new class action has taken advantage of the recent endorsement to accuse Apple of inflating its store’s app prices out of a “claimed monopoly on iOS app distribution”.
The case was filed this week in Northern California District Court by Edward Lawrence. Apple’s advocate «engaged in anti-competitive conduct designed specifically to monopolize, maintain or stabilize abusive pricing policy.»
IOS was intentionally designed to block iPhone owners from buying apps only from Apple, and since the company typically charges 30% of developers for each App Store transaction, anyone who downloads an app [pago] is actually paying that extra amount. The 30% is mostly profitable and would be substantially smaller in a competitive market.
The prosecution also highlighted Apple’s «tight control» over iOS, saying that Apple’s mobile operating system denies users the ability to choose other «potentially cheaper, more efficient and technologically superior» products.
The lawsuit requires Apple to pay damages (unspecified) with interest, payment of attorney fees and an injunction against other monopolistic practices. If the dispute continues as a class action (and wins in court), it is likely that each consumer will receive a small compensation, considering the number of people who accuse the company.
It is worth noting that Apple does not receive for applications and services distributed free of charge by the App Store, and that the 30% fee is charged on top of resources sold through its stores, such as internal app purchases and subscriptions. In this sense, it is up to the developers to set a price for their own – already considering the rate snapped up by Apple.
via AppleInsider
