This was the right decision even though I hope Epic wins. It is not a clear cut case either way. In the absence of clear authority what Apple is doing is illegal, Epic should be required to continue on with the status quo until the courts and/or regulators rule.
The thing is Google also banned Epics Fortnite app, but Google never tried to ban any of Epics other apps, or developer accounts. Even the judge basically said that Apple went too far.
Maybe because there is no Unreal Editor for Android? It's only on Mac/Win/Linux.
This lawsuit and the way Apple treats its developers is making Apple really unattractive to any prospective developer in the future.
This lawsuit was brought by Epic to renege on terms and conditions they agreed to. You'd be foolish to think Epic has an altruistic purpose in mind.
Apple has completely changed the way software is distributed and there is now a much better chance for developers to succeed than ever before. Any talented developer, who probably could never get his app out to the masses before has the opportunity now with the app stores.
Yes, forgotten by too many in this is that EPIC SIGNED A CONTRACT that it would obey the App Store rules or face losing their developer credentials. THEY AGREED TO THAT.
Epic now doesn’t like the rules, but they have many ways (including the lawsuits they’ve launched, public protests, publicity stunts etc) to lobby Apple and /or courts, legislators, regulators et al for change. But until you win, you’re still subject to the terms of the contract you signed.
As a matter of contract law, Epic has already lost. Despite the judge’s temporary ruling, Apple is 100 percent within their rights to terminate the Epic Games division, if not the entire corporation’s, developer license. They broke their contract.
The CEO of Epic has been lying about this non-stop from the get-go, and the board would be wise to replace him with someone who understands the law (it’s also illegal for CEOs to make knowingly false or misleading statements).
As a matter of contract law, Epic has already lost. Despite the judge’s temporary ruling, Apple is 100 percent within their rights to terminate the Epic Games division, if not the entire corporation’s, developer license. They broke their contract.
If that is true, what is the basis of the judge’s decision to prevent Apple from banning Epic Games International’s Mac developer account?
If Apple had terminated Epic Internationals mac developer account then Unreal would have stopped working (for everyone) and Epic International wouldn’t be able to ship a new version with that mac developer account.
That is completely wrong. Epic International doesn't ship anything with its Mac developer account. They use it to maintain the engine. The engine's entire source is downloadable by anyone, and anyone is free to make an application with it and submit it to the App Store under their own developer account. What Apple does to try and retaliate against Epic makes no difference to developers with the source code for the engine. Apple doesn't stipulate that developers don't use code by a particular party in their program. If they did, they'd have a lot more lawsuits on their hands than the one from Epic.
Well, you're wrong too. Epic Games Launcher app which manages Unreal Engine versions, store assets, and the Unreal Editor application, are all signed by their Mac developer account owned by Epic Games International. I'm sure far more apps are developed using Unreal Editor than the downloaded C++ engine source.
I think this also goes beyond signing their Mac apps: "Apple’s retaliation represents an existential threat to Epic’s Unreal Engine. OS providers like Apple routinely make certain software and developer tools available to software developers, for free or a small fee, to enable the development of software that will run on the OS. Apple intends to deny Epic access to that widely available material. Without that access, Epic cannot develop future versions of the Unreal Engine for use on iOS or macOS."
They are yes, my post was with regards to the Unreal Engine specifically. The apps Epic has on the Mac don't have to be signed, and Apple can't stop distribution of unsigned apps short of flagging them in Gatekeeper, but that would again rightly attract the ire of regulators and the like. Apple can't reasonably stop distribution of (or submission to the app store of) apps developed with UE because of a spat with Epic. As you quoted, Epic was concerned that they wouldn't be allowed access to Xcode. Apple could do this by adding a term in the EULA, though if Epic really wanted to they could shift development to the UK for example where EULAs are worth exactly nothing.
Yes, forgotten by too many in this is that EPIC SIGNED A CONTRACT that it would obey the App Store rules or face losing their developer credentials. THEY AGREED TO THAT.
Epic now doesn’t like the rules, but they have many ways (including the lawsuits they’ve launched, public protests, publicity stunts etc) to lobby Apple and /or courts, legislators, regulators et al for change. But until you win, you’re still subject to the terms of the contract you signed.
As a matter of contract law, Epic has already lost. Despite the judge’s temporary ruling, Apple is 100 percent within their rights to terminate the Epic Games division, if not the entire corporation’s, developer license. They broke their contract.
The CEO of Epic has been lying about this non-stop from the get-go, and the board would be wise to replace him with someone who understands the law (it’s also illegal for CEOs to make knowingly false or misleading statements).
Contracts are not above the law. Epic is essentially challenging part of the contract as unfair, which is completely legal and clauses in contracts are regularly annulled in court. Yes, Epic has broken the terms of the contract. But if the clauses they broke are deemed by a court to be illegal, those clauses can be annulled. Epic are just using bluster and social media to try and make people agree with their side of the case, and causing increased media chatter by intentionally breaking the rule before taking Apple to court over it.
So much misinformation and misunderstanding of the situation. Here’s what happened:
1. Epic modified their iOS Fortnite app to allow their own in-app purchasing. 2. Apple removed the iOS Fortnite app from the App Store, but did not block existing owners of the app from using Fortnite. In fact, even if the user was only trying to reinstall its previously “purchased” Fortnite app, Apple still allowed the last submitted version to be reinstalled. 3. Apple threatened Epic with the cancellation of Epic’s membership in Apple’s Developer Program. This would mean that Epic could no longer access the development tools on either iOS or Mac nor could it sign applications on either platform. Apple didn’t do this, but threatened it. This is what Epic filed for a Preliminary Injunction to block Apple from removing Epic’s Developer Program membership. Epic then threw in the request to force Apple to re-list Fortnite. 4. The judge scheduled a full argument and decision on the injunction for end of September. She then put a temporary restraining order in place to prevent Apple from pulling Epic’s Developer Program access. She did not grant Epic’s request to force Apple to re-list Fortnite, stating that Epic’s own actions caused that situation and they were free to go back to compliance.
Yes, forgotten by too many in this is that EPIC SIGNED A CONTRACT that it would obey the App Store rules or face losing their developer credentials. THEY AGREED TO THAT.
Epic now doesn’t like the rules, but they have many ways (including the lawsuits they’ve launched, public protests, publicity stunts etc) to lobby Apple and /or courts, legislators, regulators et al for change. But until you win, you’re still subject to the terms of the contract you signed.
As a matter of contract law, Epic has already lost. Despite the judge’s temporary ruling, Apple is 100 percent within their rights to terminate the Epic Games division, if not the entire corporation’s, developer license. They broke their contract.
The CEO of Epic has been lying about this non-stop from the get-go, and the board would be wise to replace him with someone who understands the law (it’s also illegal for CEOs to make knowingly false or misleading statements).
Contracts are not above the law. Epic is essentially challenging part of the contract as unfair, which is completely legal and clauses in contracts are regularly annulled in court. Yes, Epic has broken the terms of the contract. But if the clauses they broke are deemed by a court to be illegal, those clauses can be annulled. Epic are just using bluster and social media to try and make people agree with their side of the case, and causing increased media chatter by intentionally breaking the rule before taking Apple to court over it.
Is the contract even a necessary factor though? Seems to me it just formalises a unilateral right that Apple already have to remove an application from their store? If it wasn't in the contract Apple would still be able to boot Fortnite, for whatever reason they wanted, because it's their store and they can do business with whomsoever they choose. The fact that it's in the contract protects Apple from accusations of arbitrariness, bad faith and the bad PR that would go with that, and gives them the ability to point to the agreement to explicitly say that a developers has violated it, but I don't see that it's giving Apple any rights that they didn't already have.
Comments
Apple has completely changed the way software is distributed and there is now a much better chance for developers to succeed than ever before. Any talented developer, who probably could never get his app out to the masses before has the opportunity now with the app stores.
Epic now doesn’t like the rules, but they have many ways (including the lawsuits they’ve launched, public protests, publicity stunts etc) to lobby Apple and /or courts, legislators, regulators et al for change. But until you win, you’re still subject to the terms of the contract you signed.
As a matter of contract law, Epic has already lost. Despite the judge’s temporary ruling, Apple is 100 percent within their rights to terminate the Epic Games division, if not the entire corporation’s, developer license. They broke their contract.
The CEO of Epic has been lying about this non-stop from the get-go, and the board would be wise to replace him with someone who understands the law (it’s also illegal for CEOs to make knowingly false or misleading statements).
If that is true, what is the basis of the judge’s decision to prevent Apple from banning Epic Games International’s Mac developer account?
Developers are defending Apple so......
1. Epic modified their iOS Fortnite app to allow their own in-app purchasing.
2. Apple removed the iOS Fortnite app from the App Store, but did not block existing owners of the app from using Fortnite. In fact, even if the user was only trying to reinstall its previously “purchased” Fortnite app, Apple still allowed the last submitted version to be reinstalled.
3. Apple threatened Epic with the cancellation of Epic’s membership in Apple’s Developer Program. This would mean that Epic could no longer access the development tools on either iOS or Mac nor could it sign applications on either platform. Apple didn’t do this, but threatened it. This is what Epic filed for a Preliminary Injunction to block Apple from removing Epic’s Developer Program membership. Epic then threw in the request to force Apple to re-list Fortnite.
4. The judge scheduled a full argument and decision on the injunction for end of September. She then put a temporary restraining order in place to prevent Apple from pulling Epic’s Developer Program access. She did not grant Epic’s request to force Apple to re-list Fortnite, stating that Epic’s own actions caused that situation and they were free to go back to compliance.
That’s it.
I may be completely wrong though.