Apple on Tuesday found itself the target of a $1 billion class action lawsuit brought by more than 1,500 apps developers in the UK over its App Store fees.
Apple's services business, which includes the App Store, has
seen revenues grow at a rapid pace in the last few years and now hovers around
$20 billion per quarter.
However, the commissions of 15 percent to 30 percent that
the company charges some app makers for the use of an in-app payment system
have been criticised by app developers and targeted by antitrust regulators in
several countries.
Apple has previously said that 85 percent of developers on
the App Store do not pay any commission and that it helps European developers
to access markets and customers in 175 countries around the world through the
App Store.
The UK lawsuit at the Competition Appeal Tribunal is being
brought by Sean Ennis, a professor at the Centre for Competition Policy at the
University of East Anglia and a former economist at the OECD, on behalf of
1,566 app developers.
He is being advised by the law firm Geradin Partners.
"Apple's charges to app developers are excessive, and
only possible due to its monopoly on the distribution of apps onto iPhones and
iPads," Ennis said in a statement.
"The charges are unfair in their own right and
constitute abusive pricing. They harm app developers and also app buyers."
© Reuters