Epic Games Hit with Staggering $73M in Legal Fees After Fortnite Trial

The legal battle between Apple and Fortnite developer Epic Games has finally come to a close after the Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from either party. With the case concluded, Apple has presented Epic with a hefty legal expense bill exceeding $73.4 million, which it expects the developer to cover.

While this may seem like a huge sum, it’s important to note that Apple’s own legal expenses totaled approximately $82.9 million. They offered a 10% discount in consideration of Epic winning one of the nine legal points in the case. In accordance with the DPLA (Digital Platform Law and Authority), Epic is now liable for $73,404,326.

Epic Games had previously breached the Apple Developer Program License Agreement (DPLA) by enabling in-game purchases in Fortnite through an alternative payment service. While some may argue that this practice could be viewed as anti-competitive from Apple’s perspective, it did violate the rules and regulations of the App Store.

As a result of this, Apple isn’t backing down. It has chosen not to reinstate Fortnite on the App Store. With a substantial fine at stake, Apple aims to send a clear message to other developers looking to violate the DPLA in the future. In this particular case, Epic did acknowledge the responsibility for damages in the event of losing its antitrust claims, which eventually occurred.

Apple highlighted that if Epic had succeeded in its antitrust claims, the contractual clauses for damages would not have been enforced. The significant amount currently pending against Epic is primarily attributed to Apple’s substantial costs in defending itself against these claims.

This is all we know for now, but rest assured that we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.

via: Florian Mueller