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Apple just kicked Fortnite off the App Store

(www.theverge.com)
1704 points ardit33 | 1 comments | 13 Aug 20 19:03 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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andreasley ◴[13 Aug 20 20:37 UTC] No.24148645[source]▶
Epic Games has filed a lawsuit [1] and published a Fortnite-themed parody of Apple's "1984" [2] to get some publicity for it.

[1] https://cdn2.unrealengine.com/apple-complaint-734589783.pdf

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euiSHuaw6Q4

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coldcode ◴[13 Aug 20 20:51 UTC] No.24148908[source]▶
They will lose as the TOS clearly indicates the rules and Epic agreed to them. This is basic contract law. Apple has a massive team of experienced lawyers.
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bluedevil2k ◴[13 Aug 20 20:54 UTC] No.24148955[source]▶
TOS can't violate laws though. A contract that is in violation of the law isn't enforceable. Epic is looking for a judgement to make it illegal.
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the-pigeon ◴[13 Aug 20 21:07 UTC] No.24149191[source]▶
Expanding on this.

The idea that a large platform like iOS can only have apps loaded through a market place controlled by the hardware manufactured is clearly in violation of the spirit of anti-trust laws.

However there's no legal precedent on this because no one with deep enough pockets to fight Apple has been angry enough to do it yet.

Meaning this could be great news for everyone if this goes to court and Apple loses as they should.

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dpiers ◴[13 Aug 20 21:32 UTC] No.24149596[source]▶
I don't think that's true. Almost no one is complaining about Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo's "monopolies" on what software runs on their video game consoles.

The big differentiator is that phones have become the most frequently used personal computing device for many people, and we expect the freedom to use it how we want.

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nitrogen ◴[14 Aug 20 03:57 UTC] No.24153160[source]▶
Back in the day lawsuits were won by unauthorized publishers wanting to sell games for e.g. the NES.
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nodamage ◴[14 Aug 20 06:57 UTC] No.24154665{3}[source]▶
Which specific lawsuits are you referring to?
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nitrogen ◴[14 Aug 20 15:30 UTC] No.24159191{4}[source]▶
It seems I had swapped Tengen and Accolade in my memory. I am thinking of Sega v. Accolade.

The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's order and ruled that Accolade's use of reverse engineering to publish Genesis titles was protected under fair use, and that its alleged violation of Sega trademarks was the fault of Sega.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_v._Accolade

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1. nodamage ◴[14 Aug 20 21:44 UTC] No.24163656{5}[source]▶
Both of those cases were about whether reverse engineering violates copyright law, they're not really relevant to the antitrust claims Epic is alleging in their lawsuits.